‘Pop Microscopy’ exhibit honors the legacy of Leonardo da Vinci

January 2019 marked the beginning of the 500-year anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death. Among the ways that the University of Florida is celebrating da Vinci’s lasting legacy and his influence on today’s art with his interdisciplinary vision is the “Pop Microscopy” exhibit. UF’s One Health Center for Excellence brought, the display, which features images of cells, molecules, organs and tissues, to campus.

“Pop Microscopy” originally started as a traveling exhibit across campus, but found its home at the Garry R. Libby Gallery through Feb. 15.

Ilaria Capua, executive director of the One Health Center, was in Genoa, Italy, at the Italian Institute of Technology when she first saw the exhibit of 20 works, said Sara Agnelli, research assistant at the Center. Energized by the artworks, Capua decided to bring it to UF, rotating in a variety of locations around campus, because of its beauty and the relation it had to the Center’s project of using art to communicate an interdisciplinary vision, Agnelli said.

“Now we are so specialized,” Agnelli said. “’Pop Microscopy’ is an example of how you can combine different skills to create something beautiful. You aren’t just focusing yourself on your particular expertise – rather, you are broadening your perspective.”

Agnelli said that she hopes students will broaden their viewpoints after viewing the exhibit.

“They should push themselves to go beyond their chosen disciplines,” Agnelli said. “I want people to try and ask themselves: What is the connection with Leonardo? Who is he? The beauty is that there is no right answer.”