What do you get when you ask doctors from the world-renowned Mayo Clinic to bare their tortured-artist souls?
For the second year in a row, Mayo dermatopathologists are competing in a friendly art contest, using the images they see every day on lab slides as creative inspiration. “Every single day, dermatopathologists get to see beautiful images under the microscope, and most people never have the opportunity to see that,” says Dr. Julia Lehman, the creator of the contest. “So I thought it would be a nice way to show not only the science of dermatopathology, but also the art.”
Last year, the winning entry was “Hair Follicle Triplet,” created by Dr. Alexander Meves by introducing fluorescent dyes to a photo of hair follicles.
“Art can be seen in every aspect of life,” Dr. Lehman says. “You just have to have an open mind and be looking for it.” But while the gorgeous images from the competition highlight the amazing beauty of even the tiniest parts of the human anatomy, they’re also a great reminder of what we destroy when we neglect to wear sunscreen.
Check out all the 2012 contest entries and then vote for your favorite here.
Images: Mayo Clinic