On View:  January 15 – March 28, 2009

Arp’s Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies

Exhibition Statement

Arp’s Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies

In 1966, astronomer Halton Arp published an astonishing compilation of photographs that featured the most bizarrely shaped galaxies and galaxy associations then known to exist. He titled his work Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies. Though initially shunned by conventional astronomers who were more intent on understanding the forces affecting “normal” galaxies, Arp’s Atlas would ultimately raise our awareness of what galaxies are and how they form and change over billions of years. Typically, we picture these vast star systems as spheres, disks, whirlpools, and pinwheels—in other words, patterns that embody both order and symmetry. But while Arp’s galaxies contain some of these recognizable features, they are often assembled—or disassembled—into configurations that are both grotesque and compelling. All evoke a single question: why do they look the way they do?

Like the unique astronomical-themed art pieces accompanying this exhibit, Arp’s peculiar galaxies appeal to our senses by showing us alternative ways of looking at what is natural, or normal, in the world. Moreover, as with any excellent work of art, they are each unique and always greater than the sum of their parts. In this exhibit, science and art were seamless. Where does one begin and the other end?

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Artists

Lita Albuquerque
Shawn Brixey
Vija Celmins
Russell Crotty
Peter de Lory
J. Brett Grill
John Hess
Michiko Itatani
Christina Licata
Sara Mast
Michael C. McMillian
Anna Von Mertens
Trevor Paglen
June Wayne
Tom Yanke Sr