Attention Is Discovery, visual artist Anna Von Mertens's thoughtful brand-new expedition of astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt, explains and lights up Leavitt's decades-long research study of stars, consisting of the groundbreaking system she established for determining huge ranges within our universe merely by taking a look at photographic plates. Leavitt studied numerous countless stars caught on the glass plates at the Harvard College Observatory, where she worked as a human computer system from the turn of the 20th century till her death in 1921. Von Mertens explores her life, the females she worked together with and her discoveries, weaving bio, science and visual images into an abundant tapestry that deepens our understanding of deep space and the power of focused, systematic attention.
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Anna Von Mertens: Hubble's discovery was not possible without Leavitt's work. It is Leavitt's work that started this understanding of our three-dimensional universe.
Carol Sutton Lewis: I'm Carol Sutton Lewis, and this is “Lost Women of Science Conversations,” a series where we speak to authors, poets, and artists who concentrate on forgotten female researchers.
In the late 1800s, the scale of the universes was unknowable. This all began to alter at the turn of the 20th century with the careful estimations and wise observations of astronomer, Henrietta Swan Leavitt. Leavitt, a “human computer system” at the Harvard College Observatory, putting over glass plate pictures of the sky, found a system for determining huge ranges within our universe.
She turned what were as soon as inaccessible areas of the universes into a quantifiable map of stars, utilizing the power of attention.
For Anna Von Mertens, a visual artist based in New Hampshire, the power of attention was absolutely nothing brand-new. Anna makes work that examines science and history, and her usage of paper and pencil or thread and fabric needs time, persistence and extreme focus. Therefore when she stumbled upon Henrietta Leavitt's work, she instantly felt a kinship. After investing lots of hours in the archives taking a look at the examples of early astrophotography, which Leavitt utilized to make her celestial discoveries, Anna developed graphite illustrations of glass plates and hand sewed quilts motivated by Leavitt's tradition.
And, going even further, she chose to compose a book that combines these visual deal with lyrical and comprehensive essays that explore Leavitt's science. That book, “Attention Is Discovery: The Life and Legacy of Astronomer Henrietta Leavitt,” came out in September, and it's the subject of our discussion today.
Let's get into it. Hi, Anna. Thanks for coming onto the program.
Anna Von Mertens: Hi, Carol. Thank you a lot for that beautiful intro.
Carol Sutton Lewis: Anna,
