Book: Linking Arts with Biocultural Conservation, Restoration, and Communication
Chapter Title: How the Invisible Becomes Visible: Situating Scientific Illustration in Biocultural Communication
Abstract
As the world changes, so do the ways in which we live and communicate. Drawing is an essential part of our shared human heritage, and it was first used to communicate as well as to document everyday life. After the advent of photography and technological advancement, illustrators started to push beyond literal representation of what was visible to the human eye.
The role of scientific illustration has changed and evolved from a purely descriptive role to something else; artists began to illustrate microscopic beings and features, phenomena invisible to the human eye, and abstract concepts. It is also used to spread messages. Scientific illustration can be a tool of biocultural conservation through the incorporation of memory, heritage, and place-based knowledge.
Through a survey of scientific illustrators over the past century, I will demonstrate how artists’ cultures and worldviews combine with their scientific illustration to communicate biocultural narratives. Through their illustrations, artists often convey complex ideas and phenomena that are invisible to the human eye. How an artist chooses to illustrate these phenomena is evolving as technology evolves, but what remains constant is that the illustrations are imbued with the perspective and worldview of the illustrator. Illustrators often intentionally carry additional meaning beyond the literal representation, with ethical implications as to how humans should engage with the natural world.