Science within the Art: Aesthetics Based on the Fractal and Holographic Structure of Nature

Science within the Art: Aesthetics Based on the Fractal and Holographic Structure of Nature

Doug Craft
Copyright: © 2012 |Pages: 32
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-0942-6.ch017
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Abstract

This chapter discusses how both art and science proceed from an appreciation for and application of the natural proportions and forms associated with nature. Brief descriptions of the Golden Ratio, fractals, and the holographic metaphor are presented with illustrative examples from geometry, nature, science, and art. This material is followed by an outline of a personal theory of aesthetics based on emulation of natural form, and concepts from Thomas Aquinas and James Joyce. Application of the aesthetics are illustrated with art from a series of collage entitled, The Elements in Golden Ratio. A discussion of the four classical elements (earth, air, fire, and water) and application of the Golden Ratio forms used in the art underscores how the emulation of form in nature is central to the author’s artistic process. The author, an artist and scientist, concludes with personal observations on the commonalities between art and science.
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The Structure And Forms Of Nature

Some of the important structures and forms of nature that both artists and scientists see, hear, feel, and touch may be summarized by reference to the Golden Ratio, fractals, and the holographic metaphor. Form in nature is a profound and humbling subject that has been studied by many great minds since antiquity. As a student of the subject, I recommend Theodore Andrea Cook’s 1914 book, The Curves of Life (Cook, 1979) and D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson’s 1917 book, On Growth and Form (Thompson, 1961), as excellent introductory sources and reference material. I hope reading this chapter might encourage the reader to begin or expand upon their personal study of nature’s forms by considering the work by scholars, scientists, and artists who made the observation and elucidation of nature’s forms their life’s work.

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