Event Description
Join Academy Entomologist Greg Cowper as he discusses the collision of art, science, and natural history at Eastern State Penitentiary.
Almost 125 years ago, an inmate of Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary collected butterflies and moths in the exercise yard attached to his cell. Flash forward to spring 2011 when Academy entomologist Greg Cowper revisited the insect fauna of the prison as part of Eastern State Penitentiary’s History and Artist Installation Series. Drawing from this experience, Cowper will discuss the collision of art, science, and natural history within the walls of the prison; the insects and other invertebrates he has collected; and the Cabinet of Curiosities assembled in Cellblock 9 as part of his exhibit “Specimen.”
Greg Cowper, a curatorial assistant in the Entomology Department, has completed fieldwork in New Zealand, Africa, the Caribbean, and the eastern and southwestern United States. His research interests are in the systematics, evolution, and biogeography of Heteroptera, the true bugs. |
