The University of Wisconsin’s Cool Science Image Contest taps into the creative processes of both the judges and participants. In its 13th annual contest, contestants submitted projects spanning from visuals of chemical reactions to a unique portrait of a Nobel Prize-winning physicist.
Kaitlin Moore, a graduate student studying English, submitted an astrophotograph of the Milky Way Galaxy. What makes this photograph stand out is the pink and purple colors, Moore said in an email statement to The Badger Herald.
“[It was] both a means of meditating on the cosmos and as an art form that shapes my academic work,” Moore said, regarding why they used an astrophotograph.
Stratospheric aerosols after a volcanic eruption scatter and bend light as the sun rises or dips past the horizon, Moore said. This creates a glow in the sky and vibrant colors.
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When explaining why they decided to join the contest, Moore said finishing their dissertation in the summer of 2022 in New Zealand allowed them to reflect on the ways science and art are “mutually interactive in the process of meaning making.”
Along with Moore, physics graduate student Aedan Gardill said in an email statement to The Badger Herald he had known about the contest for a few years. After making the portraits with polarizer film and cellophane, he decided to submit a picture.
Gardill’s submission was a portrait of the first female to win a Nobel Prize, Marie Curie. What makes this portrait unique is the polarizing filter Gardill used to take this picture. The filter blocks all light except for specific wavelengths creating a very colorful and distinctive portrait, according to Gardill. This series of polarizer portraits also includes other scientists.
When asked about what makes this polarizer portrait different from others, Gardill said fully experiencing the portrait can only happen in person.
“In person, the portrait is ‘invisible,’ but by looking through a linear polarizer the colors of the portrait are revealed,” Gardill said.
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Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Steve Ackerman judged the contest and offered his insight on how he scored art pieces.
Ackerman said it was extremely difficult narrowing down the field. He starts by looking at whether the colors complement each other and help emphasize the science the image represents.
“I also look for interesting textures in the artwork and if my gaze flows through the image in a way that helps the art but also the science that is represented,” Ackerman said.
UW’s Cool Science Image Contest showcased a wide variety of scientific and artistic creativity. The winning projects are on display until the end of 2023 at the Wisconsin Institutes of Medical Research.
