Collection by Scientiquity bridges Atlantis, Alexandria, Archimedes, Antikythera
[CHICAGO, IL USA 09/04/2022] An extraordinary, imaginative new fusion of modern-ancient art was unveiled this weekend by Scientiquity, billed as “the science and art of antiquity.” The ensemble weaves together millennia upon millennia of science, technology, and mathematical knowledge in a collection of sculptures, paintings, hydro-refractive kinetic light art, and assorted mixed-media – titled the “4A anthología.”
The anthology includes 15 pieces: Three aquarium sculptures, three mechanism sculptures, one spiral vortex sculpture, one boat sculpture, one clock sculpture, two painting/sculpture hybrids, one stained glass painting, two outdoor sculptures, and one numismatic (coin). A total of 25 lights are employed to illuminate the water sculptures. Details on each individual piece are included in this blog.
The artist is also working on a new series of hyper-geometric paintings that will complement the 4A anthology and greatly expounding upon Plato’s theory of ideal Forms into the non-linear world of hyperbolic geometry.
Our narrative begins with the mythological lost, sunken continent of Atlantis (10,000 BC or earlier up to the time before the Egyptian dynastic era). Next we enter the reign of Alexander The Great, who founded the City of Alexandria and installed a Hellenic system of governance in Egypt. Near the end of the Hellenic dynasty, we encounter the genius Greek mathematician, inventor, and astronomer Archimedes of Syracuse (275-205 BCE), and ultimately find ourselves on the shores of the tiny Greek island of Antikythera, where the world’s first computer and most mysterious human-crafted object was found 50 meters beneath the sea in the year 1900 CE. The so-called Antikythera Mechanism (c. 205-160 BCE) was an astronomical calculator which continues to re-write history books on the capabilities and technology of the ancients.
Scientiquity founder and polymath artist Terry Poulos, based in Chicago, seeks to travel the collection to museums, galleries, and other institutions in America, Greece, Egypt and beyond. The goal is to share art and knowledge with others and at the same time create a film pilot under the Scientiquity brand. Content would include interviews with experts in archaeology, science, mathematics, and technology, combined with images and tours of famous archaeological sites, scientific and other educational and research institutions, and various genres of art – in a format that both educates and entertains.
With that in mind, Poulos is looking to feature other like-minded artists whose creations coincide with the philosophy of Scientiquity.
For all inquiries, email Terry1email@aol.com or message via Scientiquity on Facebook
ANTIKYTHERA/ARCHIMEDES LINE
ART-ikythera: Modern-day rendition of the Antikythera Mechanism. World’s first sculpture of world’s oldest computer, an astronomical calculator. Exhibited at the National Hellenic Museum in 2016. Displays mechanism from a hybrid contemporary/ancient perspective, lending the observer a glimpse of its bronze glory when brand new, combined with the verdigris hue of bronze metal oxidation after 2000 years beneath the sea. Additionally, one padlock and key representing “ancient secrets and technology locked away for millennia.” Center-plate inscriptions: A for Antikythera, and constellation symbols for Ursula Major (the bear) and Taurus (the bull). Materials: Repurposed iron gears, brass center-plate, iron padlock, brass key, assorted brass accoutrements. Oil-based paint. Dimensions: 1.5′ length, 1′ width, 3″ depth. Weight 30 lbs.
Archimedes Vortex: Honoring the inventions and mathematics of Archimedes of Syracuse (c. 287-212 BC), considered the greatest mathematician/scientist of ancient Greece. He’s perhaps best known for his famous quote “Eureka!,” which he yelled after discovering major principle concerning buoyancy and the mass (vs weight) of an object. The ancient genius is also noted for his seminal methods on calculating the value of the Pi constant, being the first to attain accuracy to the second decimal point of 3.14, in addition to his ground-breaking geometric work on circles, conic sections, and spheres (all part of the famous Archimedes Palimpsest), and an avalanche of inventions including the pulley, lever, burning mirrors and assorted other war machines. He’s also mentioned as the most-likely inventor of the Antikythera Mechanism. The vortex sculpture features a spiral chain winding its way around a pulley and 3D sphere, plus lock and key. Exhibited at the National Hellenic Museum in 2016. Materials: Repurposed iron chain and iron gear base, metal sphere, metal pulley, metal lock, brass key. Oil-based paint. Dimensions: 2 foot height, 1.5 foot width, 1.5 foot depth. Weight 40 lbs.
EYES ON ANTIKYTHERA: Prefabricated hollow fiberglass boat painted by the artist. Part of the Greektown Chicago Outdoor Art exhibit “Karavákia” (2017). Piece is on loan from the Greektown SSA. On display every Christmas throughout Greektown Chicago. Painted verdigris green with bronze-colored gears. Honoring Captain Kontos and his brave crew who in 1900 CE stumbled across the shipwreck carrying the Antikythera Mechanism and a trove of bronze-age artifacts while diving for sponges. Dimensions: 1.5′ height, 1.5′ length, 4″ depth. Oil-based paint. Weight 20 lbs.
Antikythera Palimpsest: Hybrid painting/sculpture combining the Antikythera Mechanism in a joint narrative with the famous Archimedes Palimpsest, an ancient manuscript containing some of the most important mathematics of Archimedes of Syracuse. Embedded iron and brass gears and iron padlock, all repurposed items. Medium is a custom-made wood panel. Image transfer of the original mechanism’s fragments. Dials and pointers, brass compass, solar system configuration of the sun and five known planets of the era in a geocentric configuration displaying epicycles, the method of the era; Map of the island of Antikythera situated between the southern-most tip of mainland Greece and the northwest tip of the island of Crete; Two ancient coins c. 250 to 80 BCE which approximately coincide with the estimated dateline of the mechanism’s creation, the later years of Archimedes, and the period when the mechanism sunk in the sea while aboard a Roman-era vessel. Acrylic paint. Dimensions: 30″ length, 23.5″ height, 3″ depth
Net Zero Coin: Numismatic art commemorating the Antikythera Mechanism, the world’s first coin (2014 CE) to depict an image of the world’s oldest computer. Called “Net Zero” due to its canceling “implied denomination” of +Pi, -3.14 to infinity. Images of bull and bear representative of the stock market symbols for Bull Market/Bear Market. Proprietary rendering of the number zero with geometric trisection. Limited edition of 1000. Material: Copper base, silver bullion proof mirrored plating, 24k gold highlights. Dimensions: Approximates the Kennedy silver dollar. In the permanent collection of the National Hellenic Museum (NHM), British Museum, National Numismatic Association, and National Numismatic Society. Exhibited at the NHM in 2016
ATLANTIS LINE
Hydromeda Atlantis: The centerpiece of the Atlantis line. Hydromeda derives from Hydro, Greek origin for water, and the galaxy named after the Greek goddess Andromeda. Indeed, the lighting in the container is reminiscent of galactic light scattering. Atlantis, meanwhile, derives from the legendary lost continent of Atlantis, made popular by Plato, quoting Salon, in his dialogues Timaeus and Critias. Plato tells of Salon’s travels to Egypt after Alexander The Great’s conquests, where Salon purportedly noted inscriptions on a temple wall that told of a long lost, sunken continent that may or may not have once possessed advanced technology and science. The Hydromeda Atlantis acrylic quadrahedron (four-sided pyramid with triangular faces and square base) stands three feet in height and approximates the dimensions of the missing capstone that once sat atop the Great Pyramid of Giza, the so-called Khufu pyramid. Plato and Archimedes were said to have studied mathematics at the base of the pyramid while living in Egypt during the time of Alexander’s installation of the Ptolemaic governance. The polygons employed in the Atlantis Line also inform of Plato’s ideal forms, of which the triangle, square, and hexagon are represented of the total of five forms. The aquarium container holds up to 70 gallons of water. The pyramid base is made of wood and within the base, the container is under-lit with 11 LED bulbs (6 kinetic), with one static light fixture inside the pyramid cap. The objects inside are all naturally-occurring forms made of glass which also resemble a sprawling metropolis. Hydromeda Atlantis has been exhibited at Art Aspen in Colorado (2019), as well as at SOFA Chicago (2019). It made its debut in a private ceremony held at the National Hellenic Museum. The triangular aquarium is one of three known pyramid aquariums in the world. It’s the first to be utilized as pure art, and the only quadrilateral pyramid aquarium which mirrors the Great Pyramid
Atlarctic Terminus: The etymology of the title is a conjunction of Atlantis and Antarctica, and termination. A recent real-life academic study posits that after a great volcanic eruption (perhaps Mount Thera), the Atlantis land mass (or one large piece of it) broke away and over a period of thousands of years – at a glacial rate – literally floated to Antarctica and merged with the tundra, its final resting place, ergo terminus. To wit, numerous “out of place and time” tools and other implements have been found in the Antarctic in recent years after climate change has led to melting of some layers of ice. Atlarctic Terminus includes the green of the earth – notably an actual round sphere as in the Earth itself – along with the cold, white crystal-clear blue of the southern Atlantic Ocean. The forms, again, are also part of Plato’s ideals. Materials: Glass, wood base, five LED lights, water. Dimensions: Approximately 1′ height, 1.5′ depth, 2′ length, with 1-foot height base
Hexlantis: Again, a play on one of the five Platonic solids, or ideal forms. We chose the six-sided hexagon for one of our three hydro-refractive light art sculptures. Inside are glass forms which appear to render the skyline of a city, or in this case a satellite of Atlantis, that being ancient Minoa. Materials: Acrylic container, glass pieces, water. Dimensions: Approximately 2.5′ height, 2′ width, 2′ length
Atlantean Continuum: Again drawing on the Atlantis myth of advanced technology, Atlantean Continuum is a time machine that allows the user to view the past, operating on principles of quantum physics and the theoretical Einstein-Rosen Bridge (a worm hole that can traverse the time-space continuum). This time machine rode aboard the piece of land-mass that broke away after the aforementioned volcanic eruption and floated to Antarctica. Hence, both the verdigris green of the oxidated metal and white tint hinting of ice. Materials: Repurposed iron gears, brass theodolite (instrument used to survey roads), brass ball clock, iron padlock and brass key. Oil-based paint. Dimensions: 2′ length, 2 feet height, 6″ width. Weight approximately 70 lbs.
Atlantean Harmonicom: Similarly, advanced Atlantean technology. Harmonicom derives from harmonic oscillator (operating on principles of Schumann resonance and a Lorenz attractor) and com, an abbreviation of communicator. The device would have allowed the user to listen in on the past. Materials: Repurposed iron gears and acoutrements, along with brass scale balance, brass celestial orrery, iron padlock and key. Oil-based paint. Dimensions: 2′ height, 1.5′ length, 1′ depth. Weight: 75 lbs.
Atlantean Chronometer: A clock from Atlantis that tells Atlantean time. Painted to appear with the look of an ancient manuscript. Opposed to numbers, this clock is adorned with Greek, scientific and mathematical symbols including infinity, alpha, zero, i (the imaginary unit), phi (1.61… the “Golden Ratio”), e (Euler’s constant 2.71…), Pi (3.14…), psi (also the symbol for Schroedinger’s Wave Function), upper and lower case lambda (lower case used as the symbol for the cosmological constant), ħ (symbol for Reduced Planck Constant), omega, sigma, delta (also main symbol in Maxwell’s equations for electromagnetism), and integral symbol. Materials: Plastic prefabricated clock, glass pebbles, glass hexagons, glass fractal beads, and glass pointer. Acrylic paint. Dimensions: 1′ height, 1′ length, 4″ depth. Weight: 10 lbs.
Atlantean Luminescence: Part of Greektown Chicago outdoor art exhibit (2018). On display in Greektown 2022. Artist again commissioned to paint prefabricated hollow fiberglass resin sculpture for the “Re-Imagining Pharos” exhibit, honoring the now lost lighthouse at the port of Alexandria (named after Alexander). The Pharos Lighthouse is considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, as are the pyramids on the Giza plateau. Unique fractal design. Painted with acrylics, oil-based finish. Dimensions: 5′ height, 1.5′ width, 1.5′ depth. Weight: 50 lbs.
MORE HYPER FRACTAL GEOMETRY
Key to e ID: Meaning, the key to Euler’s Identity. Yet another hybrid painting/sculpture. The artist honors what is universally known as “The most beautiful equation in mathematics,” conceived by 18th century mathematician Leonhard Euler. The equation contains three of the most fundamental concepts in mathematics: e (Euler’s constant 2.71…), the imaginary unit i (or square root of a negative number), and the constant pi (3.14…). The painting not only renders new-age fractal geometry, it also portends a unique mathematical finding in the area of pure number theory which the artist will be publishing separately. Materials: Custom-made wood panel, embedded iron locks and brass keys. Acrylic paint. Dimensions: 30″ length, 23.5″ height, 3″ depth
Discus Refractus: Prefabricated hollow fiberglass resin, painted by the artist. Part of the Greektown Chicago outdoor art exhibit (2019) celebrating the Olympic sport of the discus toss. On display in Greektown Chicago 2022. Rendering of unique fractal geometry. A different take on Plato’s Ideal Forms. Painted with acrylics. Oil-based finish. Dimensions: 4′ height, 1′ width, 1′ depth. Weight: 30 lbs.
Tri-Dimensional Fractal: Hyperbolic geometric form using four panes of glass with staggered images overlapped to blend color and design using gallery glass paint. The stacked panes of glass give the piece literally multiple dimensions, and if one looks closely they can see paintings within the painting, a fractal recuctionist-type sequence. Furthermore, multiple perspectives can be achieved by changing the order and orientation of the glass panes. Materials: Wood frame, glass panes. Dimensions: 9″ square. Weight: 5 lbs.
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