Essay

When success arrives, when scientists achieve the “eureka” moment, they often describe their reaction in aesthetic terms. In 1957, Richard Feynman and Murray Gell-Mann developed a theory of interaction between fundamental particles. The theory did not agree with some recent experiments but had aesthetic qualities that convinced its authors. Feynman described the moment of discovery: “There was a moment when I knew how nature worked. It had elegance and beauty. The [darn] thing was gleaming”.

 — Deep Affinities by Philip F. Palmedo

New Forms of Beauty

Within this world, there are many forms of beauty to perceive physically and intellectually. For example, one may see a beautiful sunrise or appreciate a beautiful mathematical formula. In most all cases, such beauty evokes emotion, and even deep contemplation. Thus, it seems beauty can help us go beyond seeing the world “as is”, to ultimately perceive a deeper, more imaginative realm where creativity flourishes.

Touching the Invisible

Within my artworks, I reach into new forms of beauty that creatively capture the intangible. For example, one of my latest paintings, entitled CloudMap No. 2, celebrates the transient and nebulous topographies of clouds in the sky; thus, creatively re-imagining moments where clouds intersect, travel through one another, and dynamically vary their density. I ask: What if I can “artistically map” this, otherwise invisible, form of beauty? The result is a glimpse into nature that presents it as it has not been experienced before.

Through my art, I use beauty to creatively “touch” the invisible.