The Art and Science of Dioramas!

Do you ever wonder who creates the life-sized dioramas in natural history museums?

Or, perhaps, where the animals come from? “We can't go to Target, and say, 'Can we buy that one off the shelf?’ ” jokes Tim Bovard, a taxidermist at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. Bovard is a special guest in this episode of Becoming Artsy, where host Jessie continues exploring PST ART: Art & Science Collide, including exhibitions at the intersection of art and science. In this video, Jessie goes backstage at Reframing Dioramas: The Art of Preserving Wilderness at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles to learn how these life-sized, three-dimensional windows into nature are created and how artists are using technology to bring them into the future.

Jessie also interviews other artists behind the new diorama exhibition, including artists RFX1 (Jason Chang), Joel Fernando, and Yesenia Prieto as they set up their Special Species exhibition, which features animals on California’s endangered species list represented through fantastical alebrijes (Mexican folk art sculptures) and piñata art.