Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • 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.
    by Miles Parks Mar 31, 2017 2 minutes
    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

    NPR3 min read
    Barge Hits Bridge Connecting Galveston And Pelican Island, Causing Oil To Spill
    The collision's impact sent pieces of the bridge, which connects Galveston to Pelican Island, tumbling on top of the barge and shut down a stretch of waterway so crews could clean up the spill.
    NPR12 min read
    Private Mission To Save The Hubble Space Telescope Raises Concerns, NASA Emails Show
    When a private space traveler said he wanted to take a SpaceX capsule on a mission to improve the aging Hubble telescope, NASA studied the options. Internal emails show concern about the risk.
    NPR8 min readAmerican Government
    Anti-war Protests, A Chicago DNC: Is It 1968 All Over Again? Some Historians Say No
    There are clear similarities between 1968 and 2024, from presidential elections and anti-war protests to new Planet of the Apes movies. But historians tell NPR there are some key differences too.

    Related Books & Audiobooks