I was printing like mad today while listening to a program on the radio about the intersection of art and science with author Jonah Leher. I think this is a rich topic–how does art inform science and vice versa? What are some great examples of art and science coming together? I’m opening up this post to comments, so write in and post your favorite art/science mashup. It can be a link to something on the Internet, an idea you’ve been thinking about, or a photo.

Here’s mine:

An amazing art/science project that recently made a big impression on me during my recent Seattle trip is Mark Dion’s Neukom Vivarium. It’s an actual nurse log (Western hemlock) brought in from the forest to a specially built greenhouse at the new-ish Olympic Sculpture Park in downtown Seattle. If you didn’t grow up in the Pacific Nortwest, you might not be so familiar with this forest phenomenon, but read here for a good primer on it.

I have my doubts about how long this nurse log will survive in the city, but I think that is part of the intrigue. The nurse log is an important icon to me: the ultimate expression of the power of nature to regenerate itself from its own remains. It doesn’t need us, but we need it.

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