NICOLE DASKAS BLOG POST 1

Intersections of Art and Science: Historical and Contemporary
Maria Sibylla Merian
Maria Sibylla Merian was a nature artist who rendered illustrations of insects and plants. She was born in Germany in 1647. Her work would become the standard for scientific drawings. Merian’s illustrations were a huge contribution to entomology. She was exposed to art at a very early age, as both her father and stepfather were artists. She began studying painting with her stepfather, and was soon collecting caterpillars to study their anatomy. Merian moved to Nurnberg from 1675-1680 and started painting watercolor flowers. These would later become a three-volume book. Her next publication was about the metamorphosis of moths and butterflies. Her illustrations were extremely precise, accurate, and delicate. In 1699, she was asked to set sail for a two year long expedition to the coast of South America. This trip consisted of studying and documenting the jungle’s plants, animals, and insects. Upon returning to Amsterdam, Merian would publish “The Metamorphosis of the Insects of Suriname”, which would become known as her most important work. This book showed insects with their host plants as well as described the different stages of their development and lives. Her works, while academic in function, are extremely delicate with astonishing detail. Tiny veins of leaves and hairs on moth wings stand out. The strokes are painted with such care and accuracy. Throughout her life, Merian studied and documented the life cycles of 186 species of insects. Her work contradicted the previous understanding of insect metamorphosis, and she also discovered many new species of insects. It was completely unheard of for a woman to take expeditions at the time Merian did so. Her work is now held in the Royal Collection. 


















Subject : A Parrot Tulip, Auriculas, and Red Currants, with a Magpie Moth, its Caterpillar and Pupa By: Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) Black chalk, bodycolour and watercolour on vellum; 31,6 cm x 26 cm Via Wikimedia Commons
Duroia eriopila (from Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium, Plate XLIII)








Surinam caiman (probably Paleosuchus palpebrosus) biting a South American false coral snake (Anilius scytale), hand-coloured transfer engraving by Maria Sibylla Merian (Peter Sluyter, printmaker), 1719


Janet Saad-Cook’s work represents an intersection between art and science. Her focuses include light, space, and time. Elements of light mimic the passing of time as well as motion. She creates what are known as “sun drawings”, which fuse sun marking techniques with new technology. The light is cast across walls in a painterly fashion. Soft colors and organic shapes contribute to the fluid movement representative of passing time. These ethereal light shapes seem almost other-worldly when placed in banal settings, such as bedroom and living room walls. The light paintings “soar across the walls, evolving and dissolving as the sun makes its daily sweep of the earth”. These shapes are achieved by strategically placed metals and glass that reflect the sun’s rays. Saad-Cook’s work “[reveals] glimpses of the grand order of the universe and [creates] a link with all humanity”. She sees connections between ancient people, who lived in harmony with the natural world, and people of today since everyone is connected in the continuum of time. She has collaborated with scientists, engineers, and architects as well as given talks at MIT. 
Artists’s Studio
Work in Progress, Not Yet Titled
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