An inside peek at Tiffany Bozic's show at The California Academy of Sciences which opens Thursday, the 15th, here in San Francisco with a short video clip.
From the Depths: Inspiring Science and Art. A new exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences

What would happen if you invited an artist to explore the specimen collections of a Natural History museum and allowed them to create an exhibit based on this adventure?

This is what I wanted to find out when I asked Oakland-based painter, Tiffany Bozic to embark on a crazy journey through the Invertebrate Zoology and Geology collections at the California Academy of Sciences. I have been working in the Research Division at the Academy making maps for the past three years and have had the pleasure of learning about the strangest and most incredible species known to exist on the planet. I asked Dr. Rich Mooi , curator and expert in deep sea invertebrates (primarily urchins, star fish and sand dollars) if he would be Tiffany's guide through the myriad of jars. Being a talented illustrator himself, he was thrilled to participate. A year later, we brought together preserved specimens, sketches and paintings, live organisms and tanks, photographs and film into the first exhibit of its kind at the Academy; From the Depths opening Thursday November 15th, 2007. This is the last exhibit to open to the public in our Howard street facility before the doors close and all 20 million specimens move back to Golden Gate Park in the new Academy (opening October 2008).

The Academy houses millions biological specimens that have been collected by scientists over the past 154 years from all over the world. They are essentially the "raw materials" of what we know exists on the planet and provide a benchmark for us to be able to understand what is going on with the organisms that share our world. My colleagues spend their lives uncovering the secrets the collections have to tell and yet I found it strange that they are kept locked away behind closed doors.

Many meetings later, Tiffany and Rich got down to work.

Local photographer, Billy O'Callaghan came on the scene to document the process and the specimens.

This is a Crab (Euphylax robustus), collected in 1951 in Guaymas, Mexico.

Close-up of brittlestars

From examining by-catch in ocean dredging vessels in Antarctica to exploring the sea floor in a deep-sea submersible in the Indian Ocean, Rich shared his knowledge and enthusiasm with Tiffany as she made her way through the myriad of specimen's jars.

A coconut crab peeking out of the drawer. These guys are gnarly. Their pinchers are so strong they can easily chop through your thumb! Except this one is dead.

Throughout her residence, Tiffany would sketch and paint making frequent trips to the collections.

To learn more about Tiffany's process, check out this incredible film made by Todd Bell.

It quickly became evident that although Rich (the scientist) and Tiffany (the artist) produce seemingly different works and use different media for their expression, they found common ground in the marine invertebrate collections and the stories they have to tell.

Stories of predation and defense, evolution and conservation are revealed through these organisms and urge both scientist and artist to continue to question the mysteries of the ocean.

To see more paintings, sketches, dead things, living things and other cool stuff come to the From the Depths: Inspiring Science and Art opening night reception Thursday November 15th at 875 Howard Street, SF from 5-9 pm. $5.00 at the door and a cash bar is featuring wine by Francis Ford Coppola, (Thanks Jimmy!) For more info: http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/air {moscomment}

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