MOUNT VERNON — Art goes under the microscope — literally — in an exhibition opening Sunday, Jan. 11, at the Peter Paul Luce Gallery in McWethy Hall at Cornell College.
Iowa City photographer Lily Michaud’s installation, “Spiritual Anatomy,” features slides of tissue samples from plants, animals and natural formations. The images are viewed with a microscope while a patron is seated at a lab table. Nearby are two anatomical posters labeled where tissue samples were taken.
Michaud’s work is paired with an installation, “Fire in the Shadows,” a collaboration with photographs by Steve Tatum of Iowa City, ceramics by Amanda Lehtola of Lawrence, Kan., and wrapped sticks by David Kamm, gallery coordinator at Luther College in Decorah.
“When you see the installations, they have some things in common that have to do with quieting of the mind to really see in a more introspective kind of way, a spiritual dimension,” says Susan Coleman, Luce Gallery coordinator.
Michaud’s work explores the subtle energy of the body, as well as the sense that our inner experience contains the whole world. The philosophical context of the work comes from mystical Hinduism. Michaud, who received an M.F.A. in photography from the University of New Mexico, studied with Tibetan monks in India.
“When examined under the microscope the slides reveal images extracted from the subtle body, rather than gross anatomy,” she says. “Looking through the microscope gives the viewer an intimate experience where everything besides the image disappears. It also places their experience within the context of scientific inquiry. The images, on the other hand, are associated with meditative introspection. Faced with this paradox, viewers are asked to reconsider their experience of their own body.”
“Fire in the Shadows” features Tatum’s prints of negatives — dark objects are pictured as light, and vice versa — created with a pinhole camera. He collaborated with ceramist Lehtola for an exhibition installed by Kamm at Luther in 2002. All three earned degrees at the University of Iowa.
An opening reception is Jan. 11 from 2-4 p.m. The exhibition continues through Feb. 15. Gallery hours are 9-4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 2-4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.