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Visions of the Postnatural

 

When was the last time you saw a dog on display in a natural history museum?


For millennia, humans have shaped plants and animals—including our beloved canine companions—but we rarely consider our influence as part of "natural" history. The U-M Museum of Natural History's new special exhibit explores the complex overlap between human creation and the natural world, inviting visitors to question the boundary between natural and artificial; familiar and unfamiliar.


From October 25, 2024, check out this special U-M collaboration with the Center for PostNatural History in Pittsburgh, PA, to discover the strange, wonderful, and sometimes unsettling histories behind fake banana flavoring, frog-based pregnancy tests, tumbling show pigeons, and much more.

 

How did an art professor become the purveyor and advocate for all things “postnatural”?
Meet Rich Pell, founder and executive director of the Center for PostNatural History in Pittsburgh, PA, and Associate Professor of Art at Carnegie Mellon University, at our annual Farrand Memorial Lecture.

The Farrand Memorial Lecture honors the memory of Dr. William R. Farrand, who served as Director of the U-M Exhibit Museum of Natural History for seven years (July 1993-June 2000), as well as his long career as a professor in the U-M Department of Geological Sciences.

This event is co-sponsored by the Rackham Graduate School Museum Studies Program and the LSA Program in the Environment, and promoted in partnership with the Penny Stamps School of Art and Design.

Funding for event accessibility services provided through the University of Michigan Disability Equity Office with support from the Faculty and Staff Disability Navigators in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office in the College of LSA.

© 2024 Regents of the University of Michigan