Physics 141 - Themes in Physics and Art

Physics and Art represent the world in seemingly different ways, however they share many common themes: the guiding role of symmetry, the tension between order and disorder, and the emergence of structure from many simple constituents. We will explore some of the big ideas in physics, including quantum mechanics, relativity, entropy, and chaos theory, by looking at how these underlying themes are represented in the visual arts. Islamic tessellations, Japanese Suminagashi paper marbling, as well works by contemporary artists such as Tara Donovan will guide us toward an intuitive understanding of some of the most exciting ideas in physics without the need for any prior physics background.