"He to whom Nature begins to reveal her open secret will feel an irresistible yearning for her most worthy interpreter, Art." – Goethe
Are Art and Physics Related?
Physics and the arts are much more intertwined then most people imagine. In many ways they are one and the same. Both the physicist and the artist try to understand and interpret the world around them. They must visualize, experiment, explore and eventually share their findings. While they may go about it in different ways, they both must understand the nature and properties of matter and energy. Though here I focus primarily on the visual arts, the musical and performance arts are also very closely related to physics in that they utilize and have to understand the power of sound, space, and time.
Physics and art are often viewed as separate disciples, but when taking a look back at the history of both, physicists have always used art and artists have always used physics. Physicists use art to help them visualize abstract aspects of the physical world. Artists in turn use physics to understand, utilize and experiment with their materials. They have each in turn supported the others growth and development and have evolved together. The times of great advancement in science and physics is often roughly correlated with revolutionary movements in art. One example is the shattering of beliefs when heliocentrism was first suggested by Copernicus. This new understanding of time and space inspired artists like Masaccio who were experimenting with perspective and a new way of looking at dimensionality. In another era, when Einstein, Plank and Boar were at large, the artists such as Manet, Cezanne, and Picasso were also breaking down the past traditions. Both were exploring new ways of depicting their world.
The examples of these connections are countless. Advances in physics have made and changed the way art making is done, and the accomplishments of artists such as the use of optics, materials sciences, and creative use of high tech instruments have helped advance physics and the rest of the sciences. Here I give three examples of contemporary artists who use physics to create their art pieces. While there are many, many others I hope this will demonstrate the interconnectedness of the two disciplines and give rise to a better appreciation of the arts in science.
Physics and art are often viewed as separate disciples, but when taking a look back at the history of both, physicists have always used art and artists have always used physics. Physicists use art to help them visualize abstract aspects of the physical world. Artists in turn use physics to understand, utilize and experiment with their materials. They have each in turn supported the others growth and development and have evolved together. The times of great advancement in science and physics is often roughly correlated with revolutionary movements in art. One example is the shattering of beliefs when heliocentrism was first suggested by Copernicus. This new understanding of time and space inspired artists like Masaccio who were experimenting with perspective and a new way of looking at dimensionality. In another era, when Einstein, Plank and Boar were at large, the artists such as Manet, Cezanne, and Picasso were also breaking down the past traditions. Both were exploring new ways of depicting their world.
The examples of these connections are countless. Advances in physics have made and changed the way art making is done, and the accomplishments of artists such as the use of optics, materials sciences, and creative use of high tech instruments have helped advance physics and the rest of the sciences. Here I give three examples of contemporary artists who use physics to create their art pieces. While there are many, many others I hope this will demonstrate the interconnectedness of the two disciplines and give rise to a better appreciation of the arts in science.
Mackenzie Stamey
Physics 212
Spring 2014
Physics 212
Spring 2014