I believe that
the purpose of Physics is to define the properties of space (and by proxy, space-time). I believe that the purpose of Art is to define the properties of ideological space, and to reconcile that ideological space with
expressions of physicality.
Art draws together the chasm between
Physics and
Metaphysics, using
imagery of
physical space to define the
reality of
ideological space.
It is then no great
leap in logic when I conclude that Physics and Art are completely and irrevocably intertwined.
Inspired by
Pseudo_Intellectual's
The Art of Picasso, I will start with
Dali.
Salvador Dali had an obsession with quantum mechanics. The recent reality of the atomic bomb in those
Cold War days thrust Quantum Mechanics to the forefront of the public eye. Dali was irrevocably influenced by the power of the atom, the very
particulateness of this
phenomenon to destroy,
decay, and
mutate.
Dali's attempt to depict the essence of
quantum mechanics was a unique challenge, in that it defied the very
nature of quantum mechanics itself. By
definition, it is based on probabilities and uncertainties, and defies the idea of
observation. Quantum particles do not
exist in the same manner that Classical Newtonian physics expresses
existence, and thus, he illustrates a departure from classical art to
surrealism. Dali's obsession with the
act and the
idea of
decay was evidenced in his use of the theme of
log functions in his paintings-- most notably the curves of the
rhinocerous horn.
Dali's obsession with
particles and the act of
splitting was embodied in his many paintings breaking up the
objects into cubes, spheres, and
rhinocerous horns, each displaying the
divisibility of matter. He also had an interest in
drawing together the ideas of
surrealism,
Freud, and
Relativity.
Pablo Picasso was not specifically interested in
Special Relativity, but no man lives in a vacuum. The new theory of relativity significantly figured into the intellectual climate during Picasso's time, most likely influencing him in at least a subconcious way.
When I see Picasso, I see
multiple coordinate systems. He's expressing linear transformations of the human form
frozen at the same point in time. In essence, illustrating non-Euclidean geometry and the idea of
space-time. He plays with the notion of the fourth dimension-- in the manner of a 3-dimensional being observing all of the space in a 2-dimensional world
omnisciently, he paints from the perspective of a 4-dimensional being and the ability to see
everything in a 3-dimensional world at the same '
time'.
Physics and Art are intellectual exercises of
mankind, and are the basis upon which we compartmentalize
physical and ideological spaces.
Attempts to make mathematical
sense of
reality.