The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4B - Thursday, October 13, 2011 I CELLULAR CREATIVITY Art under the microscope DTHE VAULT 'SHERLOCK JR:(1924), METRO PICTURES Bioartography looks at aesthetics of microbes By ELLIOT ALPERN Daily Arts Writer The image - a blue backdrop with swirls of yellow, clusters of red dots and a certain dis- cernible texture - could easily be attributed as a post-Impres- sionist oil painting. Its title is "Van Gogh's Skin," alluding to the close resemblance in col- ors and pattern with the Dutch master's famous "Starry Night." However, the nuanced hues and seemingly intricate design belie the picture's true nature - that wavy red band at the top is actu- ally the skin surface of a mouse, and those red dots are stained tumor cells. The image is a sample of bas- al-cell carcinoma, the most com- mon type of skin cancer found in humans and a valuable affliction to study through the use of ani- mal research at the University's Center for Organogenesis. And "Van Gogh's Skin" is an example of bioartography, which presents one of the few oppor- tunities for typically unrelated fields - in this case biology, pho- tography, and art - to be amal- gamated. Such a coalition opens up the chance to tap into a vast endless subject matter: nature. None should know this bet- ter than Brad Smith, the associ- ate dean for creative work at the School of Art & Design, and a professor who previously direct- ed a program in biomedical illus- tration. "What nature presents to us, and what we discover and find and unearth in nature, is very visually rich, and opens up many intriguing questions just by looking at it and seeing it," Smith said. The idea of bioartography was conceived six years ago as an answer to a completely different problem: restrictions on trav- el money for student training grants. Strapped for extra fund- ing, Deborah Gumucio, a pro- fessor in the Medical School's department of cell and devel- opmental biology, and her col- leagues realized that the answer was all around them. "We thought, 'Well, what've we got that we can raise money with?' " Gumucio said. "And we realized that our images were really gorgeous and that a lot of them were artistic and had a lot of artistic appeal." The work also represents a different side of the art umbrel- la. Unlike pastorals or scenic views, the pieces are a direct result of natural elements, rath- er than a simple inspiration from the subject. "Art can sometimes be inor- ganic, but the art of a butterfly, or the art of a flower, or a person - any of that visual art is organ- ic," Gumucio said. "And this is just going deeper with it - this is just beginning to look at the structure not only of a tissue, but going deeper to look at the struc- ture of the cells." The images are a by-product of research in organogenesis, but still have value after their scien- tific purpose has been fulfilled. However, the photos are never done solely for the sake of art. Nicole Evans, a graduate stu- dent in the Medical School's cell and developmental biol- ogy department and a two-time recipient of the travel grant, gave insight into the process of bioartography. "We never stain something with seven colors to take a bio- artography picture," she said. "We're taking pictures for our research to better understand organogenesis and development in general, and we happen to come across something cool. It's never forced." The actual method of prepar- ing the tissues for photography varies depending on whether the specimen is animal (which is transparent and needs to be dyed) or plant (which has its own natural pigment). For the cells that need to be stained, a liquid is added that contains either chemical agents or anti- bodies. These agents or antibod- ies bind to the cells, infusing them with color. "Our favorite colors in this context are blue, red and green," Gumucio said, describing the analysis for research purposes. "The microscopes are able to shine just the right wavelength of light to fluoresce the dyes." Once a photo is taken, it may go through a range of manipulation effects, including color inversion or addition. The "Van Gogh's Skin" piece is a prime example: The yellow streaks that create the effect of a nighttime sky were added to the image of basal-cell carcinoma after the picture was taken. Such alterations are com- pletely aesthetic, and act only to enhance the natural beauty that is already present. Once the photos have been submitted and selected as can- didates for being exhibited, they are compiled into a book and sent to various art authorities for further consultation and selec- tion. Smith has been a yearly fix- ture in the process. "If it captures my imagina- tion, then I give ita higher rank- ing," Smith said. "And what focuses my imagination, for me, is that it's got to have something very visually interesting. There's something about composition, pattern, color, texture - the form itself." Once the year's collection has been selected, the images are put online, where they can be bought as prints. However, the most important medium for the artwork is the Ann Arbor Art Fairs, where the bioartography booth is staffed with faculty and medical students who work with the images regularly. "To the public ... it makes them feel like they have a con- nection to the science that might be something they don't neces- sarily understand," Evans said of working atthe booth. "Itgives them a connection to what we do here." And though the University of Michigan is the only univer- sity to have a specific bioartog- raphy program, the practice of microscopic photo art is receiv- ing worldwide attention. Nikon holds an annual "Small World" contest, in which organisms, minerals and other materials are blown up and entered into a com- petition - in the 2011 contest, the top prize was for the expanded image of an insect larva's head. Popular Science magazine has also been known to frequently publish microscopic images. These venues, along with the University's bioartography pro- gram, reveal the art within an arm's length - all one has to do is look a little bit closer. I I Buster Keaton's nickname was The Great Stone Face. The epitoCmeyof slap,"sti~ck comedy 4 By PHILIP CONKLIN Daily Arts Writer In our time, so far removed from the early days of cinema, silent films are considered obscure, art-house curios to be enjoyed by serious connoisseurs. Film aesthetics have changed so much that the films made dur- ing cinema's infancy may now seem inaccessible for the average moviegoer. But in the late teens and early '20s of the last century, when film was still a nascent art form, it was entertainment for the masses. The period's reigning genre, the slapstick comedy - the best of which today are revered as high art - were originally enjoyed by every average Joe with a spare nickel. One of the masters of this early film genre was Buster Keaton. Of the great slapstick comedi- ans, Buster Keaton was the fun- niest. Whereas many films of the time tended toward sentimental- ity, Keaton's films were purely and unrelentingly funny. Today, Keaton is remembered most for his amazing stunts, which he performed himself - he even sometimes did other actors' stunts if they were too dangerous - but he was also one of the best directors of the silent era. And in "Sherlock Jr.," arguably his best film, Keaton is at the top of his game. "Sherlock Jr." stars Keaton as a film projectionist who aspires to be a great detective. The first scene shows him sitting in the back of the empty theater read- ing a book called "How to be a Detective." As in all his mov- ies, Keaton is a hapless, ingenu- ous but resourceful young man with high ideals and unflappable determination. In this film, the object of that determination (as in nearly every slapstick comedy) is a beautiful ingenue, cleverly called The Girl. But just when Keaton's court- ing of The Girl is starting to go well, it all goes beautifully and hilariously wrong. When a com- peting courter (Ward Crane) frames Keaton for stealing The Girl's father's watch, the aspiring detective decides to put his bud- ding skills to the test. The real fun begins when Keaton falls asleep in his projec- tion booth and dreams himself into the film he is projecting. In this dream movie, which shares the plot and characters of his real-life conundrum but in a high-society setting, he is the suave, titular Sherlock Jr., "the best detective in the world." In the raised stakes of the dream movie, Keaton must solve the crime and win The Girl, among a melee of hulking hench- men, high-speed car chases, incredible death-defying stunts and head-turningtricks. More than anything, "Sher- lock Jr." is a funny paragon of slapstick comedy. The film is sat- urated with gags, each one more hilarious than the last. Every second is funny, which speaks to Keaton's ability as both a film- maker and performer. Keaton's nickname was The Great Stone Face, because whatever befell him, he always retained his bemused expression. He relied on nuance, transforming the smallest gestures into brilliant comedy. A film, within a film, within a film. But "Sherlock Jr." transcends broad comedy. Back in 1924, Buster Keaton was already chal- lenging the conventions of film. One of the best and funniest comedies of all time, the film also grapples with questions about the nature of cinema - half of the action takes place in asfilm within the film within a dream, and this was 86 years before "Inception." By all accounts, "Sherlock Jr." is way ahead of its time. It con- tains ground-breaking special effects: In one scene, after leav- ing his sleeping body, Buster walks into the film he is project- ing - which is something Woody Allen did 60 years later in "Pur- ple Rose of Cairo." And Keaton's intricately choreographed stunts, done with the crude technology of the time, were unparalleled before and have been since. Silent films represent some of thegreatest works of cinema, and are regretfully neglected by most filmgoers today. These films are not inaccessible, nor incompre- hensible. They're fun and enter- taining. "Sherlock Jr." is not only one of the best of these, but also a great gateway into that legend- ary silent filmgenre, the slapstick comedy. c AT f'TA~r "Van Gogh's Skin" is actually made up oftthe epithelial cells of a mouse carci- noma and are stained with antibodies. The images chosen for bio-artography are stained with color for the purposes of science, not for aesthetics. Pro Nails PRO NAILS 871 West Eisenhower Parkway Ann Arbor, MI 48103 PROFESSIONAL NAIL CARE SERVICES: (734) 2 850 MANICURE, PEDICURE, ACRYLIC,( PINK & WHITE, SILK WRAP, GEL, (734) 0200 SOLAR GEL, COLOR GEL, SOAK OFF GEL, SHELLAC, AXXIUM, NAILS ART, WAXING, AND MORE! GEL SHELLAC SPECIAL: $28 GREAT DISCOUNT FOR UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN STUDEN SPECIAL DISCOUNT & PICK UP/DROP OFF FOR GROUPS OF S $1000 CHRISTMAS DRAWINGY PLEASE CONTACT PRO NAILS FOR CHRISTMAS DRAWING RULES AND DETA i *ir %i UEr nI HELP U5 BET IAIt. Follow @michigandaily.