drb
logo



"QUANTUM SHOT" #600
Link - article by M. Christian and A. Abrams



Mixing the staggering beauty of pure art with a precision and dedication of great science.

It reads contradictory and conflicted: the art of science/science of art – the mixture of the logical and methodical with the imaginative and emotional.

But science and art – or, if you’d prefer, art and science – have held hands, if not as close friends, for a very long time. Greek and Roman artists followed often strict guidelines considering the correct mathematical proportions of the figures in their frescoes and sculptures, Japanese woodblocks were as much about mechanical precision as they were about the subject being printed, the Renaissance was all about using science to bring a literal new dimension to painting, and then you have the work of Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka.

Everything you see below is made from glass...



(images credit: William Warmus, Wales Museum)


No, you haven’t heard of Leopold or Rudolf Blaschka – but you certainly should have.
Unlike the Greeks and the Romans, the Japanese Ukiyo-e artists, Michangelo and Leonardo, Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka aren’t well-known outside of either esoteric or scientific circles.

Which is what makes them so remarkable: they mixed the staggering beauty of pure art with a precision and dedication worthy of great scientists.


Recreating Nature in Glass - Looking Through a Glass, Darkly

Leopold and Rudolf were glass artisans – possibly some of the greatest, ever.
They weren’t concerned with platters and goblets, lampshades and windows. Nope, Leopold and Rudolf created nature.


(images credit: Hillel Burger, Harvard Museum of Natural History, see more here)


Simplified, here’s the story: Harvard Professor George Lincoln Goodale wanted examples to help teach botany, but the problem was plants have a tendency to … well, die. Sure, you could preserve some specimens but lots of species just don’t look the same after being dried – the plant version of stuffed and mounted.
Yes, you could try using paintings or even photography but plants are – and here’s a surprise -- three dimensional. So what Professor Goodale did was ask the Blaschkas to create detailed glass plants to help him teach his students about real ones.


(images via Curious Expeditions)


What the Blaschkas did, was more than just recreate plants: they created astounding works of not only scientific accuracy but pure, brilliant, art. Even the simplest of their efforts is deceptively unencumbered… a sign of their genius as their reproductions don't resemble the botanical model – they look EXACTLY like them, created by hand, in fickle and fragile glass, and all in the period 1887 to 1936.


(images credit: Hillel Burger, Harvard Museum of Natural History, see more here)


What’s even more impressive is how many they created - more than 3,000 models of some 850 species – many of which can be seen on display at Harvard while many others are being painstakingly restored. But the Blaschkas didn’t stop at mere plants. Plants are relatively simple subjects and there are much deeper challenges out there - creatures so rare and fragile that very few men have ever seen them in their delicate flesh (even more frail than the glass the Blaschkas used to recreate them).

When the reproductions below were conjured in the late 19th century only a few marine explorers and a few lucky seaman had seen any of them. Octopi, urchins, sea cucumbers, anemones, jellyfish, cuttlefish – they were too rare, too fragile, to be seen outside of their briny homes. That is until the Blaschkas.







(see the catalog of all Blaschkas' work here, and the exhibition here, images via 1, 2)


I wish there was some way to request a moment of silence. I wish there was some way to ask you to stop reading this and look at the pictures here and at other places of the web. I wish there was some way for you to have a nice glass of wine, put on some nice music – maybe Bach, who also mixed science and art – and just admire the care, the craft, and the pure art the Blaschkas created.


Other Astonishing Amalgams of Science and Art

The Blaschka brothers left an inspirational legacy. Josiah McElheny – a recipient of a MacArthur Genius Grant – is a kindred spirit to the Blaschkas, another mind-blowing artist who works in the whimsical and temperamental medium of glass … and the disciplined domain of science.

McElheny’s works -- like that of the Blaschka brothers -- take inspiration from the universe around us, and there is no better example than the key moment seen below. In many ways this is a perfect place to stop: the Blaschka brothers created perfect artistic reproductions of nature to teach science, and McElheny created a sculptural interpretation of the ultimate act of creation, as discovered by science: the Big Bang.


(images credit: Josiah McElheny, via)

Dale Chihuly also makes incredible glass sculptures, but these are more surreal than scientifically correct:


(images credit: Dale Chihuly)


Physics Fusion With Art?

When physics get too complicated (or obscure) the whole exercise may start to resemble abstract art patterns:


(original unknown)


Fabric Brain Art: This is Your Brain on Wool

Neuroscience and art mix beautifully at "The Museum of Scientifically Accurate Fabric Brain Art" - click here. Some examples are somewhat unnerving, and others are plainly tongue-in-cheek:


(image credit: Margot, via)


Fabric MRI - slices, slices everywhere:


(fragment, see the whole image here)


Street art can be educational too: here is a lesson in anatomy and graffiti skill, seen somewhere in Russia:




The Dark Side of the Moon is Buried in the Wall - and Mystery... for Another 70 Years

Perhaps one the most striking examples of astronomy science visualisation is this humongous model of the Moon from 1908, almost a surreal doorway to another world, a snapshot of bizarre art/science history:


(image via)

CONTINUE TO THE "JOYS OF MICROSCOPE PHOTOGRAPHY" ->

Also Read: Apocalyptic Scientific Experiments!





RECENT ARTICLES:

Visual Caffeine #8
Visual Caffeine, Issue 8

A thrilling blend of art, myths and technology

Visual Caffeine #7
Visual Caffeine, Issue 7

A thrilling blend of art, myths and technology

Art Deco
Imperial Dreams: Art Deco Update

Wings, Gears, & Glamorous Ladies

1970s SciFi
DRB Pics-of-the-Day

Grand Space Adventure 1970s Art



"Dark Roasted Blend" - All Kinds of Weird and Wonderful Things, Discovered Daily!"

DRB is a top-ranked and respected source for the best in art, travel and fascinating technology, with a highly eclectic presentation. Our in-depth articles in many categories make DRB a valued online magazine, bringing you quality info and entertainment every time you visit the site - About DRB

Connect with us and become part of DRB on Facebook and Twitter.



YOUR COMMENTS::

9 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

the glass creatures (and plants) are amazing! I first thought I was looking at photographs, and was waiting for the glass stuff to start...

___  
Blogger jpcramer said...

The Blaschka's work is truly a wonder... artistically, scientifically, and especially from a technical point of view. Contemporary glass artists are still trying to figure out how they accomplished some of the techniques they used.

___  
Blogger Unknown said...

No wine or Bach, but I was sipping coffee with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra on speakerphone while my call was on hold!

___  
Blogger kenju said...

Fabulous stuff! Thanks for posting this and the microscopic photos also.

___  
Blogger Mel Phistopheles said...

The moon buried in the wall is from the Field Museum of Natural History. The decorated doorway behind it is still there, but the Moon is long gone.

___  
Blogger Avi Abrams said...

Thank you for this info, Mel Phistopheles... love that nick :)

___  
Anonymous Kristin Tercek said...

So happy that you posted this information! I thought that I would never find the Blaschka's work again. Brilliant, wonderful stuff :D

___  
Anonymous The other cold one said...

Wondeful - and amazing to think it was created a hundred years ago. You mention Bach and Science and Art - he created beautiful music that was also mathematically very complicated, with all sorts of messages hidden in it. Any chance of an article on this? - it's a fascinating subject - her's a link to start with:

http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Topics/Numbers.htm

___  
Anonymous smxsm said...

That piece of street art is ROA

http://www.flickr.com/photos/romanywg/4372628934/

http://www.prescriptionart.com/prescription-art/roa/roa-rabbit/prod_460.html

___  

Post a Comment

<< Home


SF ART & BOOK REVIEWS:
Don't miss: The Ultimate Guide to NEW SF&F Writers!
Fiction Reviews: Classic Cyberpunk: Extreme Fiction
Short Fiction Reviews: Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness" (with pics)
New Fiction Reviews: The Surreal Office



READ OTHER RECENT ARTICLES:


Abandoned, Dieselpunk
DRB Pic-of-the-Day

Abandoned: Streamlined Three-wheeler

Visual Caffeine #6
Visual Caffeine, Issue 6

A thrilling blend of art, myths and technology

Visual Caffeine #5
Visual Caffeine, Issue 5

A thrilling blend of art, myths and technology

Hellish Weather on Other Planets

Wild, Untamed, and Uncut

Medieval Suits of Armor

Metal Body Suits vs. Weapons of Medieval Destruction

World's Strangest Theme Parks

Amusement to the (twisted) extremes!

Enchanting Victorian Fairy Tale Art

"Then world behind and home ahead..."

Adorable Pedal Cars

Collectable Pedal Vehicles Showcase


Japanese Arcades: Gundam Pods & Other Guilty Pleasures

These machines have gone up to the next level


Modernist Tallinn Architecture

Delicious blend of old and new!


Early Supercomputers: A Visual Overview

"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons"


Futuristic Concept Cars of the 1970-80s

French, Italian & Japanese rare beauties


Epic 1970s French Space Comic Art

DRB Time-Slice: Valérian and Laureline


The Trees Are Escaping! The Abandoned Prison in French Guiana

"Great Escape" from the Devil's Island



FULL ARCHIVES
(with previews, fast loading):

2022/16
2015/14
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006

Link Lattes

Feel-Good & Biscotti Issues





CATEGORIES:
Feel-Good! | airplanes | animals | architecture | art | auto | boats | books | cool ads | famous | futurism | food
gadgets | health | japan | internet | link latte | military | music | nature | photo | russia | steampunk
sci-fi & fantasy | signs | space | technology | trains | travel | vintage | weird | abandoned