|
Project 1
Scientific Landscape: Artistic Visualization
Based on the Expanded Visual Field of the Scientific Discoveries
One of the general objectives of the project is to develop a
new artistic form of the scientific visual object. The source of the aesthetic
inspiration could be found not only in the world of our common existence
but, due to expansion of our scale of perception, it can be expanded from
the micro to the macro world (the scientific objects). While much of the
natural world is hidden from us because we can not see heat, ultraviolet
light, radio waves or x-rays directly, much more of it is beyond our
immediate comprehension because it is too small, too faint or too distant,
or even too big to be detected by the naked eye. This invisible universe is
filled with intrigue and interest of all kind of scales and most of its
objects possesses its own beauty.
In order to find a description
of the world in terms of artistic qualities the ‘raw’ perceptual material
needs to be transformed into an aesthetic form in the process of an
artistic creative act. The visual world of science stimulates the
imagination with views of nature that can be stirring in their beauty,
composition and texture. Composing images of the smallest elements on the
earth surface and the vast galaxies light years away into one picture make
it possible to understand the scale of the universe. The compositional
skeleton taken from mathematical objects (curves, fractals) creates the
intriguing interplay between theoretical and empirical findings. This type
of pictures attempts to forge a path through the intriguing complexities of
nature and introduce a beauty of the world that is normally hidden from a
view. The most powerful microscopes and telescopes reveal to us many
‘hidden objects’ of the universe. On the other hand, mathematical objects
(geometrical figures, curves, fractals that are “images” of the behavior of
the dynamical systems) are visually appealing and often are described in
terms of their artistic qualities.
Fractal images are visually
appealing, and often are described in terms of their beauty. Fractal image
can be seen as an aesthetic object that is produced based on the
mathematical formulae. It reveals the
beauty of the underlying mathematical world. In the scientific community
fractal is interpreted as an illustration of the behavior of the dynamical
systems. When we want to obtain a visual appearance which clearly conveys
the mathematical structure of fractals, the aesthetic value of fractal
images seems to decrease. When we concentrate on understanding of the
particular mathematical problem the aesthetic value of the fractal image is
not important one. However in understanding more general structure of the
world the aesthetic value of the fractal images begin
to play a significant role.
The picture can be obtained by
applying one of the existing techniques or printed by applying one of the
printed techniques. From the beginning of the sixteenth century, with the
growing power of the printing press, illustration played an ever more
important role in communicating information about the visual phenomena.
Printing techniques evolved from early woodcut, mezzotint, lithography, and
photography into latest digital imaging. Artists and scientists were
constantly thinking up inventive ways of presenting their findings.
Application of the latest technique, where a computer is used to generate
and process a picture, to great extent changes the way in which work of art
can be created. Painting has a long history, and during its development
many forms of paintings were used and many different techniques invented.
Techniques such as oil, watercolor, pastel, tempera, and gouache have taken
their names from the way in which pigment was used, whereas fresco from the
way of painting. Computer art uses means which allow imitation of the old
painting techniques. Graphic painting systems have been used to render such
effects as shade variation, scratchiness (produced by a brush with too
little ink remaining), blotchiness caused by diffusion of ink, or stroke
with texture.
Image processing methods are
used to perform the image transformation that lead to obtain the required
visual effect. The visual attributes of the picture elements can be changed
or enhanced by applying image processing methods. Edge enhancement,
filtering, smoothing, filling, segmentation are image processing methods
that are used in transformation of the digital images.
The content of some of the
pictures is described by its reference to real world objects. In the past the
artists tried to use illusion to obtain the visual appearance of the real
world. The landscape is one of the painting topics where different means to
evoke illusion of the three-dimensional world were applied. Although most
landscape pictures (works of art) were created with the aid of conventions
all these pictures can be described in terms of real world objects.
The scientific visual object
(information) is transformed into the artistic form by exposing the
aesthetic qualities of the “raw” visual material. The scientific visual
objects include the smallest elements on the earth surface and the vast
galaxies light years away. These objects are composed into one picture that
makes it possible to understand the scale of the universe. Similarly like
cubist landscapes where elements of nature were transformed and synthesized
into one picture; the scientific landscape is composed with different
visible objects of our universe. The compositional skeleton taken from
mathematical objects (curves, fractals) creates the intriguing interplay
between theoretical and empirical findings. This type of pictures attempts
to forge a path through the intriguing complexities of nature and introduce
a beauty of the world that is normally hidden from view.
The project Scientific
Landscape is the continuation of the artist’s (prof. Z. Les)
investigations that started at the beginning of the 1980s. These works were
presented at the exhibitions in Krakow
(1984, 1986) and Melbourne 2003. This project although refers to the
previous artistic works of the artist, it is different in two aspects: “a
priori scientific objects” are used as a compositional skeleton and new
sophisticated computer image methods will be used to produce the final
picture. This project is the first in the world investigation of the
scientific visual material aiming at
synthesizing it into the aesthetic visual form (the scientific landscape).
The
exhibition of the works of art from the previous period of artistic and
scientific investigations was on the display in June 2003 in Melbourne.
Example of works of art
|
