Upjohn Center product to be spotlighted at Art Hop
KALAMAZOO—What do satellite photos of cloud vortices, Saharan sand dunes, a vast alluvial fan in China and a population explosion of phytoplankton have in common? They've all been made into intriguing pieces of art by imaging specialists in the Upjohn Center for the Study of Geographical Change at Western Michigan University.
Now, just in time for Christmas, prints of 15 of these photos will be on display and available for purchase during Kalamazoo's Art Hop from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, at Urban Modern Hair, 223 S. Kalamazoo Ave.
The 15 images are part of a larger exhibit called "Earth Tones: Pigments & Textures of Earth From Space," which includes 27 pieces. Each piece in the exhibit has been artfully color enhanced, printed out in high resolution, and expertly matted and framed.
The Upjohn Center created the exhibit as a promotional display to demonstrate the quality and variety of digital representations of Earth. It is using the proceeds from selling Earth Tones prints to support employment and training for WMU students seeking careers in the field of geospatial technology.
The satellite scenes come from U.S. government sources, particularly NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. Each scene has been color-enhanced to bring out the inherent beauty of Earth's topography and some of its meteorological phenomena, as captured by satellites orbiting miles above the planet.
Art lovers many purchase any of the 27 Earth Tones prints at a cost of $500 each. The images are printed on archival paper with ultraviolet ink and are intended to last up to 100 years. They measure 24 inches by 24 inches and come professionally framed and matted. To place an order, contact the Upjohn Center at @email or (269) or 387-3364.
Upjohn Center for the Study of Geographical Change
The Upjohn Center creates hyper-accurate archival digital facsimiles of maps, atlases, aerial photographs, drawings, and oversized books and materials. The only facility of its kind in the world, it opened in 2005 through the generosity of Edwin E. and Mary Upjohn Meader and is named for the pharmaceutical pioneer W.E. Upjohn.
The center is expressly designed to nondestructively image the huge body of rare and delicate maps and aerial photographs from the pre-digital age. It does so using one-of-a-kind scanners built for its high-security, limited-access and climate-controlled space in WMU's Welborn Hall. Upjohn Center clients include educators, universities, government agencies, public and private collectors, and members of the general public who want to digitally preserve materials or who need to image and access geospatial documents in modern ways.
For more information, visit wmich.edu/ucgc.