Search for Truth by René Magritte

Physical Aesthetics:

Scientific Metaphors

and the Visual Arts

Steve ZidesWofford College

zidessb@wofford.edu

Course Goals

1. To expose students to the major conceptual ideas arising in Mechanics, Thermodynamics, Optics, and Relativity.

2. To humanize these topics by extending the physical concepts into broader physical metaphors.

3. To critically examine how these physical metaphors get used in the visual arts and pop-culture.

Class Structure

Tuesday (Scientific Concepts)

Discuss the assigned reading from the physics text

View excerpts from science documentaries (NOVA)

Engage in collaborative group exercises

Thursday (Visual Counterparts)

Discuss the assigned reading from the art texts

View excepts from pop culture television (Futurama) or art

documentaries (Art 21)

Engage in class debates and peer review

Example Topic: Force (Physics)

- Aristotle’s ideas on Force and Motion

- Galileo’s thoughts on Motion and Inertia : excerpt from Dialogs Concerning Two New Sciences : experiment vs. thought experiment

- Newton’s theory’s on Force and Motion : three laws of motion : universal gravitation : excerpt from NOVA Newton’s Dark Secrets

- Vectors and Vector Addition

- Free Body Diagrams

Example Topic: Force (Art)

Mass Force Vector

Pieta by Michelangelo

The Tragedy

by Pablo Picasso

The Death of Marat by Jacques- Louis David

Example Topic: Force (Art)

Mass

Pieta by Michelangelo

Mass as Weight or Heaviness - “density of the sculptors medium” - “complexity of the entire work” - “emotional impact of the work”

Mass as a Measure of Inertia - “personal inertia” - “social or cultural inertia”

Mass in the Religious Sense - “Catholic Mass”

Example Topic: Force (Art)

Force

The Tragedy

by Pablo Picasso

Force as an Influence - “forces of nature” - “personal forces” - “emotional forces” - “Newton’s Laws as possible laws of human behavior”

Force as Violence - “might makes right”

Example Topic: Force (Art)

Vector

The Death of Marat by Jacques- Louis David

Vector as a Physical Object - ”Knife that killed Marat” - “Arrow of Odysseus”

Vector as a Direction - “personal fate or destiny” - “evolution of a society” - “narrative of history”

Assessment Strategies

Traditional Strategies Quizzes, Class Participation, Lab Reports

Non-Traditional StrategiesArt Analysis Essays, Integrated Exams

Example Art Essay: Mechanics

Pick an artwork, from The Art Book, which exemplifies a mechanical metaphor (i.e. position, velocity, acceleration, force, mass, etc.). Create a 500 – 1000 word essay discussing how the artist uses this metaphor. If you like, you may compare and contrast a metaphor used in two separate artworks. You may also discuss several related metaphors that occur in a single work.

One student selected to write about the velocity metaphor in Coming from the Mill by L. S. Lowry

Example Test Question: Mechanics

Look at the following painting by Joseph Turner. The work, entitled The Fighting Temeraire depicts the period in naval history when both the seasoned sailing ship and the proto-steam ship shared the coastal waterways. Answer one of the following questions:

i) How are the motional concepts of position, velocity, and acceleration represented in the painting?

ii) How does the painting utilize the physical metaphors of work and energy?

Mathematical Adaptations?

Equation Functions Countable Sets

Composition with Red, Blue, and

Yellowby Piet Mondrian

CHXby Moholy-Nagy

Sunday Afternoon on

the Island of La Grande Jatte

by Georges Seurat

Time Transfixed by René Magritte

Physical Aesthetics:

Scientific Metaphors

and the Visual Arts

Steve ZidesWofford College

zidessb@wofford.edu