Michael,
Shlain's book is a good read. It's hard for me-- and probably unwise since I
have a book as well--to say a critical word about it, although others have done
so..
I have long been aware of Shlain's book. The basic thesis is that art
pre-discovers physics. One might readily agree that, in the arts and sciences,
the zeitgeist, ie, the spirit of the time, reveals itself both in science and
the arts (music, literature, and the sciences). But one must tread carefully
here and not overuse a theme, and sweep details under one rug.
An example: In the 1860s Manet painted a number of single-figure paintings.
Examples: The Dead Toreador (in the National Gallery of art in Washington), The
Piper, and the Dead Toreador ( now in the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena).
Manet said that he had no trouble painting figures in groups but found painting
single figures an artistic challenge. This is a position he shared with
Delacroix, whose work he admired greatly.The curators at the Norton Simon
Museum have made a very careful analyisis of Manet's purposes in this regard
(cf, my book comments and an excerpt from thier essay). So the particular way
Manet approached such a problem was quite singular.He painted them without any
significant anchoring ground shadow.
This, Shlain jumped on as evidence that Manet knew in 1866 that there was
something wrong with Newton's theory of gravity. Einstein's theory of General
Relativity, which revolutionized our concept of space, time, and matter, came
in 1915. It is universally regarded among most historians of science as one of
the most revolutionary ideas in physics, surely unanticipated by artists on the
streets of Paris in 1866. (See Gerald Holton, refrred to in my book.).There
are some connecttions made with nn-Euclidean geometry, but that is another
story.
On the other hand, Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity (1905) is quite a
different thing: if he hadn't published that work when he did, someone else was
likely to have done so shortly thereafter: That theory was "in the air" -among
physicists at least.
The basic point is that art had its own justifications for Manet's work.
Similarly, Shlain's brush tarred Cezanne's still lifes the same way. Again ,
one must examine GCezanne's own imperatives.(See my book.)
If FRIAM and the Santa Fe Complex are interested in pursuing the art,
technology theme, I recommend a solidly scholarly book: LynnGamwell's Exploring
the Invisible:Art: Science, and the Spiritual (Princeton U Press, 2002)
Jack
(author of Hidden Harmony , the Johns Hopkins U. Press, 2008)
Original Message -----
From: Michael Agar
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 5:31 AM
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Science and Art
Just finishing Leonard Shlain's Art and Physics: Parallel Visions in Space,
Time and Light. Older book, 1991, quite good.
http://www.artandphysics.com/index.html.
Mike
On Dec 16, 2008, at 9:59 PM, Orlando Leibovitz wrote:
Jochen,
Here is another take on Science and Art.
http://wwwartic.edu/aic/education/sciarttech/2a1.html
O
Jochen Fromm wrote:
Maybe interesting for the sfX ?
http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2008/01/the_future_of_scienceis_art.php
-J.
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Orlando Leibovitz
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www.orlandoleibovitz.com
Studio Telephone: 505-820-6183
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Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
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Orlando Leibovitz
[email protected]
www.orlandoleibovitz.com
Studio Telephone: 505-820-6183
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Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
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============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
