12 February 2025
This is the second post in a two part series entitled “Beyond the Classroom.” In this series, we’re spotlighting two graduates of the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics who were involved with the arts in high school and carried those lessons with them into STEM fields after graduation.
“Indoor Spine” by Liz Janss
I am creating art to address questions I have about biology and neuroscience. My lack of formal training as an artist allows me to be open
to new ideas and concepts, while maintaining a strong sense of play. I also pull from my background as a research scientist and see projects through the lens of the scientific method. I set up a hypothesis, or idea, and then methodically test it.
My latest endeavor is sculpting neurons found in the retina, but making them five or six feet tall so that the viewer can experience the microscopic structures at a human size point. The change in scale forces the viewer to think about vision being facilitated by biological structures. My inspiration for this project are the drawings of neurons by Ramon y Cajal made in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The drawings are scientifically accurate but also breathtakingly beautiful. It is an example of art and science working together, and a legacy I hope to further.
I graduated from the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics in 1994. My time there was magical and opened my
mind. My professors inspired me by their love of the subject matter and their ability to explain and teach complicated concepts. It made me hungry to learn more and more. My time there also inspired me to try to contribute to the cannon of knowledge. While at Governor’s school I did a short class on French painters. We used oil paints to make a reproduction of a painting we chose. It was the first time I had used oil paints and I fell in love with them. Painting was a much needed break from the mathematical and critical thinking I had been doing in my other classes. I was refreshed and rejuvenated.
In my first semester at UPenn I took a heavy class load with the plan of graduating early to save money. I included a figure sculpture class that semester to help keep me balanced. It was my second favorite class in all of undergrad, only beat by Introduction to Neuroscience. I graduated from UPenn with a degree in the Biological Basis of Behavior.
After graduating from UPenn, I attended law school in California. I completed several large oil paintings while studying for the California Bar exam. Art was again the balance my brain needed to survive the intense months leading up to the exam. I practiced law for several years, but then returned to a PhD program in Neuroscience at UPenn. I left the program with a master’s degree, and returned to the legal field where I practiced as a litigator.
“Sea Stomach” by Liz Janss
In 2018 I found ceramics, and fell in love. I became inactive as an attorney and have been making art ever since. I have also joined a
developmental neuroscience lab again two days a week so that I can have first hand access to my inspiration, neuroscience. I am conducting research at the lab bench which continues in my studio practice.
Art has broadened the way I think and work. It has given me a way to approach science and law in a balanced fashion. I think many people have similar capacities. Our brains are complicated and learning comes in many formats. Art is a powerful format that can be more ingestible than mathematics at times, and many people need to see information from different vantage points. Art is also a tool of expression that allows a brain to unfold in a manner that is distinct from a mathematical proof or a well- constructed paragraph. Art is an essential element in education and provides indispensable route of expression and thinking.
Liz Janss was born in Ohio, grew up in South Carolina and has called Los Angeles home for the past 16 years. She received her undergraduate degree and master’s degree in neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She received her law degree from UC Hastings in San Francisco. Her ceramics often explore elements of the human body. Other pieces touch upon a magical reality spun from a love of science and punk rock. When not creating art, Elizabeth spends time with her three children, tiny dog named Zeus, giant horse named Benji and the cuddliest cat named Diesel.
