Selections from the upcoming book Soul of Science by Daniel Martin Diaz

Diaz on his book:

In the fall, I became immersed in scientific and philosophical theories. In particular, I was obsessed with scientific diagrams, which explain theories and properties through drawings. My interests also included subjects such as self-aware systems, philosophy, cellular automata, phase transitions, time travel, mystical behaviors at atomic and sub-atomic levels, and the mysteries of consciousness. Although these rudimentary drawings were without any leanings towards aesthetics, I found them to be beautiful, though that is clearly not their intention. I was inspired to create my own interpretations of the concepts of consciousness and other theories on a scientific, philosophical, and spiritual level through a simplified means such as drawing. All of the projects I have created begin as drawings, which I feel have a beauty and intimacy that paintings cannot capture. The subtle lines that graphite creates and the quickness with which one can capture an idea makes this medium alluring.

My wife Paula and I felt that these completed works would be best presented together in a beautifully designed book, and we strongly believed that they should be accompanied by the writings of arts professionals and scientists from varying disciplines to offer their interpretations of the connection between science and art. I am deeply grateful to have such an esteemed group of scientists and writers as contributors to this book.

Microbes is a series of pen and ink drawings of microscopic slides by Cecilia Adorio 

Geometric art by Mark A. Reynolds

Reynolds on his work:

There is a sympathetic magic between pencil and paper that is primordial. Many people have had an experience with this magic in some way. Bring geometry to the magical ceremony that we call drawing, and the power and energy of the union can be sublime and infinite, especially when geometric structures are drawn. The shapes, forms, grids, and structures that I sometimes call compositions are almost endless. Through decades of work with geometry, I have come to realize that drawing is a transformative act, and, that drawing geometrically is also a transcendental one.

Erwin Panofsky, in his Idea, a Concept in Art Theory, said that Plato conceived of the Idea as being, “in the world of shapes and figures something perfect and sublime, to which imagined form those objects not accessible to sensory perception can be related by way of imitation”. These shapes and figures of Plato’s were essentially geometric in form. If we consider the geometric aspect of reality and the structures of the universe, we are led to ponder just when geometry first became present in this universe, and that geometry may indeed be a gift from the gods. One may be led to ponder whether geometry, by its very nature, within its chi, there is a consciousness similar to our own. At least, there may be an awareness that geometry itself is a vehicle that connects the human mind with the universe of things and energies. Its mechanisms, its ways of structuring, of composing, may be inherent within geometry itself, for we did not invent geometry, we discovered it. (Perhaps there was an exception on mankind’s obsessive use of the straight line however.) I believe that geometry at least shares something with the human mind that makes mind aware of the eternal, the constant. We then ask when geometry first came into existence in the universe, and by what hand or energy or law.

Drawings by Aja Johnson available in her microMACRO Etsy store.

Johnson on her work:

I am mostly inspired by repetition in nature, and biology in general. I am fascinated by the visuals in science textbooks; I spend a lot of time at my local library pouring over them searching for inspiration.

Blackboard paintings from Vernon Fisher’s series The Long Road to Nowhere

About the project:

Fisher’s preoccupation with archive, information transmission, memory, and taxonomy stems from an early interest in how people make sense of the world. His hallmark blackboard paintings recall pedagogical lessons or speculative renderings, oftentimes replacing sequential logic with “disordered notations” analogous to excerpts from an unrepressed mindscape. Often weaving literary references, pop cultural imagery, and cartography with his own symbolic lexicon, Fisher renounces the convention of a singular, autonomous narrative in favor of a seemingly endless metonymic chain.

Work by Jordan Rogers

Rogers on his work:

I have always considered myself a creative individual, but my creativity is fed by a deep interest in Science, Technology and Surrealism. Through my Illustration I hope to share with you what I have learned myself, by presenting this information in fascinating forms.

Insect illustrations by Teagan White

Zlatka Paneva of Rococco-LA makes art that is “a cocktail of reality, sources and imagination, infused with elegance and a sense of humor.”

Work by Emma McNally

Webs by Vija Celmins

Illustrator Jason Polan is best known for his Every Piece Of Art in The Museum Of Modern Art Book. These drawings are from the collections of The American Museum of Natural History and they are for sale at 20x200. 

Important People Drinking Coffee is a series of seriously silly illustrations by Steven Weinberg

Work by Jason Padgett, a man with Acquired Savant Syndrome who now sees all of reality as mathematical fractals describable by equations. 

About:

The beauty of numbers and their connection to the pure geometry of space time and the universe is shown in his fractal diagrams…He is currently studying how all fractals arise from limits and how E=MC2 is itself a fractal. When he first started drawing he had no traditional math training and could only draw what he saw as math. Eventually a physicist saw his drawings and helped him get traditional mathematics training to be able to describe in equations the complex geometry of his drawings. He is currently a student studying mathematics in Washington state where he is learning traditional mathematics so he can better describe what he sees in a more traditional form. Many of the captions were written before he had any traditional math training. His drawing of E=MC^2 is based on the structure of space time at the quantum level and is based on the concept that there is a physical limit to observation which is the Planck length. It shows how at the smallest level, the structure of space time is a fractal…So sit back and enjoy the beauty of naturally occuring mathematics in pure geometric form connecting E=MC2 (energy) to art. All are HAND DRAWN using only a pencil, ruler and compass. 

Anatomically inspired art by Lorraine Clarke

Some eerie work by Javier Perez