John Squire – författare

Muscular contraction provides one of the most fascinating topics for a biophysicist to study. Although muscle comprises a molecular machine whereby chemical energy is converted to mechanical work, its action in producing force is something that is readily observable in everyday life, a feature that does not apply to most other structures of biophysical inter­ est. In addition, muscle is so beautifully organized at the microscopic level that those important structural probes, electron microscopy (with the associated image analysis methods) and X-ray diffraction, have pro­ vided a wealth of information about the arrangements of the constituent proteins in a variety of muscle types. But, despite all this, the answer to the question "How does muscle work?" is still uncertain, especially with regard to the molecular events by which force is actually generated, and the question remains one of the major unsolved problems in biology. With this problem in mind, this book has been written to collect together the available evidence on the structures of the muscle fila­ ments and on their arrangements in different muscle cells, to extract the common structural features of these cells, and thus to attempt to define a possible series of mechanical steps that will describe at molecular resolu­ tion the process by which force is generated. The book cannot be considered to be an introductory text; in fact, it presents a very detailed account of muscle structure as gleaned mainly from electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction.

Paintings made from digitally distorted photographs, by Stone Roses guitarist John SquireBritish painter John Squire (born 1962) is most famous for being the lead guitarist in the Stone Roses, but he is also a prolific visual artist—his most recognisable piece being the Jackson Pollock–inspired artwork used on the Stone Roses’ 1989 eponymous debut album.This book, published to accompany an exhibition of Squire’s work at London’s Newport Street Gallery titled Disinformation, presents a new series. These large-scale oil paintings are based on photographs taken by the artist or found online. Squire alters the images using editing software, which he overloads to prompt visual glitches. These partially distorted, fragmented scenes are then enlarged from their original small-screen format and rendered in the traditional medium of oil and canvas. The figures blend and collide with their surroundings, their features confused and sometimes entirely lost.Also included is an interview with the artist by Michael Joo.