MSU Entomology Partners With Artist Jan Tichy for Darkness Exhibit at Broad Art Museum
Print
EmailChicago-based artist Jan Tichy collaborated with MSU researchers and students to explore how light and darkness shape life, with insects as a key focus.
What happens to life when the lights never go out? That question sits at the heart of Darkness, a new exhibition at MSU’s Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum created by Chicago-based artist Jan Tichy in collaboration with four MSU labs and campus partners.
The exhibit was developed through a campus-wide collaboration, with MSU entomologists playing a key role. Amanda Lorenz, director of the Bug House helped bring insects into the spotlight for the exhibit, which explores biology’s relationship to light and its absence. Over the course of nearly nine months, Tichy visited the Bug House, joined Bug Club activities and worked with Lorenz and other department members to develop ideas for public engagement through insects.
The collaboration was a natural fit, with the exhibit aligning closely with the Bug House’s mission to provide a welcoming environment for learning about insects. “I love that the Bug House can be a space for interdisciplinary innovation, and I hope this work encourages people to think more about light, darkness and the insects that quietly support our ecosystems every day,” Lorenz said.
As part of the project, the Bug House led arthropod sampling and identification on the museum grounds throughout spring and summer of 2025 using backlighting, a method that uses light at night to attract insects for observation and collection. The effort also relied on support from Academic Specialist Max Helmberger, who assisted with insect sampling and public blacklighting events.
Specimens collected at the events were then photographed by Tichy for the exhibit, and a selection were later cast in resin for museum visitors to view up close in the educational portion of the exhibit. Bill Ravlin, professor emeritus, along with Sarah Smith, Curator and Collection Manager of the A.J. Cook Arthropod Research Collection, contributed high-resolution macro photography that will be featured in a companion planetarium show at Abrams Planetarium on campus.
Students also played a major role behind the scenes, including recent entomology graduate Dylan Minor, who spearheaded insect sampling and identification, as well as August Duckworth and Araya Pore. Many Bug Club members also participated in the public blacklighting events, with entomology Ph.D. Student Junkai Wang providing key equipment and expertise for the events.
In addition to working with the Department of Entomology, Tichy also collaborated with the Department of Animal Science, the Department of Psychology and the Department of Horticulture. “The collaborations with four MSU labs around the theme of darkness and its influence on human life is not about illustrating research, but about inspiring new perspectives and sharing our different audiences,” Tichy said.
Darkness is open for viewing from Jan. 31 through July 26, 2026. A related program at Abrams Planetarium will take place in the near future featuring narratives and visuals from each collaborating group and further exploring how light shapes the behavior, rhythms and survival of living things.
