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The Darwin Lecture Series celebrates the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth (February 12, 1809) and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species. The events will highlight the benefits of scientific knowledge acquired through human curiosity and ingenuity and ways that knowledge contributes to the advancement of humanity. A set of diverse public lectures will highlight evolution: the intersection of science and religion, evolution in the public, and the nature of science.
See complete listing of Darwin events or poster (PDF) |
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Darwin Lecture Series - Science inspiring Art: The Creation of The Tree of Life
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Fri., Feb. 6, 2009, 7pm
Patrick Lecture Hall
Townes Science Center |
Darwin Lecture Series: “Science Inspiring Art:
The Creation of The Tree of Life"
Speaker: Peter Sís
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Prior to the program, there will be a reception/drop-in in the Pitts Room (Furman Library) at 3pm. Following the program, a book signing will be held at the University Bookstore. Everyone is invited to both occasions.
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| The Tree of Life (Frances Foster Books) |
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Author and McArthur Fellow Peter Sis will discuss his illustrated biography of Charles Darwin, The Tree of Life. Description of The Tree of Life, excerpted from http://www.petersis.com/content/tree.html):
"Charles Darwin was, above all else, an independent thinker who continues even now toinfluence the way we look at the natural world. His endless curiosity and passion for detail resulted in a wealth of notebooks, diaries, correspondence, and published writings that Peter Sís transforms into a visual treasure trove. A multilayered journey through Darwin's world, The Tree of Life begins with his childhood and traces the arc of his life through university and career, following him around the globe on the voyage of the Beagle, and home to a quiet but momentous life devoted to science and family. Sís uses his own singular vision to create agloriously detailed panorama of a genius’s trajectory through investigating and understanding the mysteries of nature. In pictures executed in fine pen and ink and lush watercolors -– cameo portraits, illustrated pages of diary, cutaway views of the Beagle, as well as charts, maps, and a gatefold spread -– Peter Sís has shaped a wondrous introductionto Charles Darwin."
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| Peter Sis (by Evan Cohen ©) |
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Peter Sís in an internationally acclaimed illustrator, author, and filmmaker. Born in Brno, Czechoslovakia, he attended the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague and the Royal College of Art in London. In 1984 he was granted political asylum in the United States.
With more than twenty books to his credit and almost as many honors, Peter is a seven-time winner of The New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year for Rainbow Rhino, Beach Ball, Follow the Dream, Komodo!, The Three Golden Keys, The Wall, and The Tree of Life: Charles Darwin. Komodo! and A Small Tall Tale from the Far Far North were each named a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book, and he has won a Society of Illustrators Gold Medal for Komodo! and a Silver Medal for The Three Golden Keys. Peter's book Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei was a 1997 Caldecott Honor Book and has been published in English, French, German, Czech, Portuguese, Greek, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Spanish. Tibet Through the Red Box earned another Caldecott Honor Book and The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain earned the Robert F. Sibert Award and his third Caldecott Honor. Madlenka, Madlenka's Dog, and The Tree of Life: Charles Darwin were all named New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Books of the Year. His book Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei was recognized with the Scientific American Young Readers Book Award and The Tree of Life was honored by inclusion on the National Science Teacher’s Association Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children and with a John Burroughs life of Nature Books for Young Children.
In 2003, Peter was named a MacArthur Fellow, an honor bestowed by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation recognizing “talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.” He was the first children’s book artist to be so honored.
Many thanks to the Humanities Council of South Carolina for generously provided partial funding for this presentation.
Additional support has been provided from a grant from the Furman Humanities Development Fund.
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