Mixed messages
It’s an eclectic exhibition. An interstellar image hangs next to videos of tiny ocean organisms swimming through their own vast universe. Close by, a slab of black shale stands out atop a white stand. Language doubles as visual art in a series of photos with bits of graffiti from the occupied West Bank and Jaffa, Israel. “The Art of Discovery,” running through Oct. 29 at the Radcliffe Institute’s recently revamped Johnson-Kulukundis Family Gallery, positions submissions from 13 current fellows alongside work by scientists, a mathematician, an anthropologist, even an urban planner. The show “exemplifies the core Radcliffe principle of commitment to the arts as a method of inquiry integrated with other forms of study,” said Radcliffe Dean Lizabeth Cohen, delivering brief remarks during the exhibition’s opening reception last week. Click to view slideshow. That integration was well underway at the crowded afternoon event. An astronomer discussed her work with a visual artist and a wordsmith...