Art of the Issue

Nina Gonzalez-Park

La Divina Envuelta en Huevo juxtaposes welded steel with a deceptive organic form, illuminating a fascination with voluptuous figures that we have had since at least 35,000 years ago. Figurative art across time and cultures, like the Venus of Hohle Fels (40,000-35,000 BP), Gabarnmung rock-art site (> 28,000 BP) and Jōmon Dogū (14,000-400 BC), is evidence of the cognitive abilities unique to humans. Even 100,000 years ago, our ancestors were in the Blombos Cave of modern-day South Africa demonstrating the beginnings of an active, creative mind as they manufactured and used paint.

Mayah Pico

Food for thought: plant diagrams and evolutionary predecessors, construction of pyramids and conception of ancient calendars, numeral systems and primeval experimentation, engineering of early transportation and Indigenous knowledge of the natural world. What did science look like before we coined the term "science" and restricted what contributions to the mainstream scientific world could look like? This piece traces the history of scientific thought and its manifestations back to their origins. It directs our attention to the people, places, plants and projects that have shaped the human quest for calculated knowledge.