| What: | During this end-of-the quarter art showing, more than 50 undergraduate students will display what they created when they took a hard look at both insects and art in a UC Davis course believed to be the only one of its kind in the nation.
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| When: | 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5 |
| Where: | Room 366, Briggs Hall, UC Davis |
| Visuals | Nearly 100 individual and group projects, including textile banners, ceramic sculptures and mosaics, pen-and-ink drawings and computer graphics will be displayed in this show, which is the culmination of "Entomology 1: Art, Science and the World of Insects." Many students and the course instructors will be on hand to describe their creations and discuss what they learned when they fused art and science. |
| Background: | The class is the brainchild of Diane Ullman, a UC Davis entomology professor, and Sacramento-area artist Donna Billick. While taking a summer ceramics class from Billick, Ullman began making insects for a ceramic wall mural. She realized how the artistic exercise forced her to really learn the anatomy of the insects she was recreating in clay. From this experience and discussions with Billick, the idea of using art to learn biological concepts arose. The course includes a variety of lectures by insect experts and artists on insects' biology, ecology and role in human culture, plus weekly art-studio sessions. Many of the students have become so involved with their artwork that they have requested additional studio time. While Ullman admits she'd like to see some of these students pursue careers in entomology, she mainly wants students to explore a variety of academic areas and interesting careers they might never have considered before. She stresses that science and art are really much alike in that both fields are based on observation that leads to a final product. Ullman quotes Isaac Asimov, who wrote, "There is an art to science, and science in art; the two are not enemies, but different aspects of the whole." |
| Directions and Parking: |
From Interstate 80, take Highway 113 north toward Woodland. Exit onto Hutchison Drive and go right toward the main campus. Go through the light at La Rue Road and take the first left turn onto Kleiber Hall Drive. Park in Lot 26 or 27 on your left. Briggs Hall is on the opposite side of Kleiber Hall Drive and to the right. Place a media business card on the dashboard of your vehicle to park free. |
Media Resources
Pat Bailey, Research news (emphasis: agricultural and nutritional sciences, and veterinary medicine), 530-219-9640, pjbailey@ucdavis.edu
Diane Ullman, Entomology, (530) 752-3799, deullman@ucdavis.edu