On String Theory

The idea for this painting came from my study of the basic unity of phenomena in the Universe. Beauty is a value we assign experience. Whether we are looking at the stars or at the arrangement of flowers we can have an experience of awe and appreciation at the overwhelming harmony of Creation. Artists are not the only people who notice such harmony. Mathematicians are always searching for an explanation that can attain a theory of Unity, Einsteinian relativity, quantum theory, and the new questions that come from the study of Black Holes. String Theory is an attempt to understand the very large questions about the origin of the Universe and the micro worlds of subatomic forces in one set of equations, and so I wrote out parts of one equation. Theirs is an act of daring and elaborate creative effort. The phrase “string” also prompted my imagination to consider what music has accomplished, how the magnificent compositions of Bach and Beethoven seem to re-enact the very drama of life from birth to completion to resurgence. Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” is one such composition, and I wrote in some of the notes from the opening bars. Like mathematics, music encompasses the entire universe, and the phrase, “music of the spheres” evokes that intuition. String also conveyed the practical worlds of making, of how making anything really well may seem as if it is a model of Creation itself, as many ancient myths attest to. Art in that regard is a form of making. Finally, string also reminds me of the heroic and magical actions of mythical Ariadne, who for the sake of love helped Theseus survive the labyrinth and the Minotaur at the heart of it through her magic ball of thread. So I included thread as part of the process. Ariadne’s effort is a reminder that every journey into the Unknown is a journey into a labyrinth and ultimately if we take the entire journey we deal with the monster within. To fit this context the monster within is simply the uncertainty, the imperfections, and the unconscious forces of passivity and negation.

Within that context, the act of witnessing a lily or any flower in its blooming reality becomes an act of apprehending the beauty of the universe and connects us to musicians, scientists, and anyone capable of appreciating the moment. This painting represents some of the new ways that I am approaching my artwork.

“String Theory”
Acrylic, oil, oil pastel, pen, string, on canvas
26” x 26”
2019