Bio/Med SciART

Juror Statements & Bios

Over the past 18-years, as the founder/director of Art & Science Collaborations, I have been following the work of artists inspired by or utilizing science and/or technology to explore new forms of creative expression.  Because of my formal art training in printmaking, ASCI has remained committed to the promotion of the relatively new digital print medium via this annual exhibition. This year, I decided to jump into the juror “hot seat” to collaborate with a science museum expert, Dr. Ramunas Kondratas, Curator of the Medical Collections in the Division of Medicine and Science at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, to co-juror the open, international competition that creates this exhibition. As with any piece of art that I look at, I considered the strength of concept, techniques serving the image, and a personal aesthetic.  However, both jurors also decided that an apparent “Bio/Med” visual message would be an important selection criterion for science museum audiences.  Ray’s knowledge of science helped me to understand and further appreciate some of the metaphoric symbology and dichotomies found in the art. The selection collaboration was a fun and enlightening process. It was also great to see some scientists/technologists in the group!

– Cynthia Pannucci, Founder/Director, Art & Science Collaborations, Inc.



When Cynthia asked me to co-juror this competition, I responded “Why me? I’ve never done anything like this before.” “But you have always been looking at scientific images,” she said.  After thinking for a bit, I realized she was right.  As a student of science and later as a curator working to preserve and document the tools of science and medicine, especially through documentary films and videohistories, I have seen many images produced by science and of science. But I never had to really evaluate such images from an artistic perspective and that is why this competition was such an adventure for me.  I first looked at each image as a work of art – composition, form, colors - helped no doubt by over 25 years of looking at art (mostly during lunch hours) on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Then I asked if the image “says science” in some pretty obvious way by just looking at it, without having to read the Artist’s Statement.  I was greatly surprised that mine and Cynthia’s choices overlapped nearly 90%.  We had to debate and find consensus about very few works. I am very pleased with the quality of the images and the messages they convey, and hope you enjoy them.

- Dr. Ramunas Kondratas, Curator of the medical collections in the Division of Medicine and Science at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History

Ramunas (Ray) Kondratas, Ph.D. is Curator of the medical collections in the Division of Medicine and Science at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. He has published broadly in the history of science, medicine, and technology. Recent publications include the book Images From the History of the Public Health Service (1995),the special issue of the pictorial journal for the history of the health sciences Caduceus (winter, 1997) on 150 years of collecting medical artifacts at the Smithsonian Institution (guest editor and contributor), and a CD on the History of Medical Ultrasound (2003). In his more than 25-year career at the Smithsonian, Kondratas has helped create films and a large video and oral history archive documenting science in American life in the 20th century - primarily in the areas of biomedical instrumentation, medical imaging, and biotechnology.He has lectured widely, served on editorial boards and as consultant to numerous organizations.He has been responsible for many exhibitions on various topics in the history of health care.

Cynthia Pannucci’s 28-year personal artistic career directly informs her current work as one of the leaders of the international art-science-technology field. Her artwork embraced many media: printmaking, painted fabrics, silk-screened quilts, one-of-a-kind clothing, mixed-media, photography, and interactive sculpture. Highlights include: founding director of The Peru Workshop, VT [1976-1978]; a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship [1981]; Adjunct instructor at the Fashion Institute, NYC; exhibiting at The American Craft Museum and Cooper-Hewitt museums in New York City; and commissions from The Discovery Museum, Bridgeport, CT; The Staten Island Children's Museum, the Metropolitan Transit Authority, NYC, as well as private and corporate clients. In 1988, Ms. Pannucci became the founder and director of Art & Science Collaborations, Inc. (ASCI), a nonprofit organization based in New York City. Under her leadership and artistic direction, ASCI was instrumental in reinvigorating the "art & technology" field in the United States [1990's], and coalescing the international "art-science" field through its seminal panel discussions and four, international ArtSci symposia on collaboration [1998-2002].