Pollen: The Hidden Sexuality of Flowers
A captivating glimpse into the unseen world around us, this groundbreaking book is the result of the shared fascination of an artist and a scientist with the perfect design of pollen grains, organisms so small that they cannot be seen without a microscope

Pollen is ubiquitous: In childhood we all learn a little about plant reproduction and the role of the bee, but few of us are aware of the astonishing diversity of the structure of pollen grains, although these tiny, extraordinary forms have fascinated the scientifically curious since the seventeenth century. These grains are enclosed beyond the accessible beauty of the flower until the moment of release, when they are carried by wind, water, or animal vectors to achieve their purpose, which is procreation. Starting with a clear explanation of the structure and form of pollen, the authors go on to examine the remarkable events from pollination to fertilization, and the many unseen ways in which pollen impacts our lives. All of this is interwoven with a dazzling array of original images by the authors, created especially for the book. Pollen is a unique interpretation of a magical world that no other book on the subject has ever been able to achieve.
1117684183
Pollen: The Hidden Sexuality of Flowers
A captivating glimpse into the unseen world around us, this groundbreaking book is the result of the shared fascination of an artist and a scientist with the perfect design of pollen grains, organisms so small that they cannot be seen without a microscope

Pollen is ubiquitous: In childhood we all learn a little about plant reproduction and the role of the bee, but few of us are aware of the astonishing diversity of the structure of pollen grains, although these tiny, extraordinary forms have fascinated the scientifically curious since the seventeenth century. These grains are enclosed beyond the accessible beauty of the flower until the moment of release, when they are carried by wind, water, or animal vectors to achieve their purpose, which is procreation. Starting with a clear explanation of the structure and form of pollen, the authors go on to examine the remarkable events from pollination to fertilization, and the many unseen ways in which pollen impacts our lives. All of this is interwoven with a dazzling array of original images by the authors, created especially for the book. Pollen is a unique interpretation of a magical world that no other book on the subject has ever been able to achieve.
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Pollen: The Hidden Sexuality of Flowers

Pollen: The Hidden Sexuality of Flowers

by Rob Kesseler
Pollen: The Hidden Sexuality of Flowers

Pollen: The Hidden Sexuality of Flowers

by Rob Kesseler

Hardcover

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Overview

A captivating glimpse into the unseen world around us, this groundbreaking book is the result of the shared fascination of an artist and a scientist with the perfect design of pollen grains, organisms so small that they cannot be seen without a microscope

Pollen is ubiquitous: In childhood we all learn a little about plant reproduction and the role of the bee, but few of us are aware of the astonishing diversity of the structure of pollen grains, although these tiny, extraordinary forms have fascinated the scientifically curious since the seventeenth century. These grains are enclosed beyond the accessible beauty of the flower until the moment of release, when they are carried by wind, water, or animal vectors to achieve their purpose, which is procreation. Starting with a clear explanation of the structure and form of pollen, the authors go on to examine the remarkable events from pollination to fertilization, and the many unseen ways in which pollen impacts our lives. All of this is interwoven with a dazzling array of original images by the authors, created especially for the book. Pollen is a unique interpretation of a magical world that no other book on the subject has ever been able to achieve.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781608874385
Publisher: Palace Publishing Group, LP
Publication date: 06/03/2014
Pages: 264
Product dimensions: 9.00(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Visual artist Rob Kesseler is University of the Arts London Chair in Arts, Design & Science. He has often used plants as a source of inspiration. In 2001 he was appointed NESTA* Fellow at Kew. Since then he has worked with microscopic plant material. He was 2010 Year of Bio-Diversity Fellow at the Gulbenkian Science Institute, Portugal. His work has been shown in museums and galleries in the UK, Europe, and North America, including solo exhibitions at The Victoria & Albert Museum, Kew Gardens, and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon. He is a fellow of the Linnean Society and Royal Society of Arts. (*National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts). He lives in London, England.

Table of Contents

Explanatory Notes

Foreword by Professor Sir Peter Crane

The Art and Science of Pollen

No Pollen — No Flowers; No Flowers — No Pollen

Picturing the Invisible

Pixillated Pollen

Appendices
Glossary
Bibliography
Index of Plants Illustrated

Introduction

The Art and Science of Pollen

by Rob Kesseler and Madeline Harley

This book is the result of the shared fascination of an artist and a scientist with the perfect design of organisms too small to be seen without a microscope -- pollen grains, which are enclosed beyond the accessible beauty of the flower until the moment of release, when they will be carried by wind, water or animal vectors to achieve their purpose, procreation. Pollen is ubiquitous; in childhood we all learn a little of plant reproduction and the role of the bee but few people are aware of the astonishing diversity of the structure of pollen grains, although these tiny and extraordinary diversity of the structure of pollen grains, although these tiny and extraordinary forms have fascinated the scientifically curious since the seventeenth century.

Throughout history there have been polymath geniuses whose passion for understanding enabled them to traverse many disciplines, Leonardo da Vinci being the exemplar. In the seventeenth century came Robert Hooke, chemist, physicist and surveyor of the City of London, whose pioneering development of the compound microscope was to have such an impact on the scientific world. Printed in 1665, his seminal book Micrographia was a landmark in popular science publishing. Not only did Hooke describe in an accessible language his microscopic observations of anything from woven strands of silk to a flea but also he illustrated each specimen with graphic precision, giving the subjects an 'other worldly' appearance. We have become so used to the legacy of richly illustrated books which it engendered, that it is hard to imagine the sensation thatMicrographia caused when it was first published. It pre-dated by almost a century the proliferation of popular illustrated books generated to satisfy the growing fascination across Europe for collecting and displaying 'nature's ornaments', with titles such as Spectakulum Naturae & Artium, 1765, and Amusemens Microscopiques, 1776. The relationship between art and science has ebbed and flowed since Hooke's time, Goethe, who would send himself to sleep at night by visualizing the developmental cycle of plants, had a less happy time. He was surprised and dismayed to find that his essay, On the Metamorphosis of Plants, although recognized thirty years later as a serious contribution to botany, was ignored at the time by botanists and public alike. He complained, "Nowhere would anyone grant that science and poetry can be united. People forget that science had developed from poetry and the failed to take into consideration that a swing of the pendulum might benificently (sic) reunite the two, at a higher level and to mutual advantage."

After a period of separation, the cultures of science and art are currently enjoying a collaborative renaissance. This book is a testament to this new spirit of co-operation. The sophistication and quality of the images produced scientifically is such that they have a clarity and detail that may call into question the need for any artistic intervention at all. However, this would be to ignore the role of the artist in interpreting and translating new scientific imagery, acting as the conduit through which the cultural consequences of scientific discovery are developed. Contemporary audiences of all ages are showing a growing appetite for images of the natural world that not only evoke a sense of awe through their sheer magnificence but also offer the opportunity to learn more about the workings of life.

It is with great pleasure that we are now able to share the fruits of our science-art collaboration.

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