Art and physics: different as night and day, right?
True, the fundamental physical properties of matter come into play as artists work with their materials. But beyond that, what connection can there be between quantum theory and three sheets of carefully cut handmade paper, or a delicate piece of needlework?
In fact, there are some surprising similarities and even an underlying parallel in the processes and practices of both artists and physicists.
The AV俱乐部 Art Gallery鈥檚 latest exhibition "A Very Long Engagement," which runs until this Sunday, highlights these similarities. The show features a variety of textile media: from familiar materials like paper and wool to some more unusual ones like sausage casing and metal. Jordan Kyriakidis, associate professor of physics at AV俱乐部, shared his thoughts on a couple of the pieces and how they relate to his own research practice.
As a quantum physicist, Dr. Kyriakidis deals with bits of matter so small they can鈥檛 be seen. So, does he mentally visualize the concepts he鈥檚 working with as he鈥檚 working? And if so, how?
鈥淗ow I visualize things is very abstract,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not in terms of equations or language. I鈥檓 not even sure it鈥檚 an image. It鈥檚 almost more like鈥� processes.鈥�
Looking for patterns in time and space
The idea of process relates perfectly to a triptych of works on paper by Jozef Bajus. Subtle yet beautiful, Prayers for Jacqueline #1, #2, #3 (2011) is comprised of three sheets of oatmeal-coloured Japanese kozo paper, each resembling a basic grid or x-y axis.
The middle of the first sheet of paper has been sliced vertically at three-millimeter intervals. In the second, alternating thin strips of paper have been removed then knotted around an attached strip. But it鈥檚 challenging to see any pattern 鈥� or even where the paper was knotted 鈥� because of the strips鈥� overlapping loose ends.
The third is similar to the second, except that the ends of the tied strips face the wall, not the viewer. And in the second and third pieces, the knotted strips reveal that the verso side of the sheet is red and flower-patterned.
鈥淥ne thing I like about this is that it deals with processes as well as the physical arrangement of the objects,鈥� Dr. Kyriakidis says. 鈥淸Physicists] think about things in terms of processes and space and time, and often it鈥檚 very hard to disentangle them from each other.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what [the Bajus piece] reminds me of, because it鈥檚 almost like snapshots frozen in time,鈥� he says. Yet there鈥檚 also a reference to space, especially in the second and third panels, in which the knots or 鈥渃oordinates鈥� seem to move from front to back.
Work in progress
On the opposite wall is Working Drawings, a dozen or so mixed media images on wood by Doug Guildford. Each features outlined abstract forms and washes of opaque white and smudgey pale peach, reddish-pink, blue, and grey.
鈥淗ere, too, I can see elements of what we do.鈥� Dr. Kyriakidis speaks again of the difficulty of creating a language others will understand. But it鈥檚 also about whether an idea 鈥� a hypothesis 鈥� ends up working.
First, Dr. Kyriakidis constructs 鈥渁 kind of a scaffold. Then, see if everything fits inside that structure.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 clear what a good structure is,鈥� he explains, 鈥渁nd what semantics we鈥檙e putting on that structure. And it鈥檚 also clear when things don鈥檛 work. But what鈥檚 not clear is why they don鈥檛 work. Because the scaffolding we constructed was the wrong kind? Or, did we use the wrong semantics? That part is hard to distinguish.鈥�
It sounds frustrating 鈥� and he concedes it is: 鈥淒oing research requires a certain temperament. You have to be comfortable with not knowing 鈥� you have to be okay with having doubt pretty much all the time.鈥�
And all that, Dr. Kyriakidis thinks, is 鈥渟imilar to how I imagine artists work: they want to express something, but they don鈥檛 know how exactly. And if it鈥檚 not working, they don鈥檛 know if it鈥檚 because the medium is wrong, or if it鈥檚 because the whole idea is stupid. But they do know when they 鈥榞et鈥� it.鈥�
He notes that Working Drawings speak to that process: 鈥淓ach is different, but there are similarities 鈥� there鈥檚 always some line or pattern, a circle, a grid, in every one. It鈥檚 almost like the artist is trying to figure out what they鈥檙e trying to do.鈥�
The uncertainty principle of the thing
Works by Dorie Millerson further encourage discussion about uncertainty 鈥� both the uncertainty principle, and the uncertainty of knowing whether the results of one鈥檚 work will be successful.
Along one wall are suspended delicate, two-dimensional works of handmade lace: one depicts a pair of figures, while the other is an abstract hand. Two small spotlights, aimed slightly downward, cast shadows of the pieces on the wall behind. 聽
How do these works relate to physics? 鈥淚n classical physics, there鈥檚 this big dichotomy between particles and waves,鈥� Dr. Kyriakidis begins. 鈥淥ne way to express the uncertainty principle is that an electron can be both a particle and a wave.鈥�
鈥淎 comical analogy that I use is [to] imagine there鈥檚 a person, and every time you see him, you slap him on the head. Every day: boom, boom, boom. And then you say, 鈥楳an, that person is so cranky! He鈥檚 not a very nice person at all,鈥欌�� Dr. Kyriakidis says with a chuckle.
鈥淎nd then there鈥檚 this other person that you always hug, and you say, 鈥極h, what a great person!鈥� So what you do matters 鈥� it鈥檚 not that he鈥檚 actually cranky, you鈥檙e making him cranky.鈥�
鈥淪o, a photon is both a particle and a wave. You force it to be either, depending on what you do to it. That鈥檚 what I was reminded of when I saw these [needle lace pieces]: there鈥檚 a light, and there鈥檚 the actual object, and there鈥檚 a shadow, so which one is 鈥榯he thing鈥�?鈥�
鈥淪o, maybe it鈥檚 all of those,鈥� he adds. 鈥淵ou see different aspects of it depending on what you focus on.鈥�