Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Art Event # 5: Natural History Museum

During my visit, Sunday, December 13th, 2009, to the Natural History Museum in Balboa Park located in San Diego I viewed four different exhibitions. All equally moving in my own discipline. 

First was the Baja California, located on the upper level of the museum. Featuring imagery from National Geographic photographer, Ralph Lee Hopkins. This exhibition began September 19th and will continue until the 3rd of January. 


Next was Aerial Portraits of the American West: Photographs by John Shelton. Shelton is an acclaimed geologist and this event marks the first time his work is displayed. This exhibition started May 11th and will continue on through the latter part of next year. 


Followed by a short film entitled, Ocean Oasis, which discussed the coral reefs off the coast of Baja, California. And the bigger picture of how the ecosystems of both land and sea are connected. 


And I ended the day with Darwin: Evolution, Revolution. This exhibit went through the research that was published in Origin of Evolution to Darwin's own origin and how his work was reflected his own life. This event started November 7th and will be ending the 28th of February. 

After views all four exhibitions I can away with more knowledge, but with the new awareness came more questions. Questions of how and why things or events are categorized as natural. But I also can to appreciate the ecosystem that we live in and how science can be viewed as artistic, even though many people separate the two fields. Specifically the Ocean Oasis film, changed the way I view marine life. And although at times big creature frighten me, I understand that they are part of a greater scope of life, where I too inhabit. After taking my first art course at Cal State, I have been interested in displaying my own work. In viewing these art events, it inspires my own ideas of how I might in the future go about making those ideas reality. 

My only criticism would be one, I wish I spent more time in the Aerial Exhibition, but also that the Ocean Oasis film might have included the possible human damages including the messages of how to preserve these beauties. But I guess that is what people always here about. And I learned about Darwin's process of going about publishing or having doubts about publishing his work. And I also got an opportunity to interact with a green iguana which was really cool, this creature has the most beautiful eyes.  

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