The Portrait of a Dendritic Spine project begins with that diversity of form and the experience of looking closely.
A portrait is an invitation to look
A portrait invites curiosity about an individual subject. A scientific image invites questions about how a structure was observed, reconstructed, measured or interpreted.
Bringing the two together makes room for both beauty and precision.
The project can show illustrations, plates and carefully labelled visual models alongside explanations of the evidence. The appearance of a spine alone cannot establish a person's thoughts, motives or identity. Even the relationship between spine shape and synaptic function is richer than a single visual rule.
The place of art in the school
A visitor may arrive because an image is beautiful. That is a legitimate beginning. They may stay to learn what a dendrite is, how synapses work or why scientists disagree over an interpretation.
Art opens a door to the question. Science helps us examine the answer.
Image policy: Display only original or properly licensed plates, with clear distinctions between artistic interpretations, scientific diagrams and microscope-derived imagery.