Visuele Aspekten van de Wetenschap [Visual Aspects of Science] by Will Burtin

Visuele Aspekten van de Wetenschap [Visual Aspects of Science], n.d. [1962]. Published by Kodak, IBM, Upjohn, and Union Carbide. 9.75 x 9.75, pp. 20 plus covers, stapled. Dutch text only; see the English edition. Design: Will Burtin, New York City. Photographs: Ezra Stoller, Rye, New York. Beautifully printed by Fritz Busche, Dortmund, West Germany. This copy is from the library of Reba Sochis, with her name blind embossed on the first translucent page.

Visual Aspects of Science was produced to coincide with the September, 1962 Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam touring (Amsterdam, London, United States and more) exhibition; thanks to Burtin’s friend Willem Sandberg. Will Burtin’s intellectual ideas to merge art with science and technology while using “design as a tool” was pioneering.

This slim catalog features multiple texts related to Burtin’s most important science exhibitions: Atomic Energy in Action, The Brain, and The Cell. Texts by Will Burtin and his client/exhibition contributors: Roy Tillotson (Manager, Propaganda Division of Union Carbide Corporation), Dr. A. Garrard Macloed (Director, Special Science Division at Upjohn Company), and Bruce Mckenzie (Editor, IBM Journal of Research and Development).

Burtin’s clear graphic interpretations for complex scientific ideas are brightly illustrated using: simplified (almost abstract) graphics, photographs of his three-dimensional models as well as microscopic and scientific photography including time-lapse photography by Ezra Stoller. Experimental printing and tactile materials enhance the messaging with an embossed front cover, translucent vellum pages, glossy and thick textured papers, and red overprinting to black and white photographs.

A good stapled booklet with wear along the spine, creasing and a light bend to the cover corners throughout. Hard to find Dutch version!