Last week, I helped the Wisconsin Water Librarian, Anne, install a very special exhibit in a UW-Madison campus library. Titled Under the Surface: A Photographic Journey of Hope and Healing, the exhibit includes photographs taken by teenagers at Northwest Passage, a residential treatment program in northern Wisconsin. Each photograph has an artist card next to it explaining the importance of that piece of artwork for the artist who created it.
Photo: one portion of the Under the Surface exhibit in Memorial Library. Photo taken by me.
The exhibit was eye-opening for me. I connected to aquatic sciences in a way I never thought possible, and at the same time I gained an appreciation for the healing power of artistic expression and scientific exploration.
While science has always been a passion of mine, I now understand that it is much more than that for some people. Science can provide a tether to real life, a sense of purpose, a way to connect with others, and an escape from one’s own thoughts. When combined with the expressive nature of photography, science is transformed from facts and figures into an indescribable experience. Art has a way of bringing out the beautiful side in science, allowing people to connect to it in unique and personal ways.
Northwest Passage is doing just that. They are creating opportunities for struggling teens who are looking for a way to share their experiences. In turn, the photographs they create are bringing awareness to aquatic issues and allow for a more humanist perspective when it comes to environmental sciences. It is amazing to witness, and I feel lucky that I had the chance to help display the artwork to the UW-Madison community. The artwork is also being displayed at the Alicia Ashman branch of Madison Public Library, an important step in reaching the public with this message as well!
Photo: “Looking Up” by Jade, 16. Part of the Under the Surface series, In a New Light, Northwest Passage, Ltd.
Photo: “Within the Chaos” by Ndolo, 17. Part of the Under the Surface series, In a New Light, Northwest Passage, Ltd.
This combination of art with historically numbers-driven fields is an emerging concept often referred to as STEAM. As a variation of the acronym STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math/Medicine – the A is added to represent the role art can play in disseminating scientific information and garnering public support for scientific issues.
Other artists and scientists have also recognized the influential role that art can have on scientific opinions and awareness. For example, the work in Alexis Rockman: The Great Lakes Cycle is a perfect demonstration of STEAM. Alexis Rockman creates larger-than-life paintings representing the past, present, and potentially terrible future of the Great Lakes. The more you look at the paintings, the more you realize how many little hidden surprises there are and how they all play into the larger artwork. In some of his artwork, he even uses materials he has gathered from the lakes, like sand, to create images.
Photo: Cascade, 2015, Alexis Rockman. Photo from Grand Rapids Art Museum.
Photo: sand art representing fauna of the Great Lakes, Alexis Rockman. Photo taken by me at the Chicago Cultural Center.
There are many artists working on STEAM projects, and academic institutions often get involved. Here at UW-Madison, the Wisconsin Water Library and Center for Limnology have worked on Art and Science projects in the past. Each of these examples have one thing in common: they recognize the important role that artistic expression can make in connecting people with science.
I’m proud that I attend a university with a library system that supports endeavors like Northwest Passage. I’m proud of the fact that many, many patrons already stopped to talk to me about the exhibit while we were setting up. And I’m proud that I get to work with a librarian and other staff at Sea Grant who see the greatness in projects like Under the Surface, provide funding for these experiences, and find a way to demonstrate the impact to a larger community.
If you check out the exhibit, prepare to be amazed!
Links to things I mentioned in this article:
Information about the exhibits at UW-Madison Memorial Library and Madison Public Library.
More information about Northwest Passage.
To support Under the Surface, purchase prints and other merchandise here.