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Reading Nature, Observing Science: Examining Material Practices in the Lick Observatory Archives and Kenneth S. Norris Papers

Case 2: Natural History, Pedagogy, and Echolocation

All of the objects in this case are from the papers of Kenneth S. Norris, who was a professor of natural history at UCSC's Environmental Studies Department. The objects on the first shelf showcase Norris's work in natural history, ranging from his active practice of note taking to his research on lizards and dolphins. The materials on the second shelf

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2. Velvet Cases The velvet case contains a chest of slides from Norris's slide collection. This chest has a handwritten inventory, although there is a notable discrepancy between the actual slides in the chest and the titles listed on the inventory sheet. Twelve of the slides from the chest are featured in the listed images. They document various species of lizards, snakes, frogs, and toads, as well as desert habitats throughout California and New Mexico. As the majority of these slides are dated 1948, they are representative of Norris's work in desert ecology during his studies at UCLA. These velvet cases also contain atlases from UCSC Special Collections that pertain to the theme of Reading Nature.
4. Case 2: Natural History, Pedagogy, and Echolocation
5. Case 5: Imaging the Cosmos The images on the top shelf of case 5 display a selection of astronomical illustrations from the Lick Observatory archives. Notably, the archives contain sketches and correspondence from famous astronomical illustrator Étienne Trouvelot. Did the ideas and images offered by artists like Trouvelot have an impact on the way astronomers at the Lick perceived the cosmos? Can astronomical illustrations count as factual data? When observing the cosmos, can objectivity be disentangled from aesthetic experience? The middle and bottom shelves of case 5 display documents, images, and objects related to the early astrophotographic work of the Lick Observatory. Is it possible to obtain "objective" representations of celestial objects like galaxies and nebula when their details are invisible even in the telescope? How were Lick astronomers' ideas about the objectivity of the camera filtered through the aesthetic concern to produce visually stunning photographs? How is our idea of the reality of the cosmos--then, as now--a matter of aesthetic expectations created by certain standards and conventions of representation?

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