In a place where art, science and technology meet, Joseph Scheer's images of moths emerge. These ubiquitous creatures are often considered drab-coloured poor relations of the beautiful butterfly. By using a high-resolution scanner, recently developed digital printing technology and an artist's sensibility, Joseph Scheer, in this book, brings out the subtleties and astonishing varieties of colour and textures that moths possess. The result is a glimmering jewel box of brilliantly colored, intricately formed creatures, each with its own landscape of tiny hairs, kaleidoscopic color, iridescent eyes and antennae intricate as filigree. Scheer's moth experiments started out as a fine art print installation to show a range of insects at large scale in a single room and have now expanded into a biodiversity project with a significant number of specimens.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
47 of 49 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
My reaction was very different from that of "a reader from Hamilton". To me, the images were stunning, exquisite both in detail and beauty, and required neither apology nor defence. The omission of more colourful moths from other parts of the world is hardly an objection: author Joseph Scheer collected his from within a specific area (upstate New York, I believe), and there is no indication that he had any interest in doing a "moths of the world" or even a "moths of the US". That he found such a wide variety in such a limited geographical range is already impressive. He had no need for more or different specimens to prove his point.
Some moths were striking, indeed -- drab is not a word one would apply to the Actias luna, by a long shot -- but I found myself delighting even more in the simple, subtle beauty of the shades of brown (Odontosia elegans), or white (Eudeilinia herminiata), or grey (Catocala relicta), next to which even the subdued reds and yellows of, say, Hypoprepia fucosa seemed almost gaudy. What beauty might be overlooked seeing these moths with the human eye alone was brought out superbly seeing them enlarged upon these plates, often with each hair and each scale distinct.
Yes, there were areas where the image was not as sharp as it should have been had this been a scientific work, where detail is all and aesthetics, however welcome, of secondary importance. For such a work, a camera might have been the better choice; Scheer, however, was interested in exploring the artistic potential of using a high-resolution scanner and an Iris printer. Frankly, I had not even noticed the fuzziness until I went looking for it after encountering the Hamiltonian reader's review.
... Read more ›18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is one of the most remarkable books that I have encountered in a long long time. An artist friend who is aware of my tripartite interest in science, technology, and the arts grabbed me in the cafeteria last month & said that I "had to take a look at this". She was absolutely right. No, this ISN'T a scientific treatise on moths or a discourse on the natural history of insects, and one certainly wouldn't want to take it into the field to identify even the moths of the relatively small area sampled, BUT THAT ISN'T THE POINT! Instead one is treated to stunning imagery of animals that most of us either ignore entirely or slaughter with "bug-zappers" and poisons & seldom if ever grant the benefit of a second glance. Thanks to Scheer my children & I have had some very pleasant sessions simply sitting & turning the pages & the most frequent comment is the title of this review. "Wow!" indeed. Also Bravo to Scheer for giving us a wonderful look at a little seen & greatly under-appreciated subject.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is one of the most remarkable books that I have encountered in a long long time. An artist friend who is aware of my tripartite interest in science, technology, and the arts grabbed me in the cafeteria last months & said that I "had to take a look at this". She was absolutely right. No, this ISN'T a scientific treatise on moths or a discourse on the natural history of insects, and one certainly wouldn't want to take it into the field to identify even the moths of the relatively small area sampled, BUT THAT ISN'T THE POINT! Instead one is treated to stunning imagery of animals that most of us either ignore entirely or slaughter with "bug-zappers" and poisons & seldom if ever grant the benefit of a second glance. Thanks to Scheer my children & I have had some very pleasant sessions simply sitting & turning the pages & the most frequent comment is the title of this review. "Wow!" indeed. Also Bravo to Scheer for giving us a wonderful look at a little seen & greatly under-appreciated subject.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Joseph Sheer has used his expertise in the electronic arts-scanning and digital imaging-to produce an amazing collection of colorful, vivid images of moths. Very simply, "Night Visions" contains stupendous color plates and would appeal to anyone, especially those interested in macro imaging or the study of Lepidoptera (butterflies, skippers and moths).
The book begins with three introductory chapters (like forewords), the first by Mr. Sheer explaining his interest in moths and his techniques for trapping them and scanning them for print images. Lepidopterist Marc Epstein follows with a four-page mini-course in moth types, habits and markings, after which Johanna Drucker briefly describes the evolution of image making that brought us to the scanning technology which produced this book. I enjoyed the first two sections the best since I became interested in moths upon seeing this book.
There are over 70 color plates, mostly displaying the moths enlarged so that each wingspan extends to just about one full page in width (depending on the moth, that's a magnification ranging from 2.5x to over 20x). In addition, where aspects of a moth's coloration or texture is particularly fascinating, a secondary blow-up, many times the initial enlargement, is displayed alongside in order to give perspective to the detail. In every case, the result is a photograph that is amazing in terms of clarity, color and detail. I've never seen anything like this.
A nice bonus can be found in the last twelve pages, which have another 150-plus 1" x 2" photos of moths, arranged by family (Sphinx moths, Tiger moths, Owlet, etc.) so that an easier comparison of characteristics can be made to introduce the reader to the different family types.... Read more ›
The book begins with three introductory chapters (like forewords), the first by Mr. Sheer explaining his interest in moths and his techniques for trapping them and scanning them for print images. Lepidopterist Marc Epstein follows with a four-page mini-course in moth types, habits and markings, after which Johanna Drucker briefly describes the evolution of image making that brought us to the scanning technology which produced this book. I enjoyed the first two sections the best since I became interested in moths upon seeing this book.
There are over 70 color plates, mostly displaying the moths enlarged so that each wingspan extends to just about one full page in width (depending on the moth, that's a magnification ranging from 2.5x to over 20x). In addition, where aspects of a moth's coloration or texture is particularly fascinating, a secondary blow-up, many times the initial enlargement, is displayed alongside in order to give perspective to the detail. In every case, the result is a photograph that is amazing in terms of clarity, color and detail. I've never seen anything like this.
A nice bonus can be found in the last twelve pages, which have another 150-plus 1" x 2" photos of moths, arranged by family (Sphinx moths, Tiger moths, Owlet, etc.) so that an easier comparison of characteristics can be made to introduce the reader to the different family types.... Read more ›
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reality Check
This book is simply amazing--and I love that the emphasis is simply on the beauty of the moth. I would recommend it as a gift for anyone who will appreciate being reminded of the... Read more
Published on July 10, 2007 by Claudia Micare
3.0 out of 5 stars
capturing and killing beauty
A nice pair of close-up binoculars, a flashlight and boots could be a lot more exciting and respectful of these animals than drying them up just to copy their evolutionary path and... Read more
Published on December 11, 2005 by Kate V. Somerville
5.0 out of 5 stars
Astonishing state of the art color scanning
The front and back covers of this book are not mirror images of each other. They are continuous parts of a scan that is 12 inches tall and about 36 inches long, including the... Read more
Published on April 1, 2005 by Bruce P. Barten
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disapointing
Moths are some of the most beautiful creatures in the world and in many cases exceeding the beauty of the butterfly but you would not know it from the majority of specimens shown... Read more
Published on October 28, 2003
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