2014 Art of Science - Lateralus

Every year St. Jude and local Memphis Artist join together for a night of Art and Science. This is my entry for this years show. I was paired with a wonderful lady named Sharon, who took a beautiful photo of a brain cell.

Lateralus - Mitchell Dunnam

48x48

Digital Painting

     Science inspires us to open our eyes to infinite possibilities, encourages us to try and find answers to the big questions. In the search for these answers we must both spiral out to see the macroscopic level and zoom in to see the microscopic. At both of these levels the perspective changes and we see a new world. The scientists at St. Jude use an electron microscope to study microscopic worlds while trying to understand what we are made from. 100ums or .00394 inches is around the thickness of a layer of paint or smaller then the diameter of a single strand of human hair. The images created by the electron microscopes start black and white. Then the scientist, while utilizing infinite possibilities of colors, and photo editing software, modify these images to make them easier to understand. It is at these levels that the art and science spiral together into a scenes of beauty and chaos, meanwhile millions of battles are being waged within our bodies. 

Some of these battles can cause larger problems within the body. If we can understand how and why these battles are raging, perhaps we can stop some of them and resolve problems. We try to create peace and harmony within the microscopic world of our bodies. We must push the envelope of possibilities to try and see outside the lines of reason, to fix our problems both below and above the surface. We must reach out to embrace the random, embrace whatever may come so we can feel connected to the world around us. We must spiral out and in to understand both the macro and micro world.