Tang's Molecules That Matter opens

More than 500 visitors checked out Molecules That Matter at the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery on its opening day, Saturday, Sept. 8. There they could take in a discussion of art and science, attend an opening reception for all four current exhibitions, and click on to the new Molecules Web site, laden with additional facts and stories about each molecule, at computers set up throughout the gallery.

Co-curated by Skidmore chemistry professor Ray Giguere and Tang director John Weber, Molecules That Matter spotlights 10 of the 20th century's most significant carbon-based molecules: aspirin, isooctane, penicillin, polyethylene, nylon, DNA, progestin, DDT, Prozac, and buckminsterfullerene. To illuminate both the organic chemistry and its social and historical impact, the two curators put together an innovative mix of science, art, and material culture, working in partnership with the Philadelphia-based Chemical Heritage Foundation, which provided a number of historical artifacts and documents.

	Model of a Prozac molecule

All around the exhibition, models of the molecules' chemical structures?2.5 billion times larger, but scientifically accurate?float suspended from the gallery's walls and ceilings. (The isooctane molecule is about as big as a jet ski, the Prozac molecule as long as a hang glider). Each molecule is surrounded with an evocative array of related cultural artifacts and artworks, such as the pair of pink plastic lawn flamingoes accompanying polyethylene, along with Tony Cragg's sprightly wall relief, New Figuration, made up of discarded plastic items like broken garden tools, toys, bottles, and a red Bic lighter.

Curators Weber and Giguere led an afternoon panel discussion that brought together artists, scientists, and Skidmore faculty to share their reflections on the exhibition. Participating artists Michael Oatman and Melissa Gwyn described how their fascination with science animated their artworks that appear in the show. Mary C. Lynn, from Skidmore's American studies faculty, spoke about the Pill (progestin) and the sexual revolution. Mercer University chemistry professor Robert Hargrove, a member of the exhibition's scientific advisory board, noted that we are all "users of molecules-and this exhibition allows us to also be appreciators."

Envisioned by the curators as a starting point to engage the imagination, inspire curiosity, and spark interest in learning more about science, Molecules That Matter will travel (after closing at the Tang on April 13, 2008) to the new Hach Gallery at the Chemical Heritage Foundation's Roy Eddleman Institute for Interpretation and Education; the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio; Baylor University in Waco, Texas; and Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa.

For more information about Molecules That Matter and its upcoming public events, call 518-580-8080 or go to the Tang Web site.