Abstract
Can researchers use honest, beautiful, and accurate visual strategies to communicate something that is not visible? Especially with phenomena that are just theoretical concepts, or that are too small or too distant in time or space. Art related to science can be much more than divulgation (in the sense of conveying “second-hand”, or “cold”, research content). Art can bring the general public straight into the core of state-of-the-art research; in some respects, art can become first-hand research in itself (but, at the same time, verge on the edge of fiction), when striving to convey something that science is still trying to define, or to evoke things from an almost obliterated past. We present here some considerations on the above themes, from two different points of view: by an art-historical researcher and art curator, and by an artist active in science communication. In the first part of this article, Gloria Vallese describes the experience of two art and science exhibitions organized by the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice, Italy. One of the artworks featured was by Alessia Lorenzi, the other author of this article; her experience in that context, together with other considerations from inside her current scientific visualization practice, is analyzed in the second part of this text. The second part of this article will cover some critical points and strengths of visual communication in science applied to the invisible. Practical examples and solutions will be provided to address the critical points and to reflect on opportunities and responsibilities in these fields.
References
Ainur Rahman, Shovupa (2016), Tra gioco e arte: l’edutainment al servizio della cultura, Dissertation, First-level Degree, Corso di Nuove Tecnologie per l’Arte (NTA), Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia. Supervised by: Vallese, Gloria.
Albanese, Alessandro — Vicentini, Matilde (1997), Why Do We Believe that an Atom is Colourless? Reflections about the Teaching of the Particle Model. Science & Education 6, pp. 251–261. doi.org/10.1023/A:1017933500475
Bate, David (2017), Il primo libro di fotografia. Torino: Einaudi.
Cleveland, William S. — McGill, Robert, (1984), Graphical Perception: Theory, Experimentation, and Application to the Development of Graphical Methods. Journal of the American Statistical Association (JASA), 79(387), pp. 531-554. DOI:10.1080/01621459.1984.10478080
Creem-Regehr, Sarah H. — Hegarty, Mary, et al. (2018), Decision making with visualizations: a cognitive framework across disciplines. Cognitive Research 3, 29, pp.1-25. doi.org/10.1186/s41235-018-0120-9
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly (2014), Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology: The Collected Works of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Springer.
Feiyue, Zhu (2022), Edutainment Methods in the Learning Process: Quickly, Fun and Satisfying. International Journal of Environment, Engineering & Education, 4(1):19-26 DOI:10.55151/ijeedu.v4i1.41
Gregory, Jane — Miller, Steve (1998), Science in public: Communication, culture and credibility. New York: Plenum.
Impey, Chris (2023), Black Holes in Science and the Arts. In: Culture and Cosmos
27 (1 and 2), Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter 2023 (Proceedings of INSAPXI, 11th Conference on the Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena, held at Caltech, Pasadena, on September 20-23, 2022), pp. 145-157. doi.org/10.46472/CC.01227.0217
Kaya, Ali (2023), Addressing student misconceptions about atoms and examining instructor strategies for overcoming them. Journal of Pedagogical Research, 7 (4), pp. 251-262 DOI:10.33902/JPR.20232307
Lazzarini, Lorenzo (1995), Nuovi studi tecnico-scientifici sui rilievi degli arconi della Basilica Marciana In: Demus Otto, Lazzarini Lorenzo, Piana Mario, Tigler Guido, Le sculture esterne di San Marco. Milano: Electa, pp. 228-234
Lo Giudice, Alessandro — Re, Alessandro — Angelici, Debora et al., (2017), Ion Microbeam Analysis in Cultural Heritage: application to lapis lazuli and ancient coins. DOI:10.21014/acta_imeko.v6i3.465
Lorenzi, Alessia (2021), Virtual Reality INFN-LNL Realizzazione di esperienze immersive ed interattive in ambito scientifico. First-level Degree, Corso di Nuove Tecnologie per l’Arte (NTA), Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia. Supervised by: Igor Imhoff, Davide Tiso, Lorenzo Pranovi. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359722424_Virtual_Reality_INFN-LNL_Realizzazione_di_esperienze_immersive_ed_interattive_in_ambito_scientifico (accessed 10 August 2025).
Lorenzi Alessia (2024), Sviluppo di applicazioni con tecnologie Realtà Virtuale, Realtà Aumentata, Realtà Mista e contenuti multimediali audio video. Internal Report INFN-LNL.27/2024. Available from: https://web.infn.it/internal_report-LNL/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/INFN_LNL_278_2024.pdf (accessed 16 October 2024).
Lupi, Giorgia (2017), Data Humanism – The Revolution Will Be Visualized. Capstone Address at the IEEE Visualization Symposium, Phoenix, AZ, October 6, 2017.
Lupi, Giorgia (2017), Data Humanism: The Revolutionary Future of Data Visualization. Print Magazine, January 30, 2017. Available from: https://www.printmag.com/article/data-humanism-future-of-data-visualization/ (accessed 11 August 2025).
Lupi, Giorgia — Prosavec, Stephanie (2016), Dear Data. Princeton: Architectural Press.
Manovich, Lev. (2002), Data Visualization as New Abstraction and Anti-Sublime. http://manovich.net/content/04-projects/040-data-visualisation-as-newabstraction-and-anti-sublime/37_article_2002.pdf.
Mancuso, Marco (ed.), (2020) Intervista con la new media art: l'osservatorio digicult tra arte, design e cultura digitale. Milano: Mimesis Edizioni.
Mandarano, Nicoletta (2019), Musei e media digitali. Roma: Carocci.
Masters, Heidi — Park Rogers, Meredith A. — Nargund-Joshi, Vanashri (2011), Sizing Up the Solar System. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268215670_Sizing_Up_the_Solar_System (accessed 11 August 2025)
Orecchia, Antonio M. — Preatoni, Damiano G. (eds.)(2022), Bufale, fake news, rumors e post-verità/Discipline a confronto. Milano: Mimesis.
Padilla, Lace — Creem Regehr, Sarah — Hegarty, Mary et al. (2018), Decision making with visualizations: a cognitive framework across disciplines. DOI:10.1186/s41235-018-0120-9
Piana, Mario (1995), Il restauro del portale maggiore di San Marco. In: Demus Otto, Lazzarini Lorenzo, Piana Mario, Tigler Guido, Le sculture esterne di San Marco. Milano: Electa, pp. 229-246.
Pitrelli, Nico (2003), La crisi del Public Understanding of Science in Gran Bretagna, Journal of Science Communication (JCOM), 2 (1), pp. 1-10.
Quaranta, Domenico (2020), Media, New Media, Postmedia. Milano: Postmedia Books.
Studio Azzurro (2011), Musei di narrazione, Percorsi interattivi e affreschi multimediali. Milano: Silvana Editoriale.
Studio Azzurro (2016), Immagini sensibili. Milano: Silvana Editoriale.
Szabo, Lucian-Vasile (2014), The Future of Communication: From New Media to Postmedia. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 163, pp. 36 – 43. DOI:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.12.283
Türk, Gülseda Eyceyurt (2018), Pre-service Science. Teachers' Images and Misconceptions of Atomic Orbital and Self-ionization Concepts, Journal of Educational Research 6(3), pp. 386-391. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2018.060304
Vallese, Gloria (2014), Le stelle i viaggi / Un ciclo astronomico nel portale centrale della Basilica di San Marco a Venezia (Prima parte). Annuario ABAV 2014 (2015) , pp. 235-275. Available from: https://www.academia.edu/15364489/LE_STELLE_I_VIAGGI_Un_ciclo_astronomico_nel_portale_centrale_della_Basilica_di_San_Marco_a_Venezia_Prima_parte (accessed 16 October 2024).
Vallese, Gloria (2015), Of stars, and travels: An astronomic cycle in the main portal of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice (Revised and extended version of the article originally published in Italian language in “ABAV”, Annuario dell’Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia, 2015, pp.235-275. Available from: https://www.academia.edu/15583579/Of_Stars_and_Travels_English_version_ (accessed 16 October 2024).
Vallese, Gloria (ed.) (2017), Stelle e viaggi. Un ciclo astronomico del XIII secolo nel portale della Basilica di San Marco a Venezia/Stars and Travels. A 13th century astronomical cycle on the main portal of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, exh. cat., Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia, Magazzino del Sale 3 (Venezia e Crocetta del Montello, Accademia di Belle Arti: Antiga).
Vallese, Gloria (2020), La riscoperta dell’Arco del Firmamento. La Camera dello Scirocco. Periodico dell’Accademia di Belle Arti “Michelangelo” di Agrigento, IV, Ottobre 2020, pp. 11-21
Vallese, Gloria — Ainur Rahman, Shovupa — Volpato, John (2016) PHAENOMENA/Old artifact, new questions: the interactive experience of St. Mark’s 13th century main portal. Available from: https://www.stelleeviaggi.org/phaenomena (accessed 16 October 2024)
Vallese, Gloria — Campanile, Federica (2021), Stelle di San Marco/Una ricerca agli esordi. Available from: https://www.stelleeviaggi.org/exhibition-2021-inlays (accessed 16 October 2024).
Vandemeulebroecke Marc, Baillie Mark, Margolskee Alison, Magnusson Baldur (2019), Effective Visual Communication for the Quantitative Scientist. CPT Pharmacometrics Syst Pharmacol., 8(10), pp. 705-719. DOI: 10.1002/psp4.12455.
Volpato, John (2016), Phaenomena. Introduzione ai lavori di progettazione, realizzazione e allestimento. Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia internal report. Available at: http://www.stelleeviaggi.org/ articoli/ https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57c003a2e3df2854ac670b53/t/581ca38e2994caf3d7957d3a/1478271996977/Relazione+Phaenomena.pdf; (accessed 16 October 2024).
Films and videos
Bruna, Niccolò — Guerra, Matias, Pulsars, A Tale of Cosmic Clocks, animation movie. Italy 2022. Available from: https://www.vis-sns.com/en/products/video/pulsars-a-tale-of-cosmic-clocks/ (accessed 10 August 2025).
Lorenzi, Alessia (2021) Nucleosynthesis VR Experience, animation movie, Italy 2021. Trailer available from: http://www.youtube.com/@AlessiaLorenziShowcase (accessed 10 August 2025).
Lorenzi, Alessia (2021), Viaggi riflessi. https://www.stelleeviaggi.org/alessia-lorenzi, (accessed 16 October 2024).
Lorenzi, Alessia,(2023), INFN-LNL Introductory Video, animation movie. Italy 2023. Short version available from: https://youtu.be/H6W4OZrHnNA?si=OlZtVmW6BdH3eFKl (accessed 10 August 2025).
Websites
Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia. Sito ufficiale. www.accademiavenezia.it (accessed 11 August 2025).
Schilling, Govert https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/galaxies-redshift (accessed 11 August 2025).
Stelle e viaggi. Sito ufficiale delle esposizioni 2016 e 20121. www.stelleviaggi.org (accessed 11 August 2025).
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Gloria Vallese, Alessia Lorenzi