An Afternoon at the Huntington

I was in Southern California last week visiting my relatives. I also offered to write an exhibition review for SHARP on The US Constitution and the end of American Slavery. However, the exhibition right next door was truly amazing and hit me on so many levels. It was fascinating, beautiful, and relevant to my research on book illustration.

The exhibition is called Beautiful Science: Ideas that Changed the World. It is divided into four sections: Astronomy, Natural History, History of Medicine, and Light (physics, optics, and engineering). I posted 2 photos of my own below, but there are more from the Huntington here: http://huntington.org/WebAssets/Templates/content.aspx?id=16992

The natural history section in particular has a wonderful way displaying illustrations that shows visual thinking. Some of the earliest images were clearly drawn based on accounts from others, rather than what the artists had actually seen themselves. Then in the next centuries you can see the influence of Enlightenment ideas and the Scientific Method -- that is drawings based on direct observation and in depth knowledge of the specimen depicted. Add different techniques of creating, to constantly evolving technologies in printing production, and there is a clear picture of what people across the centuries understood about the natural world.

I recommend going to the Huntington to see the exhbition (and the gardens) if you happen to be in Southern California.