NPR

Artist's Exhibit Borrows Human Tech To Solve Nature's Manmade Problems

Artist and philosopher Jonathon Keats didn't need to create anything new to show the absurdity of human problem-solving. All he had to do was give human technology to animals.
In an exhibit at the Samek Art Museum, artist Jonathon Keats explores what the world would look like if animals and plants got to use human innovation for their own benefit. Here, flowers use "botanical sex toys" to simulate bee pollination. "What got me thinking was the fact that (artificial pollination) didn't seem like much fun for the plants," Keats says.

Humans have long looked to animals for design inspiration. From basic camouflage to a quiet bullet train in Japan to the Wright brothers' wings, the process called biomimicry is a basic tenet of human engineering.

Jonathon Keats has turned it on its head.

The artist and, at the Samek Art Museum at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, is a thought experiment on the selfish ways we humans innovate.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR2 min readCrime & Violence
Guatemalan AG Raids Save The Children Office Over A Migrant Children Rights Complaint
Prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche said that the complaint filed by an unidentified foreigner had raised serious concerns because it involved allegations of abuse of children.
NPR3 min readAmerican Government
Trump's Immunity Arguments And The Experiences Of The Justices Who Might Support It
Five of the six conservatives spent much of their lives in the Beltway, working in the White House and Justice Department, seeing their administrations as targets of unfair harassment by Democrats.
NPR2 min readCrime & Violence
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 Sex Crimes Conviction In New York Overturned
The New York State Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the former movie mogul had not received a fair trial in 2020 that led to a 23-year sentence, and ordered a new trial.

Related Books & Audiobooks