Most people don’t think much about fish bones beyond avoiding accidentally ingesting one while eating a filet.
Two new Bell Museum exhibits – “X-Ray Vision: Fish Inside Out” and “Cleared” – elevate fish bones into stunning works of art. They debut Oct. 15 and run through Jan. 2 inside the museum’s Nova Galleries.
“X-Ray Vision: Fish Inside Out” is the first fruit of the St. Paul museum’s new partnership with the Smithsonian Institution. It features prints of radiographs that expose the interior structures of fish in a level of detail reminiscent of fine engraving.
“Cleared” focuses on dazzling photographs of fish specimens that have been stained with vivid colors to illuminate their skeletal structure. They are from biologist Adam Summers, professor of biology and school of aquatic and fisheries sciences at the University of Washington.
“The exhibits really demonstrate the interaction between science and art,” said Andrew Simons, professor and curator of fishes at the Bell Museum. “People can see how doing scientific research can result in beautiful things.”
The Smithsonian’s National Collection of Fishes is the largest and most diverse collection of its kind, with an estimated four million individual fish specimens representing more than 70 percent of the world’s fish species of all sizes and ages and even eggs. The Bell is only the second Minnesota institution, after Minneapolis’ Bakken Museum, to be designated a Smithsonian Affiliate.
“I see the Smithsonian as the leading natural history museum in the country, if not the world,” said Simons. “It’s an outstanding institute for research and for smaller museums like ours to have that connection puts the Bell on the map nationally.”
The Bell also maintains its own fish collection, with an emphasis on Minnesota. They serve as a historical record of fish biodiversity and distribution and are working reference libraries for scientists around the world. Simons said the physical documentation of fish diversity in Minnesota began in the late 1800s and the museum now has close to 50,000 jars of fish, each jar with one or up to several hundred specimens.
“We’ve been maintaining these research tools for well over 100 years,” Simons said. “It’s an honor to be taking care of these during my career as a scientist. I suspect in the future, say 100 years from now, they’ll still be using the collection in ways I have no idea about.”
Both exhibits allow viewers to appreciate the complex structure, beauty and diversity found inside fish, said Holly Menninger, the Bell’s director of public engagement and science learning.
Also, they look really cool.
“They’re so striking,” Menninger said. “At first glance, it’s like, ‘Wait, what? These are fish?’ They’re beautiful as art pieces on their own but also incredibly useful for scientists.”
Some of the “X-Ray Vision” fish look like monsters pulled from a dark nightmare. The Bell is fully leaning into that notion, opening it just weeks prior to Halloween.
Kids are encouraged to dress in their best costume, snap a picture at the Spooky Photo Wall and enter for a chance to win a prize. From Oct. 20 through 31, visitors can also join the Bell Museum Spooky Quest that features a series of observation-based tasks with, yes, another chance to win a prize.
“The Halloween connection was not lost on us, with all these awesome images of skeletons,” Menninger said. “We’re running with that.”
What: Two new exhibitions that take a look inside a variety of fish
When: Oct. 15 through Jan. 2.
Where: Bell Museum, 2088 Larpenteur Ave. W., St Paul
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday
Admission: $12 adults, $10 seniors, $9 youth (3-21), free for kids 2 and younger
Information: bellmuseum.umn.edu
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Two new Bell Museum exhibits take a look inside fish, and some of the results are spooky - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
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