Art & Physics: Parallel Visions in Space, Time, and Light

I am in close agreement with Mr. Durand's review and will not bother to rehash its points. Dr. Shlain's understanding of post-Newtonian physics is superficial at best. His arguments about the connections between art and physics are often incoherent and always unconvincing. He ignores profoundly obvious issues, such as the fact that the invention of photography in the 19th century meant that the revenue stream of representative artists was threatened by cheap accurate images. They had to invent new things to paint and sculpt in order to make a living -- a much more plausible explanation for the changes in art in that period than assertions of mysterious precognition. He makes a great deal of the abandonment of shadows in modern art as a prelude to relativistic physics -- as a physician, one would have thought that he would realize that people don't store images of objects but representations of objects: you don't remember how something is illuminated, you remember how it is shaped. It is natural to draw or paint a shape and not its illuminated representation, and he correctly points out that many traditional arts do exactly that. Did cave painters at Lascaux or Cosquer -- who were often wonderfully skilled -- anticipate relativity thirty thousand years ago? The argument becomes absurd. And let's not even get started on the chapter on the Universal Mind, a phenomenon for which no evidence whatsoever is presented.

This is all very sad, because the book is actually worth reading even with its faults. The thesis Dr. Shlain should have examined, and the one that is interesting to reflect upon as you progress, is the influence that concepts that are available in a society have on what a scientist or an artist can think of. It is well-known today that the language you speak influences how you think, because you get good at what you practice. Do the ideas that people encounter in their daily life play an important role in creative invention? Are advances delayed because the requisite pictures are not available for the researcher or artist to exploit?

And many of the artworks reproduced (sadly in grayscale) in the book have their own charm irrespective of the interpretations foisted upon them. So don't be afraid to buy or borrow the book -- just have realistic expectations and a bit of skepticism.

I am not a scholar in these subjects, but I am an avid reader, thinker, and idea tinkerer. If you're someone who gets caught up on details and technicality, this book probably isn't for you. If you have your Master's in Art or Physics, you'll probably get too caught up in the technical details to appreciate this style of writing. Shlain is vague, and at times makes some assertions that are a little far-fetched, but I think the point of this book is to make you think of things in a different way, not necessarily to teach you to think certain things.
You don't need to accept every part of this book, or any book for that matter. I think it's important to read things like this that challenge you to look at the world in a different way. I think Shlain does a good job of that if you are open to it.
This book had a couple of main takeaways for me:
- Physics are Art are two disciplines that explain the world in non-verbal terms. It's nearly impossible for people to understand Physics without Math, and it's nearly impossible for someone to say in words what a good artist can express in Art. Both disciplines explain the same Universe and Human Experience in different ways.
- Art has the advantage of not being weighed down by the technical details of math & science. Art is intuitive. Therefore, artists typically are ahead of their time in expressing new cultural ideas. That doesn't mean they have a mystical power. Good artists are acute observers and their art speaks for itself.
- Lots of fun and interesting stories in the book that make it very engaging. It does take a couple of chapters to get going.

Currently reading Shlain's other book -- The Alphabet & The Goddess. He has a similar tendency here to have slightly weak arguments, but the point of these books isn't necessarily to convince you that his theories are absolutely correct, I think. The point is more to show people that these things are very real forces and factors to the whole picture. He admits in both books to not showing the whole picture or alternate theories due to the limitations of a single book. I highly recommend this book to the curious mind. Doesn't mean you need to accept every theory and idea put forth in this...or any book!

I thought this was a wonderful book. Tying the evolution of art to the evolution of thinking and science gave me a more holistic way to look at art. From the ancient Greeks through the Dark and Middle Ages, the Impressionists, and into modern times the parallels of physics to art are simply amazing. Perfect for us "left-brained" types.

A different and thought provoking book relating artists insights to discoveries in physics.Fascinating reading.I definitely recommend this book. I find I have to read it first thing in the morning when I am able to concentrate. It is not for a relaxed read!

One of my favorite books of all time. I first read it years ago and it still stands on top. Not only is the comparison between art history and scientific history interesting, but now I also understand several perspectives in art and science better through their mutual explaination.

This book, which I read the first time many years ago, helped me to see the way history is really the creative human experience, whether it is art, science, mathematics, or language, and changed the way I see the world. I realized that our collective history is way more complex and interwoven than any of us can comprehend. Add that to the science of how matter, space and time behave in our universe and now it opens our eyes to the possibility that we are just one variable in the equation. I began teaching art and art history differently from that point forward, introducing my students to the concept that art was both the reflection and the presupposition of what human creativity and intellect could conceive and that art could not be truly understood without understanding the other factors in our shared technological, social, and scientific culture. I recommend this book to anyone who teaches art, science, or just wants to be rocked to the very core of their preconceptions of life.

incredible writer, fantastic use of metaphors, unique insights, and ties together thought from many disciplines, including science, art, math, religion, mysticism and more ! wish I had read this book years ago when it was first mentioned to me... I will definitely check out other books by Leonard Shlain ...

It has made intricate, complex concepts of physics, accessible to human comprehension, as well as beautiful to a new understanding of art.

A fantastic, exhilarating, exhaustive and surprising tour de force. The scope of this book is incredible. Dr. Shlain astonished me in his ability to communicate so clearly about topics that are often so difficult to comprehend (modern art, modern physics).

Art & Physics provides a parallel history of art and scientific knowledge from the age of the Greeks up through the modern period, arguing (with a bewildering pile of data to back it up) that artists have tended to anticipate in their works the latest scientific advances in a sort of precognition. "The artist is the antenna of the race" as Ezra Pound said. I never thought someone might try to prove that. Shlain's book is daring, especially for someone who's not an official expert in either field, but his arguments are constructed with so much thoroughness and clarity it's hard not to be convinced.

He describes arcane modern scientific concepts like relativity, uncertainty, and quantum mechanics in understandable language that somehow isn't boring and, most impressive of all (to me, at least), he describes the more puzzling works of modern art with incredible insight and clarity. He explained Picasso and Cubism in a way that truly enhanced my perspective, for instance. And my jaw dropped when I read him describing the work of Jackson Pollock. His passion for the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci (a true scientist-artist) was also a highlight for me and piqued my interest for his final book on Leonardo's Brain.

This book is worth picking up for the vast outline of the evolution of art and science, but then it really ramps up in the closing chapters as he attempts to account for the phenomenon he's spent 20 chapters describing. Shlain, an accomplished brain surgeon, ventures into the history of the brain and...well s*** I don't want to give it away. Go get this book, Shlain is a genius!

I LOVE this book! A must have on any artist's shelf!!!! I learned more art history though Shlain than I did during my undergrad BFA!