Science Café - Digital Art Authentication - Jan. 24, 2011

News item published on: 2011-01-18 11:56:12

Spring Science Café Series at Cook Library Gearing Up!

This semester's first Science Café at Cook Library is next Monday, January 24, 2011 from 6 - 7:30 p.m. It will feature a discussion on Digital Art Authentication led by Dr. Jan Siesling, art historian and the director of Southern Miss's Museum of Art. Dr. Siesling is a Van Gogh expert and has worked at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. He has written a book on Van Gogh and organized an important show on Van Gogh's friend, painter Anthon van Rappard.

Vincent van Gogh has inspired several talented artists to turn their hands to forgery. Can computers be used to identify which works are really his? To find out, NOVA scienceNOW commissioned an expert to make a meticulous copy of a Van Gogh painting, and then challenged three different computer teams to find the imitation in a group that included five genuine Van Goghs. Can digital scans plus clever algorithms unmask the fake?

Held in the Starbucks coffee shop at Cook Library, The Science Café series offers those with minimal or no background in science the chance to meet and discuss scientific issues in layman's terms in a relaxed social setting. A member of the Southern Miss faculty shares his or her expertise at each session with a presentation and short NOVA video. Admission is free and open to the public.

For more information visit http://www.sciencecafes.org; or contact Tracy Englert at 601.266.6396 or e-mail .