Experience how art meets science, from the earliest cave paintings to today’s advanced tech - and meet the innovative artists behind it all!

Art Alive! with Science explores moments from art history that have expanded our understanding of the way things work, such as the beautiful balance of forces in kinetic sculpture, the interplay of light and shadow in painting and puppetry and how Op Art tricks our brains and plays with our senses.

Following each case study of astounding innovation, there is a creative project that applies the scientific learning to the reader’s own art practice.

The unique art style of illustrator Sue Downing is sure to draw in young artists, especially alongside the strategic photos of each artist’s work and contribution to the timeline of innovation.

Artists and science principles inside include: Introduction: Artists and scientists from cave painting to bronze casting The art of anatomy with Myron’s Discobolus (Discus Thrower) The science of illustration with Hildegard of Bingen and Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi The fantasy of flight with Leonardo da Vinci The drama of light with Caravaggio’s chiaroscuro and wayang kulit shadow puppetry The art of nature with Ustad Mansur and Maria Sibylla Merian The image in perspective with Johannes Vermeer’s The Geographer The science of clouds with Luke Howard, Caspar David Friedrich and John Constable The sense of colour with expressionists and pointillists The structure of flowers with Georgia O'Keeffe The energy of sound with Paul Klee’s Polyphony The balance of forces with Alexander Calder’s kinetic sculptures The art of astronomy with Galileo, Lucien Rudaux and NASA The art of light with Pablo Picasso, Gjon Mili and their famous light drawing collaboration The art of illusion with Marina Apollonio The science of materials with Anish Kapoor The structures of life with Dorothy Hodgkin and Conrad Shawcross The reactions of chemistry with Cai Guo-Qiang’s explosion events The dimension of time with Jen’s Stark’s fascinating and mathematical 30 Cubed