Entomology + E.A Séguy = Fabulous Textiles

I can’t believe I only just discovered Eugène Séguy ((1890 – 1985)…where have I been living?! He was a French entomologist who used his scientific knowledge to create fabulous and faithful illustrations and designs of butterflies and insects. He then transformed these into wonderful textile designs. His works spans both the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods and frankly, I’m just captivated.

Apparently, “Séguy wanted to use his artistic skill to glorify the sublime beauty of nature, creating what he called a ‘world of sumptuous forms and colours.’” I think he did just that!

I love the bold, contrasting colours…am I the only one that thinks they give off a west African textiles vibe?

Male pufferfish display artistic side to create spirograph “love nest”

Now who says pufferfish aren’t artistic?!

“Aesthetics were clearly important. The spirograph pattern was meticulously created and males were observed decorating the peaks with shell and coral fragments. But the design had a practical purpose as well: the male’s swimming pattens stirred up fine sand particles and pushed them toward the middle of the circle, which served as the actual nest.” Read more here

Science History as Art

I’ve been walking along the corridors at HHMI’s Janelia Farm, wondering what lots of the beautiful sci-art pieces were based on (I think many are actually to do with fly brain scans and other neuroscience research since that’s what the facility is known for – such a shame they don’t label any of them).

Mosaic portraits of renowned scientists by Julie Simpson and Frank Midgley.

Anyway, the above series of mosaics caught my eye – they were “assembled from Google search images of key research terms”.  Here is more  on how they were curated.