Weight of Evidence
This fall I embarked on a series of new pieces focusing on the concepts of scientific knowledge. My intent is to illustrate theories and biographies from the history of science through native beadwork in a manner that conveys reverence and awe. The stories behind major scientific achievements have all the qualities of mythology and the indisputable impact of historical drama. The manner in which we tell the saga of the pursuit of scientific knowledge is often cold, clinical, and bears none of the loving treatment given to topics in the fields of the humanities. I see unique potential for indigenous and craft art to illustrate scientific pursuits and elevate and present these ideas as universal cultural priorities. Indigenous and handcrafted art has the potential to powerfully communicate a reverence for pivotal moments of scientific learning. Native art is at its core pragmatic and yet also lyrical and highly decorative. These qualities provide the perfect combination to elevate and disseminate narratives from the scientific world.
My background with these stories and images started early with a love affair with botany and microbiology. My first job in high school was as an assistant lab tech in a virology lab at the University of Montana. This fantastic world had a unique and insular culture. It was a world of lab coats, charts, deep freezes, and a visual language deeply rooted in symbolism. I spent a couple of years looking through microscopes and sometimes I still think I see everything with the big black circle of the eyepiece framing it. There was something near religious to become familiar on a daily basis with the patterns and shapes of the smallest units of life.
I also witnessed the primary failing of the scientific community; an inability or unwillingness to invest in communication. In turn we as a cultural fail to grasp the fundamental importance of scientific advancements even as those achievements completely alter our world and life. This perspective introduced to me a firm belief that culture and science serve humanity better when they are more closely paired.
My first endeavors in the series are shown here to preview. The first part of the series honors important scientists that through their persistence and genius made a permanent mark on the course of humanity. The second part of the series illustrates scientific concepts that play an important role in our understanding of our place in the universe.
Shown below is the newest piece, Gregor Mendel Octopus Bag. Traditionally an octopus bag is a functional and highly decorated style of belt pouch originating with the sub artic indigenous tribes of Canada. The octopus bags nearly always portray floral and botanical elements in abstract designs on a wool fabric background. The front panel and back panel are completely separate with the storage pouch in the center. Each panel is split into four phalanges in the lower half giving the composition a unique sense of motion and delicacy. The mathematical division of the profile lent itself well to illustrate Mendel’s Law of Inheritance. The law states that in mixing dominant and recessive traits there will always be a 4:0 ratio in the first or F1 generation. By cross breeding the F1 generation you then get the 3:1 ratio in the F2 generation. The basic ratios of inheritance have proved valid in scenarios testing for one trait with a recessive and dominant strain. This result was painstakingly accomplished through Mendel’s years of patient efforts at crossbreeding the humble garden pea. The story of his findings, the loss of that knowledge for generations, and the rediscovery of his work is fascinating.
On the front of the Mendel Bag you can see the parent generation illustrated by the white and pink blossoms intertwining near the top. Below the white and pink blossoms the plant divides into four branches, each with pink flowers representing the F1 generation, or the first round of cross bred plants with all flowers showing the dominant color. Each of these vines continues to twine down one of the phalanges on the lower half of the octopus bag, one with white blossoms and three with pink representing the F2 generation, or illustrating the 3:1 ratio of Mendel’s Law.
The second piece is of the Eukaryote Evening Purse. This evening bag is a modern take on traditional Mohawk style purses popularized in the 19th century. The purse has three eukaryote plant cells illustrating the structure and organelles present in plant cells. Honestly, I have never before beaded a mitochondria or a vacuole. This purse does not illustrate a specific biography or law or theory. It is mostly an exercise in adapting new imagery and visual patterns to the craft of beadwork. And I get to say Golgi Apparatus a lot.
Coming in the next few months….. prime numbers, electron shell diagrams and Galileo’s Law of Falling Bodies.
