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Attention Is Discovery: The Life and Legacy of Astronomer Henrietta Leavitt
34.95 JOD
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Description
A portrait of trailblazing astronomer Henrietta Leavitt and an illustrated exploration of the power of attention in scientific observation, artistic creation, and the making of meaning.Our galaxy, the Milky Way, has a diameter of about 100,000 light years—a figure we can calculate because of the work of Henrietta Leavitt (1868–1921), who spent decades studying glass plate photographs of the night sky. Visual artist and researcher Anna Von Mertens’s Attention Is Discovery is a fascinating portrait of this remarkable woman who laid the foundation for modern cosmology, as well as an exploration of the power of looking and its revelatory role at the center of scientific discovery. Ushering us into the scientific community of women who worked alongside Leavitt, now known as the Harvard Computers, Von Mertens describes the inventive methodologies Leavitt devised to negotiate the era’s emerging photographic technology.Interspersed with Von Mertens’s meticulously researched and lyrically written essays are collaborations with art historian Jennifer L. Roberts, cosmologist Wendy Freedman, astrophysicist João Alves, and novelist Rebecca Dinerstein Knight. Alongside Leavitt’s process, evident in her astronomical logbooks and ink notations on the glass plates, Von Mertens includes details of the hand-stitched quilts and graphite drawings she made in response to Leavitt’s legacy. Photographs made by Jennifer L. Roberts using a macro lens amplify the material richness of these artworks and archives. This interweaving of text and image engages and rewards the reader’s own close attention. Highlighting ways that subtle, repeated actions build meaning—whether skilled, technical observation, the crafting of an object, or the mundane tasks that construct our exquisite lives—Von Mertens’s pairing of close looking with close reading creates a layered portrait of Henrietta Leavitt that acknowledges the significance of her discovery and the richness of its inheritance.
Additional information
| Weight | 0.57 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 0.00 × 20.32 × 4.54 cm |
| by | |
| Format | Hardback |
| Language | |
| Pages | 256 |
| Publisher | |
| Year Published | 2024-9-17 |
| Imprint | |
| Publication City/Country | USA |
| ISBN 10 | 0262049384 |
| About The Author | Anna Von Mertens is the recipient of a 2010 United States Artists Fellowship in Visual Arts and a 2021–2022 Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Her exhibition Measure, presented at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute, traveled to the University Galleries of Illinois State University and Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College. |
| Other text | “Von Mertens proves herself ideally suited to reveal the historic figure of Henrietta Leavitt. It’s as though the two of them have found a space to commune with each other—eyes wide, pencils poised—in the pages of this engaging, utterly gorgeous book.”—Dava Sobel, author of The Glass Universe “What a remarkable book this is! An artistic and historical exploration of the materiality of early twentieth-century science, presented beautifully in words and images. A true gem that will appeal to scientists, artists, historians, and a public fascinated by the narrow portal a group of women astronomers crossed on their way to a major place in the history of astronomy.”—Peter Galison, Professor of Physics and History of Science, Harvard University; Director of the Black Hole Initiative; coauthor of Objectivity “Von Mertens chronicles the wondrous quest to understand the cosmos while also telling a fierce story of uncharted feminism. Bringing Leavitt’s unexamined work into focus in relation to the author’s own artistic practice makes for a riveting read.”—Denise Markonish, Chief Curator, MASS MoCA “Two visual thinkers separated by a century go along on a journey—and the reader gets to go with them. Von Mertens shows us how Leavitt’s skillful attention revolutionized our understanding of the scale of our universe. Von Mertens’s work is marked by equal attention that makes for a beautiful book to read and behold.”—Alyssa A. Goodman, Professor of Applied Astronomy, Harvard University |
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