by Judith Baker and John Beaver
all text and images copyright 2000 by Judith Baker and John Beaver, unless noted otherwise
An artist and an astronomer have collaborated on an extensive art/science exhibition, combining art with interactive astronomy exhibits. Judith Baker and John Beaver participated equally in the creation of the exhibition, so much so that the works are left unsigned.
Many of the nearly sixty pieces are direct collaborations: Beaver's astrophotography incorporated into Baker's painting, for example.
Astronomy provides the connecting thread for all the pieces, but other, more traditional artistic themes weave through the exhibition as well.
A primary goal is to educate about both art and astronomy, using each as a point of departure for the other.
Astronomy: Images, Ideas and Perspectives is not an exhibit of "space art."
Baker and Beaver wanted to stay away from simply producing more "artist's representations" of this galaxy or that planet.
Instead, for subject matter they focus on the forms and processes
at work in our universe, the mythological figures associated with the planets, how the stars and galaxies are arranged in space, how the universe changes over time, how our own Earth-bound perspective affects what we see.
Daytime Moon Through the Telescope June 8, 3 p.m.
Watercolor, 11" x 14"