The Arts of Eminent Scientists: Essential Connections Between Art and Science

Scientists as artists? The idea may sound strange, even unlikely, yet The Arts of Eminent Scientists demonstrates that many of the world's most respected scientists have been extraordinarily talented amateur, even professional, artists. 56 scientists, 40 of them Nobel Prize winners or nominees, produced the rarely- or never-before-seen paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, textile art, jewelry, and bespoke puzzles that illustrate this book. A brief text describes the motivations that induced each scientist to devote time and energy to making art and draws out the connections between their arts and their professional and private lives. Surprisingly, the arts have been much more than just a relaxing pastime for most of these scientists. Many connect their arts directly to their scientific creativity. Their arts make them better observers, visual and kinesthetic imagers, pattern recognizers and pattern formers, more skilled experimental manipulators, and better communicators. Some find in the arts useful analogies or phenomena worthy of scientific investigation. Most consider themselves multi-minded, some amalgam of scientist-artist. Here, then, is a glimpse into a world of beauty and extraordinary expressiveness that has too long been hidden away in private collections or between laboratory walls. Contained within it are practical lessons about the nurture of scientific creativity and tested strategies for integrating arts into STEM education. The lived experience of some of the most successful scientists of all time also offers insights as well into C P Snow's 'Two Cultures' divide, the commonalities of artistic and scientific aesthetics, and so much more.