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Exhibit Transforms Microscopic Images from Science Lab Into 'Warhols'

By Emily Frost | September 16, 2015 6:19pm
 The exhibit is meant to surprise the viewer with images that look like nature photography but are actually from a labratory. 
'Labscapes' Exhibit Creates Art Out of Science
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UPPER WEST SIDE — A new exhibit is focusing on the artistic side of scientific investigation by enlarging and enhancing images captured by scientists when they look through powerful microscopes.

The 28 photos on display in "Labscapes: Views Through the Microscope," at the JCC Manhattan's Laurie M. Tisch gallery, were captured by research scientists at Technion, an MIT-level university in Israel. 

At first glance, viewers may mistake the images for nature photography or even an Andy Warhol print, said JCC curator Megan Whitman. That's because when the images are blown up, with color added, they do resemble nature, she said.

Viewers discover that what looks like a mix of green reeds floating in the ocean is actually an enlarged photo of human stem cells. A fish floating in a pond is actually a photo of a swarm of breast cancer cells, Whitman explained.

Technion scientists capture photos of what they're looking at under the microscope and then study them afterwards, sometimes adding color to enhance what they see — but those images aren't often seen by the general public, she noted.

The goal of "Labscapes" is to let visitors into the research arena, but also "open up our sense of wonder" about these unknown landscapes in our bodies and in the world, Whitman added. 

An administrator at Technion, Anat Har-Gil, created the exhibit after realizing many of the lab photos taken by scientists at the university could be transformed into art with minimal enhancement. 

"The exhibition has a certain element of surprise," because viewers think they're seeing one thing but realize it's something else entirely, Har-Gil explained in a video that accompanies the exhibit. 

"Labscapes" opened Sept. 8 and runs through Dec. 16, 2015. The exhibit is free and open to the public. 

The JCC will host a family day on Oct. 25 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., where kids can view the exhibit and create collages inspired by it, as well as looking through microscopes and magnifying glasses. 

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