Art and Science [Hardcover]

Eliane Strosberg (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This coffee-table book on creative cross influences in the arts and sciences is just about as general as the title might suggest. Entertaining text for novices provides cursory historical examples from prehistoric art, decorative arts, architecture, physics, botany, astronomy, architecture, computer and molecular science, and other disciplines.

The highlights of the book are the 200-plus diagrams and reproductions, many in color, full of intriguing and unexpected choices. A reproduction of a Stradivarius violin maker's schematic drawing--a musical engineer's study of structure, tone, and timbre--is as inspirational as the most elegant architectural rendering, with lyrical lines and echoing patterns. Juxtaposed photographs of an African granary and a Max Ernst surrealist painting of an elephant prove startlingly identical in form, right down to the smallest eccentric detail (Ernst is said to have taken direct inspiration from the primitive structure). Galileo studies monitoring phases of the moon in ink wash can easily be compared to early-20th-century artists' abstract nature studies.

Author Eliane Strosberg's writing style is simple and declarative, lapsing into peculiar sweeping statements that leave the job of backing it all up with facts to the reader. Sometimes she waxes political for no apparent reason. She speculates that the floating color fields of a Mark Rothko canvas are "patterns to convey his spiritual angst," imagining that "future generations will interpret such paintings as allusions to a post-nuclear void." From a computer-generated film still (Lily's Adventures in Computerland, 1998, Lillian Schwartz) that interlocks Matisse's The Dance with a Modigliani nude, she deduces that maybe someday "computers will assist in calculating, posthumously, paths that creators might have taken." It's cool that an artist can use a computer to blend images from two paintings in an esthetically pleasing way, but to say that a computer could ever model and extrapolate from a particular artist's creative process shows no insight into art or science. Certain topics are more developed: there is a good description of late-1800s advances in the scientific study of optics and oil paint manufacturing, which permitted impressionists to paint outdoors, thus changing the history of painting with their luminous work. There is some useful information, but too often Strosberg goes in for casual musings and wild, almost sci-fi leaps of association. The pictures are what redeem the book. --Victoria Ellison

From Library Journal

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 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 245 pages
• Publisher: Abbeville Press (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789207133
• ISBN-13: 978-0789207135
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #729,593 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars a little too basic, January 8, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Art and Science (Hardcover)

Strossberg has selected a fascinating topic for her book, however, she fails to provide sufficient information to make her points cohesive and meaningful. I was hoping to use this book as a resource for teachers to integrate art into their science and mathematics lessons, however, I think they would just find it frustrating. Strossberg throws out a lot of quick connections between art and science, but never tells the reader enough to fully understand the concepts. Have fun with the pictures, but don't expect to learn very much.

5.0 out of 5 stars Deepen and broaden your tastes, July 8, 2003

By	F. Hayes-Roth (Monterey, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Art and Science (Hardcover)

This book was delicious: it provided great illustrations and spun a web of many connections between art and science as they developed over centuries. The author admits that she couldn't possibly "tell the complete story," but she does a fine job bringing forward many interesting and stimulating points. Art began primarily as a set of practical techniques, what we might call "technology" today. Science largely grew out of practical arts, as well, through efforts to create practical goods such as pottery, buildings, and communication devices. So the two fields wind around each other through time, with no clear boundary until perhaps modern times. In fact, the recent separating of art from science, primarily as a result of economic rewards accruing to practical knowledge, creates a relatively new rift. It's likely that technology will continue to flow from both sources, as in virtual reality and desktop manufacturing, so it's unlikely that art and science will grow totally apart.
Whereas the earlier reviewer, who had great knowledge of the arts, found little of pedagogical value, I have very limited background in the arts and found the treatment informative and enjoyable. I've recommended the book to several friends. If you are looking for a story that ties together a great deal of human history and learning, this is a great read and a delight on the eyes.

5.0 out of 5 stars Deepen and broaden your tastes, July 8, 2003

By	F. Hayes-Roth (Monterey, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Art and Science (Hardcover)

This book was delicious: it provided great illustrations and spun a web of many connections between art and science as they developed over centuries. The author admits that she couldn't possibly "tell the complete story," but she does a fine job bringing forward many interesting and stimulating points. Art began primarily as a set of practical techniques, what we might call "technology" today. Science largely grew out of practical arts, as well, through efforts to create practical goods such as pottery, buildings, and communication devices. So the two fields wind around each other through time, with no clear boundary until perhaps modern times. In fact, the recent separating of art from science, primarily as a result of economic rewards accruing to practical knowledge, creates a relatively new rift. It's likely that technology will continue to flow from both sources, as in virtual reality and desktop manufacturing, so it's unlikely that art and science will grow totally apart.
Whereas the earlier reviewer, who had great knowledge of the arts, found little of pedagogical value, I have very limited background in the arts and found the treatment informative and enjoyable. I've recommended the book to several friends. If you are looking for a story that ties together a great deal of human history and learning, this is a great read and a delight on the eyes.