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

As a musician and life long educator in a school of the arts here in Pittsburgh, I am inspired by Mr. Schlain's vast insight into the relationship of creativity, science, and the human spirit. I believe this work should be a fundamental guide for educators who believe in the power of art as it historically has influenced culture and science. BRAVO Mr. Schlain!

This book seeks to provide connections about art and science. I would have liked more visual illustrations, but anyone who seeks to understand the patterns of this world will find the ideas interesting. Academic disciplines have become segregated in our individual disciplines, so this kind of synthesis is unique. I bought this book because it was recommended by one of my graduate students. The book was a gift for an engineer who enjoys art and design.

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.

It seems from a few better-read reviewers that Shlain's views on history are less than objective. I won't stick up for him as an author by pretending to know what they know. But I will stick up for this book as a whole. When I first read this, I was an ignorant reader and thinker. This book opened my eyes to a world I glimpsed from the periphery but could not fully recognize. It made me very interested in art, science, philosophy and mathematics (and reading also, as it happens). In essence, it provided that first drop of water that started my brain to becoming the presently insatiable sponge it is.Shlain writes in a very accessible manner, not only in syntax, but also in how he presents information. Though his presentation of theories may be 'shallow', he covers a broad subject in a small amount of space on the page. This enables someone unfamiliar with the concept to grasp it easily. Relativity is much easier to grasp over a span of three pages in plain words with numerous illustrations than it is by reading Einstein's original writings. And Einstein's writings are always out there if further, in-depth, analysis is desired.Though there is a thesis here, this book is better as an introduction to ideas of perception than it is a piece of scientific genius. If you believe that there is more to the world than what you see, but can't quite grasp the concept, this book is for you. Inherent in that statement is the suggestion that you are not an art historian or an actual physicist. If you already have a strong idea of how the world physically works, this will probably be little more than a review.That said, there is a connection between art and science, and Shlain does a good job of providing a compare/contrast presentation of the dichotomy.

I've read a lot of books in my life. This is probably the best. The juxtaposition of generally exclusive topics - physics and art - is enough to put this work near the top on anyone's list. That it does it so well, and so meticulously, sends it to the head of the list.Schlain's exploration of the parallels between mankind's expanding understanding of the physical world and the concurrent changes in styles of physical art is gripping. I'm sure there are some flaws in his facts, but these pale in comparison to his monumental achievement in this work.I had a fair understanding of physics before starting the book and finished it better informed. At the same time, my admittedly weak knowledge of art history was more than supplemented. His explanation for the congruence he recounts is compelling, but he doesn't force it down the reader's throat. Rather, in a manner that is all too rare these days, Schlain presents the evidence, draws his conclusions and modestly leaves the reader to decide if the two match up. That I already subscribed to the explanation before I read the book may bias my opinion somewhat, but I must say that the conclusion is not the book's justification. Too many books are the opposite: They depend completely on the validity of thin insights and, so, end up padded with reams of extra pages drawing spurious connections to weak facts (apparently in the mistaken belief that repetition will bolster weak associations). By contrast, Schlain's conclusion appears as more of an afterthought. Here, the central insight is in the parallels recounted, not the conclusions to be draw therefrom. And the book makes a solid case for the existence of these parallels, notwithstanding the odd factual error.Read this book. You'll learn a lot, even if you're already familiar with one subject or the other, and your thinking about the world will be shaken up a bit.