Moths, Joseph Scheer
Scheer is a professor of Printmaking at Alfred University in Alfred, New York. His moth scan series began as collages with bugs as a component of the entire piece, and as he continued his work became solely focused on the moth, alone on a blank screen. In his statement he expresses respect and adoration for nature, his biophilia an emotional connection to the world we inhabit.
My initial impression of the moth scans shown in the Christiane Paul article was that these were imitating old collections of moths or butterflies, and I feel that this is probably a fairly universal reaction. Moths really aren't seen in nature with their wings unfolded or with their proboscises unwound, and the flat white background kind of repeats this scientific, observative, aesthetic. But with the knowledge that Scheer scanned the moths and the final piece is not the moth on display, or a field sketch for scientific use, but an image of a moth, the moths' physical, visible features are the actual purpose of the piece.
Scheer developed a unique scanner for the moths he collected from outside his office and his friends' gardens at night. The amount of data collected was massive, enough so that only two moth scans could be fit on one compact disc. Scans can be zoomed in over 2,000 times, and still be crystal clear, so its kind of a testament to how once we observed and collected data with microscopes and the bare eye, but now there is no need to keep a moth collection, the image and all the data you'd need is available through technology.
Personally, I'd like to have prints of these for decoration, but I think scanning as a medium for scientific study could be a way to publicize (online) studies and create a more easily accessed base of knowledge for the public eye.
Personally, I'd like to have prints of these for decoration, but I think scanning as a medium for scientific study could be a way to publicize (online) studies and create a more easily accessed base of knowledge for the public eye.
Scheer's work is not only absolutely beautiful, but also very practical. It would be interesting to see how this kind of data collection about moths would affect moth collection. I've seen so many frames of butterflies and beetles at markets: so, does the fact that these prints are available for easier studies and thus decreases need for academic moth collections make moth collections(and other insect collections)less of a privilege/make them more common? It brings us back to the question that Cristiane Paul talks about in the reading concerning the availability of art and its effects on our culture.
ReplyDeleteAs an aspiring medical illustrator, I found this piece to be both awe-inspiring and terrifying. With technology like this, I could lose my job before I've even gotten it . However, it is amazing to think of the things that technology can now do so we no longer have to. It also makes me wonder where the definition of art ceases to apply- right now medical illustration is still art. But if a machine can illustrate textbooks, is it still art? Can only humans make art?
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