0 comment Monday, April 21, 2014 | admin
As an AS Level art student, I was introduced to the work of M. C. Escher and he quickly became my favourite artist. Aesthetically, I am a big fan of monochrome and bright popping colours, but I was also intrigued by the skill of his drawing. How do the tessellations fit together, for example?
I can barely draw tessellations of squares!
My interest has always stayed quite strong, though I am becoming more intrigued by the work of Escher as I read Hyperspace by Michio Kaku.
For example, Michio Kaku starts "Hyperspace" by sharing a story from his childhood.
"I remember that my parents would sometimes take me to visit the famous Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco. One of my happiest childhood memories is of crouching next to the pond, memorised by the brilliantly coloured carp swimming slowly beneath the water lilies.
In these quiet moments, I felt free to let my imagination wander. I would ask myself silly questions that only a child might ask, such as how the carp in that pond would view the world around them. I thought, What a strange world theirs must be!
Living their entire lives in the shallow pond, the carp would believe that their "universe" consisted of murky water and the lilies. Spending most of their time foraging on the bottom of the pond, they would be only dimly aware that an alien world could exist above the surface.
The nature of our world was beyond their comprehension. I was intrigued that I could sit only a few inches from the carp, yet be separated from them by an immense chasm. The carp and I spent our lives in two distinct universes, never entering each other's world, yet were separated by only the thinnest barrier, the water's surface."
Michio Kaku then goes on to explain how rain would feel to the carp. The force of the rain drops would disturb the environment of the pond, and the carp would believe that the lilies could move without being touched. Similarly, we may see evidence of forces around us, but not understand their origin.
Kaku then suggests that a human could pull a carp from the "universe" of the pool, and the carp will have experienced a new "universe". Similarly, if there is a fifth dimension, it may be possible that we may be able to experience it by being pulled up out of it.
This image was designed by Escher to make us think of dimensions; beneath the water, the surface on which the leaves are resting, and the reflection of the trees above.
However, with the addition of Michio Kaku's carp theory, the image has new meaning to me.
I began reading "Hyperspace" as I found out that it was the book that inspired Muse to call their 2nd album "Origin Of Symmetry". I hoped that the book could inspire me in my art work, but I didn't know that it would enlighten my understanding of Eschers work!
Labels: Art, Carp, Catalyst, Dimensions, Escher, Fish, Hyperspace, Koi, M.C. Escher, Michio Kaku, Muse, Origin Of Symmetry, Physics, Science, Tesselation