TalkA Dance of DNA
The more I learn about DNA — and as you can imagine, it’s a big part of my job — the more it intrigues and inspires me. I marvel at how this complicated, precise structure provides the rhythm and timing for the intricate biological dances that run through all living creatures. To me, DNA has a musical personality. Like a qawwali, its beauty is collective and improvisational, building on basic themes to create something that is both unique and universal.
So, you can imagine that I was excited to learn that Liz Lerman’s multimedia dance production, “Ferocious Beauty: Genome” makes its West Coast premiere this weekend. Our local paper quotes Lerman, quoting Stanford marine biologist Steve Palumbi: “Scientists in general have this amazing addiction to the joy of discovery… Finding something out is really cool. Addiction to discovery — that’s the mark of a scientist, and the same I think is true of the artist.”
Read coverage of “Ferocious Beauty: Genome”
See DNA art and more DNA art at Genetizen’s blog
DNA-inspired paintings, by Julie Newdall
Commentary on DNA-inspired art, from Nature
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May 5th, 2006 at 1:51 pm
I think the inherent aesthetic beauty and interest of the double helix makes it a natural candidate for this type of intersection between science and art. As scientists like to say: the simplest answer is usually the best. Perhaps the same is true of the simple geometry of nature as well…