The Fitzwilliam museum will be showcasing how they use light to uncover stories from within some of the world’s most historic manuscripts during events on 10, 11 and 17 March. Elsewhere, the Institute of Astronomy (IoA), between 16 and 21 March, will combine glass sculptures and poetry to shed new light on vast and tiny worlds that telescopes and microscopes show to us. This artwork relates directly to the astro-medical PathGrid project in which cancer specialists and space scientists are working together to more accurately diagnose cancer patients.
The Fitzwilliam museum collection of illuminated manuscripts includes over 5,000 pieces and spans over 4,000 years of western history and culture. The upcoming events will focus on the Grand Heures of Philip the Bold, a 14th century collection of prayers and religious imagery from France, and the Breslau Psalter, a 13th century volume featuring over 200 separate illustrations created and embellished by many different artists.
These events form part of the Manuscript Illumination: Non-invasive Analysis, Research and Expertise (MINIARE) project, in which researchers in the Fitzwilliam Museum use different forms of light – many invisible to the human eye – to reveal hidden layers and details within historic and ancient manuscripts. The secrets of the artists that made them, structure of their societies, how they interacted, traded and their shifts in social fashions may all be hidden within the colourful layers of these precious documents.
Dr Paola Ricciardi, one of the researchers studying these artefacts, said: “We are using a range of non-invasive analytical instruments, which exploit different types of electromagnetic radiation – from X-rays to infrared light – to identify the materials and painting techniques used by medieval illuminators and to visualise preparatory sketches and changes to the image’s composition, which are not visible to the naked eye.
“The MINIARE project is the first research effort focused specifically on the cross-disciplinary study of illuminated manuscripts. The stunning manuscripts collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum allows an unprecedented opportunity for a systematic and in-depth study of these manuscripts and their makers.”
In a more modern collaboration between visual artistry and the written word, glass artist Livvy Fink and poet Ezra Rubenstein present their combined works at the LENS exhibition; a collaboration with the Cambridge Institute of Astronomy and Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Cambridge Institute. Through elegant glass sculpture and poetic verse, the exhibition will reveal spectacular hidden worlds and will question the parallels that exist between the worlds of the very large and the vanishingly small.
The LENS exhibition captures the essence of the PathGrid scientific research project, highlighting parallels between the cells in our body and the celestial bodies of the universe. PathGrid takes advantage of computer programs developed to track stars in the sky to begin chasing down cancer cells in tissue samples from patients and helping to distinguish different types of cancer, which may allow doctors to find more effective treatment regimes.
Scientists from the IoA and CRUK are working together on PathGrid to adapt scientific techniques, initially developed to study stars and identify galaxies, to the microscopic worlds within the human body.
Speaking about PathGrid, Dr Nicholas Walton, one of the leading astrophysicists on the project, said: “The LENS glass works provide an inspiring new view on the connections between us, as living individuals, and our place in the wider cosmos. In practical terms LENS, illustrates how techniques developed to study objects in the night sky can have a direct relevance in helping to address the study of cancer.”
Other events exploring how art and science interact include:
Monday 9 – Cambridge shorts. A premiere of several short films created by upcoming filmmakers in collaboration with Cambridge scientists.
Thursday 12 – Some essential links between maths and the arts. Theoretical physicist and Professor of Mathematical Sciences, John Barrow, investigates the hidden mathematics in everything from building design to text fonts.
Saturday 14 –The Language of Light. An opportunity to discover how light has influenced the development of human language and the words we use to describe it.
Satruday 21 – Printmaking under the southern sun. Giving visitors the chance to combine science and traditional printing methods for themselves.
Image: Illuminated manuscript. Credit: Fitzwilliam Museum
MINIARE - Manuscript Illumination: Non-invasive Analysis, Research and Expertise. MINIARE is an interdisciplinary project combining advanced scientific methods to study illuminated manuscripts. It will undertake non-invasive analysis of illuminated manuscripts including those from Western, Egyptian, Byzantine, Slavonic, Armenian, Persian, Mughal, Ottoman, Sanskrit and Tibetan cultures (1350 BC - 19th c. AD). The results will add to understanding of artistic, cultural, political, social and economic environments throughout history. Making the most of Cambridge's exceptional collections and expertise, MINIARE will bring the sciences, arts and humanities together in unprecedented and exciting ways. The long-term goal is to establish a centre to foster collaboration with research institutions world-wide and help to train a new generation of scholars bridging the gap between the arts and sciences.
PathGrid - This project is applying astronomical image processing and data handling techniques to the challenges involved in analysing microscopic medical image data. The resulting data products are interfaced to the clinical trials systems generally in use in the medical domain. Project partners include the Institute of Astronomy and Department of Oncology at the University of Cambridge together with the Cambridge Research Institute, Cancer Research UK. Oracle (EMEA Research) are industrial partners of the project.
For further information about the Cambridge Science Festival or to browse the full range of events, please visit: www.sciencefestival.cam.ac.uk
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Making light of art and science
5 March 2015
During the UNESCO international year of light, the Cambridge Science Festival 2015, which starts on Monday (March 9th) and runs for two weeks, is staging a series of events that reveal what different uses of light can teach us about the history of human society, how it has helped us make sense of the world we live in and what it could teach us about humanity’s future directions.