Artists and Scientists Discuss Their Common Path at July 1 Science Café

BAR HARBOR, MAINE – Two Mt. Desert Island artists and two scientists from the MDI Biological Laboratory  will talk about the similarities between art and science at the MDI Science Café at the Asticou Inn in Northeast Harbor on Monday, July 1, at 5 p.m.

Artists Nancy Manter and Ben Lincoln have collaborated and shared ideas with scientists Voot Yin, Ph.D., and Dustin Updike, Ph.D., over the past year. At the science café, they will discuss what they have learned about art and science as complementary creative processes.

“While art and science are often viewed as vastly different disciplines practiced by highly divergent personalities,” Lincoln says, “I have found the opposite to be true. Why do particular arrangements of molecules result in living organisms? Why do particular arrangements of shape and color appear beautiful to our eyes? The simple yet elegant mystery that lies behind both of these questions leads artists and scientists down different paths, but in both cases it calls to creative minds inspired by curiosity.”

Art produced as a result of the collaboration, along with scientific images and science-inspired work by over 25 other Maine artists, is currently on exhibit at MDIBL in Salisbury Cove. Reservations for tours can be made by calling 207.288.3147. Updike and Yin are both faculty members in the Davis Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine at MDIBL, where they study the biological mechanisms that enable certain cells to resist aging and some organisms to replace damaged limbs and organs.

MDIBL sponsors the MDI Science Cafés to give the public opportunities to learn about new ways of understanding science and the world. Each café lasts about an hour and includes plenty of time for questions and debate. There is no charge and refreshments are available. Cafés will be held on alternate Mondays at 5 p.m. at the Asticou Inn through September 9. See mdibl.org or call 207.288.3147 for more information.