Illustrating science

Journalism and art to shake consciences

Illustrating Science. Krahn: Drawings to reflect. shows the existing dialogue between the artistic representations of illustrated reports and the current scientific news present in the media. It is conceived with the intention of showing the public a different and efficient way of graphically capturing everyday concerns regarding the scientific and technological aspects that are present in our daily lives.

The City of Energy Foundation (CIUDEN) has rescued from its documentary collection more than 60 original plates with drawings that the Chilean artist based in Barcelona, Fernando Krahn used in his illustrated reports for the Science and Technology section of La Vanguardia in the 80s. Through them, a journey is traced that goes from environmental problems, which already concerned society 40 years ago and today can be linked to the Sustainable Development Goals, to scientific and technological advances, which Krahn knew how to bring in a playful way to readers who then saw them as science fiction.

Until the advent of the Internet and the technological revolution brought about by its development, the written press was a fundamental instrument in the popularization of science. Krahn's hand-drawn illustrations constitute a visual language in itself, friendly, ironic and sometimes grotesque, in which the author manages to incorporate his experience and his personal reflection on the facts. A timeless work, halfway between a comic and a work of art, which responds to the need to tell difficult stories that he has in Illustrating science a twofold objective: to raise awareness of sustainable development and to encourage public interest in science and technology.

The exhibition elements respond to a sustainable and responsible design to reduce the negative environmental impact and the materials wasted in each itinerancy.