January 23, 2014

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4 Ways to Venus: An Artists Assignment

Irving Geis (1908-1997) is probably best known for illustrations of biological macromolecules, such as his groundbreaking watercolor painting of myoglobin—an exhaustive and beautiful portrait of the first properly sorted protein molecule.

By Jen Christiansen

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

Irving Geis (1908-1997) is probably best known for illustrations of biological macromolecules, such as his groundbreaking watercolor painting of myoglobin–an exhaustive and beautiful portrait of the first properly sorted protein molecule. (The work appears in “The Three-dimensional Structure of a Protein Molecule,” by John Kendrew, Scientific American, December 1961.)

From 1948 through 1983 he lent his talents to the magazine to help readers visualize and more fully understand a wide variety of topics, from continental drift to space travel and, of course, microbiology. The booklet below provides a glimpse at the evolution of one of those projects, including sketches and physical models that led to a series of crisp and concise diagrams for an article on the topic of interplanetary exploration.

Irving Geis’s numerous scientific illustrations were purchased by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Md., in 2000.

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4 Ways to Venus4 Ways to Venus: An Artist's Assignment for Scientific American. Illustrations by Irving Geis. Reproduced here with permission. (Irving Geis's numerous scientific illustrations were purchased by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Md., in 2000.)

 

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Jen Christiansen is an information designer, visual science communicator and author of the book Building Science Graphics: An Illustrated Guide to Communicating Science through Diagrams and Visualizations. She began her publishing career in New York City at Scientific American, moved to Washington, D.C., to join the art department of National Geographic, spent four years as a freelance science communicator and then returned to Scientific American for a second stint, during which she became the magazine’s first graphics-specific art director. In that role, she established a consistent data visualization and diagram philosophy across all articles. She writes and presents on topics ranging from reconciling her love for art and science to her quest to learn more about the pulsar chart on Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures album cover. Her work can be viewed at www.jenchristiansen.com

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