Scientists are a lot like Trekkies
In Star Trek, Vulcan males and females go into heat every seven years. During this period in Vulcan physiology, they descend into a blood fever, becoming violent, and finally dying if they do not mate with someone with whom they are empathically bonded. As you may already know, this is commonly referred to as “pon farr.” In the most recent installment in this venerable franchise, director J.J. Abrams chose to completely ignore this rudimentary fact in the Star-Trek mythos by allowing Spock to carry on a romantic relationship with Uhura. This is one of many things that irked me about the latest Star Trek film.
When I was given the task of completing a series of plant and animal illustrations for a natural history museum in Grand Bay, MS, my initial reaction was ‘wow, I guess my paintings will hang in a museum after all - take that Mr. Herzberg!’ Maybe I haven’t been wasting my time all these years. So, as I began to send off completed paintings for client review, it turned out that the client sometimes had a very different idea of what these specimens should look like. As an artist, I’m always striving to create something that is aesthetically pleasing to look at. However, visual aesthetics and scientific accuracy don’t always result in a successful union.
“Why is there red on this Egret? Egrets are white!”
“It’s called reflected light! The sunset is casting a red glow off the water which is reflecting onto the Egret. It just looks cooler that way.”
“………… get rid of it”
So I began to realize that scientists are a lot like trekkies. To the ordinary person, these tiny details seem insignificant, but to the aficionado these things are paramount. In the end, the visitor is the innocent bystander. Hopefully they enjoy the fruits of our labor.
Posted by: Phil
June 25th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Good luck Phil. I know how thoses scientists can be, being one myself. You guys did a great job on our estuary exhibit here at the GTM Research Reserve in Ponte Vedra FL. We get thousands of visitors each year that enjoy the fruits of your labor. A lot of them are birders that marvel at the scientific accuracy you have been able to provide to the exhibit. One comment we overheard about our lifesize right whale was “wow thats even better that the whale at the natural history museum”. Keep up the good work!