Jeppson Idea Lab: Michael Benson
Carina Nebula Hubble Space Telescope, March and July 2005, and European Southern Observatory 2.2 meter telescope, La Silla, Chile, 1999, 2000
Jeppson Idea Lab: Michael Benson
Carina Nebula Hubble Space Telescope, March and July 2005, and European Southern Observatory 2.2 meter telescope, La Silla, Chile, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003. Image created by Michael Benson in 2008 by combining data from the NASA-ESA Hubble Space Telescope and from the European Southern Observatory 2.2 meter telescope, La Silla, Chile. Chromogenic print, 2012 Stoddard Acquisition Fund, 2013.4
An exhibit that's out of this world - Worcester Telegram and Gazette
January - June 22, 2014
This Jeppson Idea Lab project introduces a photograph of the Carina Nebula printed exclusively for WAM and acquired for the collection in 2013. It represents a unique point of contact between contemporary art and science. One of the overriding questions provoked by viewing this image in an art museum is, “When is data art?” It is a question that is closely tied to the history of photography and the evolving role of technology in image production. While humans have been fascinated with the sky since prehistory, a vista with this level of detail has only been available to us quite recently. This seamless photographic mosaic combines the talents and imaginations of astronomers and engineers using both space and land-based telescopes with sophisticated cameras, and artist Michael Benson.
The Carina Nebula, an area of space about 10,000 light years away, is among the brightest parts of the Milky Way visible from Earth. It is an are