Today, we were introduced to some of the similarities between art and science as we listened to our morning lecture on Visualization. It began with some ideas about how both art and science can serve to be useful tools for each other. The question “How do artists and scientists produce images?” was asked. Perspective was a common theme in both the arts and sciences. Rays were discussed as being an example of a scientific manifestation of one-point perspective. The artist Jon Von Ike was also mentioned as an artist who used optics in his paintings. I have always found this painting interesting and complex and now I know why. Multiple, hidden ideas permeate the painting and allow for a much more complex and interesting outcome. Not only paint was used but also the idea of the bending of light in a mirror was in mind when Jon Von Ike painted this piece. The idea of perspective was continued when the idea of “nano” was introduced. This scaling down of an image allows one to look at an image with a whole new perspective. This interpretation of the minute details of something can also be seen when analyzing pieces of art, poetry, and music. There can be found a deeper meaning in most forms of art when looking at it from different perspectives. The content which is able to be seen on the surface is not always the most important piece of information to be taken from the art as is with the nano particles seen in this developing science of nano technology. I found this first lecture to be stimulating and thought provoking and I am excited to see what other connections are going to be made between art and science later this week.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_van_Eyck
http://brightbytes.com/cosite/what.html
http://www.unl.edu/CMRAcfem/em.htm