When: Fridays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. and Tuesdays-Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Continues through Jan. 21 2018
We live in a high-tech world in which we can communicate instantly with someone on the other side of the globe — or even orbiting in space on the International Space Station — without really understanding how such technological marvels occur. We may as well be victims of Arthur C. Clarke's Third Law: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." German artist Thomas Struth reveals how scientists and engineers perform their magic tricks simply by showing you where the magic happens. His monumental photographs reveal the research spaces and installations where science reshapes our world every day. Thirty-five of Struth's visually dense photographs make up the new exhibition Thomas Struth: Nature & Politics at Saint Louis Art Museum (1 Fine Arts Drive; www.slam.org). The show features robotics laboratories and aeronautical centers that appear to be sets from a big-budget sci-fi movie, but they're really just office spaces for some of the most intelligent people on earth. Thomas Struth: Nature & Politics will be on display November 5 through January 21. Admission is $6 to $12.