"Painting is nothing else but research and experiment. I do not understand painting as artwork... I continuously do research and there is a logic sequence in this research” -Picasso

Visualizing  Kinematics  with  Fabian  Oefner

The motto on Fabian Oefner's website is Gateway to the Invisible which accurately describes the art that he creates. Oefner is an artist and photographer who's pieces focus on portraying the laws of motion. By applying paint to various moving surfaces, as well as taking close up photographs of moving and shattering objects he is able to capture a still image of kinematic motion.

Here is one example. This series is called Black Hole and involves placing paint on a small metal cylinder attached to a motor. After the motor is turned on, high speed pictures are taken of the paint as it accelerates and rotates around and off the moving rod due to centripetal forces. An understanding of rotational motion and inertia as the paint travels through the air are needed to create this kind of image. The paint allows us to visualize the angular velocity (omega=delta theta/delta time) moving perpendicular to the cylinder and the angular acceleration (alpha=delta omega/delta time).

This series, called Liquid Jewel, utilizes the pressure of balloons to create paint explosions. To make these images, Oefner pops a gas-filled balloon with paint on the surface and takes high speed pictures of the paint as it is pushed out due to the pressure difference. The pressure gradient between the normal atmospheric pressure and the high internal pressure causes the balloon to pop as the needle creates a hole and the air quickly rushes out (PV=nRT). This outward pressure is captured and can be visualized by the paint.

This series is called Dancing Colors and involves placing colored crystal beads on a foil surface placed on a speaker. Audio signals from the speaker transforms the sound into vibrational waves, made visible by the colored beads. Depending on the placement of the beads and the sound emitted, a different wave formation is created with high and low concentrations at the nodes and anti nodes.

To see more amazing artwork done by Fabian Oefner check out his website: http://fabianoefner.com/