Science and Art Interwoven at Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum

Historically we have tended too often to separate art and science. Perhaps there should not even be such a division. There can be no question that art and science come together more than they diverge. Both artists and scientists start from a blank slate, exploring similar undiscovered languages, in a search for the unknown and the fantastic.

Cheetah™ Flex-Foot®, worn by Marlon Shirley, paralympic gold medalist; Ossur North America; designed by Van Phillips; engineered by Hilary Pouchak; textile manufactured by Newport Adhesives & Composites; U.S.A., 2000.

The great Leonardo da Vinci considered himself first and foremost an inventor—only mentioning his skills in painting at the end of a long list. And America's earliest artists were also scientists. Examples include Samuel F. B. Morse, inventor of the Morse code; Robert Fulton, originator of the steamboat; and the multi-faceted Charles Willson Peale, who was a naturalist, museologist, and inventor, as well as a painter.

A great place to explore the intersection of art and science is the exhibition "Extreme Textiles: Designing for High Performance" at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Beginning with familiar examples of human knitting, weaving, braiding, and embroidery, the show then proceeds to demonstrate the staggering variety of use to which textiles can be put, and culminates with the intricacy of nanotechnology and new, synthetic fibers. This show does not purport to emphasize esthetic beauty, but rather, the science and new technology of highly engineered textiles for various practical uses. In fact, the exhibit and accompanying catalogue are organized into such non-artistic sounding sections as "stronger, lighter, faster, smarter, safer."

Despite the lack of emphasis on beauty, the show is beautiful. The ingenious and visionary presentation of objects is marvelous in itself. For example, fiber seedbeds that prevent erosion while they support developing root systems (and which are normally hidden from sight) become abstract art when exhibited in illuminated displays in a hallway. A fabric racing sailboat incorporating a variety of materials, along with a sail made of a composite of carbon and aramid fibers laid in a pattern anticipating load paths and laminated between sheets of mylar, surprise us by their sleek beauty in the unlikely setting of the mansion's former greenhouse that now serves as exhibition space.

The disjunction between the early 20th-century Beaux Arts building that houses "Extreme Textiles" and the innovative, forward-looking exhibition within it is strange, but somehow exhilarating. But more on this later.

Ropes, manufactured by Edelrid; Germany, 2004; braided and woven; Kernmantel construction; courtesy of Edelrid. (Photo by Matt Flynn)

Following the sailboat, several displays show wing suits used by the "extreme flying" enthusiasts known as birdmen. These lightweight suits that look like skydiving gear with webbed "wings" of fabric enable humans to realize long-cherished dreams of flying horizontally at great speeds and considerable distances. (In fact, in 2003 one man succeeded in flying across the English Channel wearing one of these suits.)

"Smart textiles" have also been used extensively in space programs. In the exhibition halls we see examples of spacesuits, the Mars Lander airbag, and the next generation "Tumbleweed Rover," which integrates monitoring/sensing devices into the Mars airbag system. The curators also show that, as early as 1902, the Wright Brothers used cotton muslin (also known as "Pride of the West," and used for women's slips) in their pioneering aircraft.

Showcased too are ropes for climbing and yachting, which appear to be beautiful weavings of many colors, possessing superior strength. These are followed in the exhibit by a racing automobile and other sporting equipment, such as bicycle wheels, racing sculls, surfboards, and even a prosthetic foot worn by paralympic gold medalist Marlon Shirley.

The sound of music on the second floor took me by surprise. This came from a large installation by Squid Labs. Viewers are encouraged to pull strings that actually track and self-monitor exerted stress and strain loads. Each pull on the strings produces sounds. The intent is playful and educational.

Following this installation are cases filled with gloves. Some are intended for chefs, designed to avoid cuts from sharp knives; others were made for motorcycle racers and astronauts.

EX1-A laminated fabric suit, prototype; manufactured by AiResearch Corporation; U.S.A., 1968; nylon, polyester, aluminum, plastic; courtesy of Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum. (Photo by Mark Avino)

But perhaps most beautiful (and useful) are the medical exhibits. Bio-implantable devices used since the 1950s are placed next to woven and knitted grafts surgeons use to replace arteries in bypass surgery. There are also machine-embroidered implants used to connect nerves during shoulder surgery. Textiles can be made from fibers as tiny as 1/180,000 of the breadth of a human hair in a field known as nanotechnology.

Some of the implants look beautiful in the same way that snowflakes do. Throughout the exhibit, I kept being reminded of the extra-human beauty of spider's webs, of fractals, and of chaos theory. The variety here is breathtaking, and the innovations stunning.

Today, most would agree that art and science are inseparable; it is the artists who often intuitively come upon solutions only later fully explored and put into practice by scientists and technicians. Rich Gold of Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) is singled out in the catalogue accompanying the exhibition, in a section titled "Artist as Muse." He began as an avant-garde composer, continued into game design and computers, and inspired many scientists. But he is by no means the only example.

If you've never been to the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, now is a great time to go. Not only is the present exhibition amazing as well as enlightening, but the spectacular building and grounds are themselves worth a visit. The museum is housed in the Andrew Carnegie mansion, built from 1898 to 1902. Carnegie (the famous philanthropist of Carnegie Hall fame) had the elegant and spacious edifice built for his own family, in the style of a Georgian country house. Possessing gorgeous wood paneling and a graceful, grand stairway, the house was built here because of the relatively open space in which Carnegie could create a large private garden. This garden now provides an oasis where you can relax during or after your visit.

"Extreme Textiles" continues until October 30. The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum is located at 2 East 91 Street, at Fifth Avenue. Hours are Tuesday-Thursday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday from noon-6 p.m. The museum is closed on Mondays.

Art historian Greta Berman has been on the liberal arts faculty since 1979.