(Bar Harbor, ME) The MDI Biological Laboratory will kick off its 2016 series of Art Meets Science Cafés on Monday, June 20, at 5:00 pm with a presentation entitled “A History of Scientists and Artists Working Together in Acadia” by environmental scientist and author Catherine Schmitt. Ms. Schmitt will discuss the connections between art and science on Mount Desert Island in the 19th century.

More on Catherine Schmitt’s Topic

Schmitt’s presentation is an ideal choice for the first of six 2016 Art Meets Science Cafés that will be held at the laboratory this summer as her subject reflects the theme of the MDI Biological Laboratory’s annual summer Art Meets Science exhibition, “A Fresh Field of Life: Artists, Naturalists and the Vision for Acadia.”

Schmitt will explore the role of naturalists working in region at the same time, and sometimes in partnership with, 19th century artists. The popularity of 19th century landscape paintings has been credited with stimulating interest in Mount Desert Island as a tourist destination. But the role of the early naturalists is less well known.

“The paintings, sketches, prints, maps and photographs that accompanied scientific reports contributed to the promotion of Mount Desert Island as a tourist attraction and to the public understanding of scientific principles,” Schmitt said.

Indeed, the founders of the park envisioned it as a laboratory for the observance of nature. One of the founders, George B. Dorr, helped realize this vision by establishing the MDI Biological Laboratory on Mount Desert Island in 1921.

The title of the Art Meets Science exhibit, “A Fresh Field of Life,” is drawn from remarks he made in 1916:

“…what a splendid and useful thing it would be if we could provide down here, in a spot so full of biologic interest and unsolved biologic problems, so rich in various beauty and locked around by the cool northern sea, a summer home, however simple, for [scientists] … to work on a fresh field of life, bird or plant or animal …”

The exhibit will include observations by artists on nature, from Acadia’s scenery to the microscopic world of molecular biology. One of the goals is to highlight the how the two disciplines share processes of observation, discovery and experimentation, as well as the drive to communicate a deeper understanding of the natural world.

Schmitt is the author of “Historic Acadia National Park, The Stories Behind One of America’s Great Treasures” (Lyons Press), a collection of true stories about the history of the park that was released this spring. Copies of her book will be available for sale at the event.

About the Art Meets Science Café Series

The Art Meets Science Cafés will be held every other Monday from June 20 to September 19 (see mdibl.org/events for dates and topics) in the Kinne Library at the MDI Biological Laboratory. The Art Meets Science exhibit will open at 4:15 pm on the day of Schmitt’s presentation and will be available for viewing at 4:15 pm at all future cafés.

The MDI Art Meets Science Cafés are offered by the MDI Biological Laboratory in fulfillment of its mission to increase public engagement with science. The Art Meets Science Cafés and the Art Meets Science exhibit are free and open to the public.

MDI Biological Laboratory

The MDI Biological Laboratory, located in Bar Harbor, Maine, is an independent, non-profit biomedical research institution focused on increasing healthy lifespan and increasing our natural ability to repair and regenerate tissues damaged by injury or disease. The institution develops solutions to complex human health problems through research, education and ventures that transform discoveries into cures. For more information, please visit mdibl.org.