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Artist Abstract
March 2005 / Katie Coursey

 

Most of us equivocate the word “science” with the word “fact”. However, I have found an underlying sense of ambiguity in science; ambiguity about what lies in the future; ambiguity concerning unproven theories and discoveries yet to be made. This field has enabled me to come the closest to understanding my surroundings, as well as the delicate intricacies that compose our world and our existence. I have chosen to focus on one particular theory, which hypothesizes the future status of physics and the integration of science into our collective worldview: the string theory. Through time-based media, my intentions are to combine the seemingly separate branches of science and art, forming my own visualizations of the string theory and possible effects it may have on our epistemological foundations.

Conceptually, Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches have been influential to my work because he is an artist who was successful in creating pieces understandable to both scientist and artist. I have also taken a formal interest in William Kentridge’s films, finding process important because it parallels with ever-changing discoveries resulting from proven scientific hypotheses. In order to understand the complexity of the string theory, works by physics theorists such as Stephen Hawking and author of The Elegant Universe, Brian Greene, have become important to me. The visual allure of diagrams and illustrations in scientific books has also informed my visual understanding of the string theory.

Combining my formal and conceptual ideas has resulted in the creation of stop motion animation films, which are documentations of a continually revised process exploring ideas of general relativity, quantum mechanics, and the string theory. Though these three branches of physics have not yet melded together in the world of science, I have visualized this union, creating abstract representations of my thoughts. My belief is that through science we learn to understand our universe and through art we can envision the ideas science presents us with.

 

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