New Volume Examines Caltech as Site of Both Artistic and Scientific Invention

Science is as much a visual practice as a textual or quantitative one.

For centuries, scientists have used microscopes, telescopes, painting, illustration, printing, and photography to perceive nature and communicate what they see in it, often in collaboration with artists. In the 20th century, scientists also came to view creativity as an essential resource and looked to art to foster it.

As part of PST ART’s region-wide exploration of the interface between art and science, Crossing Over: Art and Science at Caltech, 1920–2020 (Caltech Library in Association with Getty Publications, $65) takes a look at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) as a site for scientific and artistic image production. Featuring over 300 striking images from Caltech science, as well as the art and popular culture it inspired, the book uncovers the rich pictorial record embedded in the Caltech Archives and Special Collections. Alongside these images, a team of visual culture scholars examines Caltech through a series of tightly focused case studies. How, the authors ask, have science and engineering institutions used scientific representation, art, and architecture to construct themselves? How have scientists and engineers used images and collaborated with artists to discover, invent, and communicate? This book reveals new facets of life and work at Caltech that will be illuminating even to those familiar with the school, showcasing views that informed—and were informed by—the vibrant visual culture of Southern California, including the two industries that most defined this region, Hollywood and aerospace.