Envisioning Evolution

(Posted June 25, 1999 · Issue 57)

Evolution is a powerful, and powerfully abstract, idea. Like the theory of gravity, the theory of evolution is ubiquitous, but hard to describe. How would you visually characterize the process? While it is possible to discuss the whys and wherefores of evolution, it is not easy to see evolution. To understand the dynamics of evolution and natural selection, both scientists and artists need to recast theories of biological change over time in visual terms. In this way, models of life on Earth - some rigorously methodical, some purely whimsical - can be built. Modern systematists attempt to understand evolutionary relationships by drawing diagrams that link species by common features and ancestors. Artists like Daniel Lee use the computer to merge photographs into arresting composites that document speculative evolutionary pathways. Such approaches allow everyone a concrete means to learn about, mull over, and understand key scientific research.

table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="8">

Vertebrate Cladogram
Each branching point, or node, on the tree represents the evolution of a new physical characteristic." This image and text from the American Museum of Natural History's Expedition: Fossils site. © American Museum of Natural History.
(Click on image to see more examples.)

Image from "Origins"
From Daniel Lee: Manimals. You can also see the fully animated Origin series.
Image from artist's recent series of work "Origin," shown at the O.K. Harris Gallery, New York. May 29 - July 2, 1999.© 1999 All rights reserved. D. Lee Associates, New York.
(Click on image to see more examples.)

dl compact>