Art Meets Science

The Best "Art Meets Science" Books of 2016

Eight sumptuous books from the past year that meet at the intersection of science and art

Legacy is scheduled to be on display at the Ontario Science Centre beginning in 2017 before embarking on an international tour.

This Whale Sculpture Was Modeled After a Beached Orca

Canadian artist Ken Hall built <em>Legacy</em> based on 3D scans of the skeleton of Hope, an orca that died on the coast of Washington in 2002

A forest grows in miniature at Metrotech Commons in Brooklyn for Spencer Finch’s “Lost Man Creek."

A Miniature Living Redwood Forest Springs Up In Brooklyn

Artist Spencer Finch explores landscape by building a tiny, scale replica of a California grove

Gemasolar Thermasolar Plant, 37.560755°, –5.331908° This image captures the Gemasolar Thermosolar Plant in Seville, Spain. The solar concentrator contains 2,650 heliostat mirrors that focus the sun’s thermal energy to heat molten salt flowing through a 140-metre-tall (460-foot) central tower. The molten salt then circulates from the tower to a storage tank, where it is used to produce steam and generate electricity. In total, the facility displaces approximately 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

These Photographs From Space Show What Humans Have Done to the Earth

In new book, vivid satellite images of the planet evoke what astronauts call "the overview effect"

Zak van Biljon photographed Kennedy Lake in British Columbia using infrared film.

Looking at Nature Through Infrared Film Will Have You Seeing Red

See the world on a whole different spectrum

Recycling your trash is all the rage this season.

Meet an Environmental Activist and an Artist Who Share a Passion for “Trashion”

One man's trash suit is another woman's work of art

Space Patrol depended more on good stories, excellent production values, and an empathic cast of characters than it did on expensive visual special effects. As a result it had a large adult audience, which didn’t stop merchandise being created with younger viewers in mind.

How Artists, Mad Scientists and Speculative Fiction Writers Made Spaceflight Possible

A new book chronicles spaceflight’s centuries-long journey from dream to reality

The walrus diorama at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, photographed in 2009, includes a "realistic" marine background.

The History and Future of the Once-Revolutionary Taxidermy Diorama

In their heyday, these dead animal displays were virtual reality machines

DFB 45, Arès, Brandon Ballengée, 2008. Scanner photograph of cleared and stained multi-limbed Pacific Tree frog from Aptos, California in scientific collaboration with Dr. Stanley K. Sessions. Title in collaboration with the poet KuyDelair.

With Deformed Frogs and Fish, a Scientist-Artist Explores Ecological Disaster and Hope

A 20-year retrospective of Brandon Ballengée's artwork explores humans' connection to cold-blooded creatures

For each Luckey Climber, the palette is the same: pipes, platforms, cables and wire netting.

King of the Playground, Spencer Luckey, Builds Climbers That Are Engineering Marvels

The 46-year-old architect and his crew build multi-story climbing structures for museums and malls around the world

The Mechelse Wyandotte, the latest iteration of Koen Vanmechelen's Cosmopolitan Chicken Project

Breeding a Better Chicken in the Name of Art (and Science)

For 20 years, Belgian artist Koen Vanmechelen has been selectively breeding chickens for his Cosmopolitan Chicken Project

Randall Munroe’s xkcd comic tackles a range of popular science topics with an enlightening and humorous approach.

New xkcd Comic Masterfully Shows How Climate Has Changed Through Time

Scroll through 20,000 years of humorously illustrated climate data

“Enneagon” features repeating crystalline-like shapes. “You think you understand a pattern, but if you zoom out or change your perspective, it changes,” Shlian says. Created in 2015, measures 48 x 48 inches.

These Mesmerizing Paper Sculptures Explore Nature’s Mirrored Structures

Artist Matt Shlian folds, cuts and glues paper to create faceted and curved works of art

"The Hive" is on display at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, in London, England, through the end of 2017.

This Sculpture Is Controlled by Live Honeybees

Artist Wolfgang Buttress collaborated with a multidisciplinary team to create a giant, metallic hive

"Portrait of a Woman" being scanned by the synchrotron.

Scientists Uncover a “Hidden” Portrait by Edgar Degas

A powerful X-ray unveiled one of the painter’s rough drafts

A view from a camera onboard the Icarus craft as it reaches the stratosphere.

How Engineers Got a Vinyl Record to Play in the Stratosphere

Fittingly, it took notes from Carl Sagan

An image of a nebula used in "The Hubble Cantata."

The Cosmos Sings in This Fusion of Astrophysics and Music

<i>The Hubble Cantata</i> brings the stars down to earth

The Tent of Casually Observed Phenologies.

Can the Art of Divination Help People Cope With Climate Anxiety?

A Brooklyn-based artist strives to create emotional connections with the looming threat of climate change.

Participants in "The Leading Strand" project share their prototypes with each other.

Here's What Happens When Neuroscientists and Designers Team Up to Explain Scientific Research

A new interdisciplinary project results in a moving sculpture, an animated piece, a song that evolves and more

In this watercolor painting, the Zika virus (in pink) infects a cell (cell membrane and receptors in green, interior in blue). Blood plasma surrounds the viral particles.

This Painting Shows What It Might Look Like When Zika Infects a Cell

David S. Goodsell's watercolor-and-ink artworks use the latest research to illustrate viruses, proteins and more

Page 16 of 22