Art and Science

by Eliane Strosberg

Overview

An abundantly illustrated history of the dynamic interaction between the arts and sciences, and how it has shaped our world. 

Today, art and science are often defined in opposition to each other: one involves the creation of individual aesthetic objects, and the other the discovery of general laws of nature. Throughout human history, however, the boundaries have been less clearly drawn: knowledge and artifacts have often issued from the same source, the head and hands of the artisan. And artists and scientists have always been linked, on a fundamental level, by their reliance on creative thinking.

Art and Science is the only book to survey the vital relationship between these two fields of endeavor in its full scope, from prehistory to the present day. Individual chapters explore how science has shaped architecture in every culture and civilization; how mathematical principles and materials science have underpinned the decorative arts; how the psychology of perception has spurred the development of painting; how graphic design and illustration have evolved in tandem with methods of scientific research; and how breakthroughs in the physical sciences have transformed the performing arts. Some 265 illustrations, ranging from masterworks by Dürer and Leonardo to the dazzling vistas revealed by fractal geometry, complement the wide-ranging text.

This new edition of Art and Science has been updated to cover the ongoing convergence of art and technology in the digital age, a convergence that has led to the emergence of a new type of creator, the “cultural explorer” whose hybrid artworks defy all traditional categorization. It will make thought-provoking reading for students and teachers, workers in creative and technical fields, and anyone who is curious about the history of human achievement.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780789212191
Publisher:	Abbeville Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/19/2015
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Eliane Strosberg, who holds an M.D. and a Ph.D. from the Free University of Brussels, enjoyed a successful career as an international management consultant. She was also a research fellow at Harvard and has worked in the research laboratory of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Strosberg was cofounder of the cultural organization Rencontres Art et Science; her book Art and Science (Abbeville), produced in cooperation with UNESCO, was translated into several languages.

Read an Excerpt

Art and Science

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By Eliane Strosberg

Abbeville Press

Copyright © 2015 Eliane Strosberg
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-7892-1219-1

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Excerpt from: Art & Science

1. The art and science dialogue

While the interaction between artists and scientists is often fruitful, a true dialogue was not always easy to establish. To begin with, dictionaries offer several definitions of “art.” One describes art as a form of “science or knowledge.” Another suggests that “art is a series of means and procedures tending towards an end.” In some dictionaries, the concept of beauty appears in only fifth position as an element in art. Needless to say, creators do not depend on such descriptions to define who they are and what they do.

Many consider that works of art should be appreciated for their intrinsic value or their innovative vision of the world. In the past, art served religion, magnified the power of patrons, reflected skills aiming at producing elegant objects. Nowadays it is used mainly for self–expression, and even as therapy.

When it comes to the word “science,” most dictionaries offer a description which seems, at first glance, quite obvious. Science is the knowledge of the laws of nature. In other words, it embodies all studies which carry a universal meaning and which are pursued by research methods based on objective and verifiable facts.

However, we should bear in mind that for centuries, metaphysics, theology and philosophy prevailed; science, too, was once nurtured by beliefs. Concepts such as “method and objectivity” have appeared only recently, and to some, science still remains mysterious.

Divergence and convergence

According to the mathematician and philosopher, Bertrand Russell: “In art, nothing worth doing can be done without genius; in science , even a moderate capacity can contribute to supreme achievement.” Such a strong opinion deserves a few comments.

Whereas the artist often tries to stir emotions, the scientist has to convince. Art looks into the “why,” science also raises the question of “how.” For the Cubist painter Georges Braque: “art provokes, while science tries to reassure.” Science, working towards collectively recognized and precise objectives,tries to remove ambiguities, which art accepts and even emphasizes as inevitable in the realm of subjective experience.

It is commonly thought that everyone has the ability to appreciate art, while science is accessible only to some. What is more, scientists and artists generally consider themselves very different from each other. The “left brain/right brain” hypothesis reinforces this notion. It states that scientists, whose tasks are primarily logical and analytical, mainly use the left side of the brain; the right side, seat of intuition and imagination, would be more developed by the artist.

Despite, or perhaps because of their differences, artists and scientists are bound by a mutual fascination: opposites attract. Is it that the artist’s need to draw from science merely expresses an urge to use whatever means are available to serve his art? Maybe the scientist’s search for convergence simply stems from an inclination to create coherent models to explain the world.

Together, art and science develop innovative concepts, often using the same subjects to the same end. Giving birth to ideas and forms is what makes an artist or a scientist. To scrutinize the cosmos, examine nature or study the brain, are explorations common to both. Following parallel paths, art and science are in many ways mutually enabling.

Cubist painting, for example, might be said to anticipate in certain respects the theory of relativity. In architecture and the performing arts, however, science and technology often work as catalysts.

“Who is ahead of whom” is irrelevant, because the other always catches up in the end. Paul Valéry, the French writer, felt that: “Science and art are the crude names, in rough opposition. To be true, they are inseparable…I cannot clearly see the differences between the two, being placed naturally in a situation where I deal with works reflecting thinking matters.”

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Art and Science by Eliane Strosberg. Copyright © 2015 Eliane Strosberg. Excerpted by permission of Abbeville Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents from:
Art & Science




The art and science dialogue


A dynamic history


Science in architecture


Decoration: a path to hi-tech


Painting and cognition


The language of graphic design


Technique and the performing arts


An art and science symbiosis


Bibliography


Index of names


Index of subjects


Credits

Editorial Reviews

"An accessible work, rich and well researched."

La Monde

"An accessible work, rich and well researched."—La Monde"

"Attractive, heavily illustrated, and up-to-date, this gift book provides a quick synopsis of human achievement during the past few millennia. While it falls gracefully into the category of coffee-table book, it is not all fluff, the book deftly covers all the expected historical developments without rendering them dull."—Library Journal"

"An abundantly illustrated history of the dynamic interaction between the arts and sciences shows how it has shaped our world, from prehistory to the present."—Publishers Weekly"

From the Publisher

Attractive, heavily illustrated, and up-to-date, this gift book provides a quick synopsis of human achievement during the past few millennia. While it falls gracefully into the category of coffee-table book, it is not all fluff. Strosberg, cofounder of Recontres Art et Science, a Parisian organization that works with UNESCO, loads this global survey of invention with details that illustrate the connections between various fields of human creativity. She lists many artists who contributed to science, and vice versa, reaching from Stonehenge to space stations and from glass beads to microchips. Divided topically into the areas of architecture, decoration, painting, graphic design, and the performing arts, the book deftly covers all the expected historical developments without rendering them dull. By the final chapter on symbiosis, it is very clear that innovation in one area often has great impact on the other. This should have broad appeal; for public libraries. Susan Lense, Upper Arlington P.L., OH Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

The intent of this volume is to provide an enticing review, for a general audience, of the very broad topic of connections between art and science; and the writing is deliberately casual and narrative rather than scholarly or encyclopedic. The scope is narrowed somewhat by emphasis on Western culture (with some examples from other civilizations) and by exclusion of literature. After overview chapters, the author delves into some specifics of architecture, decoration, painting and cognition, graphic design, and the performing arts, before concluding with a chapter on art and science symbiosis. The text is attractively produced and illustrated with some 200 (small) diagrams, photos, and reproductions. Strosberg is co-founder of Recontres Art et Science, an association in Paris that sponsors conferences and other events in collaboration with UNESCO. This work was originally published in French, in Paris, in 1999 by UNESCO (although its connection with that agency's mission is not entirely clear). Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews