What do you get when you cross an experimental scientist with Einstein, bacteria, and radiation? No, this isn't one of your dad's "No soap, radio" non-sequiturs— it's the incredibly successful artwork of microbiologist-artist Zachary Copfer.Above? Almost-Warholian "bacteriographic" petri dish portraits of Einstein's iconic tongue image. Below? A few more familiar famous faces get Copfer's trademark microbe treatment:
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From Zachary Copfer:While in grad school, I began to use art as a vehicle to rediscover the mysteries of science that once fascinated me so. Now, I create visual art that is about deeply exploring the beauty and poetry that reside in scientific theories. My methods are often a fusion of contemporary artistic and modern scientific practices. I have called upon my background in microbiology to employ various bacteria as my artistic medium of choice. I am fascinated by the ability to make visible the living blanket of microorganisms that exist just beyond the human range of perception and that without our knowledge affect us so intimately.Below, a video that displays the growth process of Copfer's bacteriographic portrait of English comedian Stephen Fry, and, below it, more images of his microbial bio-artworks:
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