Art in Science

At the SPE (Society for Photographic Education, as "Art In The House of Science." This was one of the longer presentations, approximately 2 hours, and time well spent. One of my takeaways was looking at methods other than paper, frames and mats to install photographs which, I believe, helped me in my Art 380 class Experimental Concepts, usually taught in the spring, and I highly recommend.

Conference presenters for "Art In The House of Science" were:

Rebecca Cummins explores the sculptural, experiential and sometimes humorous possibilities of light and natural phenomena, often referencing the history of science and optics. Current works involve scientific / medical imaging systems. Exhibitions include The Pacific Science Center, Seattle; The Biennial of Seville, Spain; Shenzhen Institute of Fine Art and the Shanghai Biennial, China. She is an associate professor at the University of Washington, Seattle. http://rebeccacummins.com/cummins_flash.htm

J.D. Talasek is the director of Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. He has curated numerous exhibitions, including Visionary Anatomies, Absorption + Transmission: work by Mike and Doug Starn and The Tao of Physics: Photographs by Arthur Tress among others. He was also the organizer editor of the international on-line symposium, Visual Culture and Bioscience. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvM9ajsOWLo

Justine Cooper investigates the intersections between culture, science and medicine. Her work is internationally recognized and exhibited and she has been artist in resident at the American Museum of Natural History, NY; the Key Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, Sydney University; and the Center for Medical Simulation, Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was born in Sydney, Australia, and currently resides in New York. http://daneyalmahmood.com/justinecooper.html

Pamela Winfrey (Curator since 1986, Artist in Residency Program, Exploratorium: the Museum of Science, Art and Human Perception, San Francisco) curates music, visual art and performance art. She recently served as the lead curatorial consultant for Creative Capital in the field of emerging art forms and has served on the Ars Electronic panel for interactive art. In addition she is a practicing playwright, has a new musical called "All at Sea", and is currently in residence at the Climate Theatre in San Francisco.

I hope future photography classes can be taught incorporating campus science and math departments and inviting guest speakers who work outside the photography main stream.

Bullies At Work - NY Times May 9, 2009

It's a dog eat dog world out there for graduates and if the economic downturn were not enough a survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute (http://workplacebullying.org) found that while most of the bullies are men, women make up a good 40 percent of the bullies.

The difference? Male bulling is equal opportunity, mowing down both sexes, women bullies target other women more than 70 percent of the time according to the survey. For women it can be a no win situation, to be promoted some feel you have to be aggressive, but where is the fine line between aggressive and bulling?

According to a State University of New York researcher most aggressive behavior at work is influenced by a number of factors including issues related to frustration, personality traits, perceptions of unfair treatment and other stresses and strains in our current environment of lean mean work settings.

Men tend to mentor other men, maybe it is the result of learning team work during school years, however women are less likely to mentor another woman out of fear that it would jeopardize their own career.

What would a high school or college course on mentoring look like, or a course in Bulling 101.