Throwback Thursday: Mixing art with science

How much of art is inspired by the nature? This 1974 photo from Inside Baylor Medicine (predecessor to BCM Family), courtesy of the Baylor College of Medicine Archives, shows us how seemingly mundane shapes can be brought to life through art.

Dr. Phil Hendren, left, constructed large metal sculptures that were on display at an exhibit sponsored by Baylor’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Named “Life Shapes,” the exhibit took place at The Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston.

The sculptures were representations of the five Platonic solids, defined by Plato in fourth century B.C.  The late Dr. Vernon Knight, chair of microbiology and immunology at the time, explained that mineral crystals, viruses, and other forms of biological life often take form in one of these five solids.

Hendren’s work is definitely one concrete example of art imitating life.

-By Nicole Blanton