“Estrogen Tales” Merges Art and Science
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 | Dr. Hyun Kim, left, and artist
Mara Haseltine, right, celebrated
the opening of “Estrogen Tales”
with family, friends and colleagues.
| Artist Mara Haseltine’s work is figurative, though it initially appears abstract; she depicts the working machines that make life possible. The process by which she creates her work is an ode to human progress, often combining ancient practices of fabrication with new digital technologies.
“Estrogen Tales: The Untold Story of Nine Molecules…and How They Bonded,” is a collection of silk-screens and other works created by Haseltine and inspired by the research of medicinal chemist Dr. Hyun K. Kim on molecular improvements to contraception and women’s health. Kim’s discoveries have never been developed commercially, but stand with many other promising discoveries that could benefit the lives of women in particular, and society in general. The exhibition opened on Oct. 27, 2007.
Estrogens are a group of steroid compounds, named for their importance in the estrous cycle, or menstrual cycle in humans, and function as the primary female sex hormone. Estrogens are used as part of some oral contraceptives, in estrogen replacement therapy of postmenopausal women and in hormone therapy for transsexual women.
 | The discovery of CDB-3701, or “Super Estrogen,”
depicted through this computer-generated model,
is what Dr. Hyun Kim considers one of his most
notable accomplishments.
| The nine silk-screens merge art with science by depicting synthetic estrogen molecules developed by Kim in 1992. Two of the silk-screens depict an active estrogen molecule and a complimentary inactive molecule, which together create the “super estrogen” CDB-3701, or 11-beta, 17-beta-Dinitratoestradiol 3-acetate. Kim considers the discovery of CDB-3701, an orally-active contraceptive, one of his most notable accomplishments.
“Mara Haseltine’s decision to depict Dr. [Hyun] Kim’s estrogen molecules as bonds allows the viewer to see the mutual inspiration between artist and scientist,” said Adrianne Noe, Ph.D., the museum’s director. “Then upon delving more deeply, viewers realize the scientific significance 064of the estrogen molecule and its role in women’s health. These images coupled with informative, scientific descriptions, link art with science in precise and inspiring ways.”
The exhibition will be on display at the museum in Washington, D.C., through March 2, 2008.
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