On-Site Exhibits

Ancient Microworlds

Applied science collides with the visual arts in Ancient Microworlds as the high-tech practice of macrophotography introduces viewers to a new way of appreciating fossils – magnified over 30 times their true size.

This exhibit traces its origin to the mid 1980s to renaissance man Dr. Giraud Foster. While assembling a book on ancient jewelry, this physician/photographer/biochemist/archeologist approached fellow photographer Norman Barker for help in developing a system of scanning light microscopy that would permit the jewelry to remain in focus when highly magnified by camera, rather than become progressively blurry as the magnification increased. The two men began collaborating on this mission by practicing the technique on fossils with the ultimate outcome providing significant inspiration to the scientific community as well art aficionados.

While some of the exhibit’s images such as a leaf or shell may be easily recognizable to the perceptive viewer, other objects photographed at even greater levels of magnification gradually become more geometrically abstract and pique the imagination as true objets d’art. New textures materialize and arrestingly vibrant colors erupt, opening the door for archaeological advancement in studies of specimens as well as aesthetically stimulating innovations in the world of photography. Whether you approach the exhibit with in-depth knowledge of micro-paleo-photography or are simply curious about the swirls of colors and shapes that may be hidden in a dinosaur bone, Ancient Microworlds promises to intrigue.