On the Surface of Things
Using innovative photographic technology, Felice finds beauty on the surfaces of objects all around us. Chemist George M. Whitesides explains each photograph, describing why and how each of these phenomena occur.
Reviews
Stunning.The New Yorker
… one of the year’s more intriguing concepts for an art book (or is it a science book?) It’s a rare yin and yang concoction that satisfies both sides of the brain.Wired
The words [in On the Surface of Things] are no less remarkable [than the photos], balancing weighty concepts from the laboratory with a literate tone as light and elegant as a spider’s web. A wonderful achievement indeed.Scientific American
What’s remarkable, especially since they haven’t watered down the science, is how accessible the book is… We tend to think of surfaces as superficial, but for scientists surfaces are where things happen. Frankel shows us how beautiful those surfaces can be; Whitesides, how revelatory.Newsweek
When Felice Frankel…looks at scientific data, she sees the art within, the striking images that can be brought out with the right focus on the right details in the right light. And some scientists are starting to see things her way.The New York Times
The book will excite scientific minds and leave artistic ones in awe.New Scientist
In this wondrous book, the artist Felice Frankel and the chemist George Whitesides meld photography and science to create poetry, of both the visual and literary sort. A series of spectacular photographs…are paired with descriptions that capture both the science and the beauty of the images.Science