Drawing on art to help us understand science
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Common kingfisher
Ti Gong -
Swan goose
Ti Gong -
Fairy pitta
Ti Gong -
Swallow plover
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Reed parrotbill
Ti Gong
Science and art may seem poles apart, but as Leonardo da Vinci showed in his famous 1490 drawing “Vitruvian Man,” the two disciplines can be mutually beneficial.
That’s obvious in a visit to the Shanghai Natural History Museum, where vivid scientific illustrations accompany exhibits. The illustrations make it easier for people — and especially children — to grasp the world of plants and animals.
Museum visitors might assume the illustrations were drawn by professional scientists, but, in fact, they were created by a group of designers from Shanghai University.
Led by Dong Chunxin, an associate professor with the university’s Fine Arts College, the team has completed more than 1,000 scientific illustrations for the museum, for environmental programs and for education classes.
The team’s drawings of birds on Shanghai’s Chongming Island were exhibited last year at the Triennale di Milano museum.
The Chongming project was a special one for Dong’s team. It awakened in them a keen new awareness of environmental protection. With their brushes, the team drew some of the hundreds of thousands of migratory birds that use the island as a stopover every year.
Their paintings brought to life birds rarely seen, and highlighted new aspects of common breeds. The artists carefully noted changes in feather coloring and bird behavior, and their drawings were assisted by suggestions from biologists and other scientists.
“We not only illustrate the appearance of these birds but also their ecological habitats,” said Dong. “We want people to learn a lot about a species through only one illustration.”
Dong Chunxin (left) and his team members meet with local ornithology Professor Tang Sixian (right) to discuss details of bird illustration.
Dong’s work in scientific illustration began about seven years ago, when he wanted to try something new and joined the natural history museum’s scientific illustration project. Prior to that, he mainly did design work for exhibitions and other art programs.
The museum, a branch of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, was established in 1956 in the Shanghai Cotton Exchange Building. In 2015, it moved to a site in the Jing’an Sculpture Park and required a new look.
Shen Ying, deputy director of the exhibition design department at the science and technology museum’s Research and Design Institute, told Shanghai Daily that artists were sought for scientific illustrations.
“But back then, there were not many people working in the field of scientific illustration,” she said. “Although we found a few teams at domestic scientific research institutions, they mostly specialized in specific areas, like paleontology.”
Dong’s team had strong artistic skills but little knowledge about science. A marriage of disciplines was born.
“We created a new model of cooperation,” Shen said. “We sent them our requirements and provided them assistance from scientific consultants and research institutes. It all involved a lot of back-and-forth communications, with many draft modifications.”
She said scientific illustration is a highlight of the natural history museum and a perfectly marvelous way to interest children in the natural world.
“Scientific illustration originated in the West as both a realistic and artistic way to portray the characteristics of species, as much as possible, in one work,” Shen added. “That can never be achieved by a photo.”
Dong Chunxin discusses birds' behaviorial patterns and characteristics with experts.
Dong and the team members built a close relationship with the biologists on the Chongming project.
“Two years ago, our science consultant took us to Chongming to observe the bird life,” Dong said. “We were shown a great knot, a small wader with a ring on its foot. It came from Australia and was having a rest on Chongming before heading further north. If the habitat were damaged, the migratory path would be disrupted. It made us realize the importance of environmental protection.”
The Chongming project developed in them a great interest in birds. Even after the project ended, Dong’s team continued to work with the museum and also drew illustrations for some textbooks.
Dong and his team applied for funding from the Shanghai Cultural Development Foundation to do research on the scientific illustration of birds and to organize exhibitions of their work.
“Last year we joined the Triennale di Milano with a themed exhibition called ‘The Forward and Backward of Nature.’” Dong said. “Taking Chongming as a case in point, we also told stories of its wetland protection.”
He said past efforts to reclaim the wetlands for farming involved planting a grass called Spartina alterniflora to protect areas from strong winds and waves. However, the grass has barbs that can hook and kill tiny creatures that live under the sands and move with the tides. These creatures are part of the food supply for migratory birds.
Chongming spent almost a decade trying to eradicate the invasive grass, finally winning the battle in 2016. The island has preserved its status as a bird paradise, with more than 300 species identified there, including some rare breeds.
Dong Chunxin paints a science illustration on birds at his workshop.
Local people have been inspired to embrace environmental protection, Dong said. He recounted the story of clever bird poacher who came to regret his deeds and now helps the scientists in bird observation in the research programs.
So far Dong’s team has painted some 20 native and migratory birds on Chongming.
In those works, people can see the reed parrotbill, an endangered species that lives in the upper crowns of reed, feeding on tiny insects there. They can see how the reed parrotbill and swallow plover feed their chicks in nests, how common kingfishers hunt for food and how the swan goose waddles near a lake.
“Through exhibitions of these illustrations, we hope more people will support environmental protection and birdlife,” he said, adding that a side benefit may be attracting more artists to scientific illustration.
Unlike Dong, who paints all his works by hand, a few newcomers on his team use digital painting technologies, which make it easier to select colors and save time.
Li Xiang, a photography graduate from Shanghai University, is among those newcomers.
“I like painting, and now I have lost my heart to scientific illustration,” he said.
The team is considering livestreaming the painting process online to publicize its work.
