16 artists recognized at National Hellenic Museum for outdoor art exhibit
String Theōros on Halsted Street in Chicago
By Terry Poulos, Scientiquity founder and polymath artist
[CHICAGO, IL USA; 07/02/2022] Scientiquity artist Terry Poulos along with 15 other artists were recognized at the National Hellenic Museum during a ribbon-cutting ceremony held this past Thursday announcing this year’s annual Greektown outdoor art exhibit, titled “The Painted Lyre.” The lyre is a stringed instrument dating back to ancient classical Greece which was played similar to a harp or guitar.
Poulos, who creates art under the Scientiquity brand (the science of antiquity), submitted “String Theorōs,” which is intended to educate on the basic tenets of String Theory in theoretical physics. String Theory for the past 30 years has been one of the most studied and well-funded potential so-called “theories of everything.”
One of 16 artists selected to paint the hollow, prefabricated fiberglass mold, Poulos has now been part of this exhibition – an annual affair- for six consecutive years. The art is designed to beautify the streets of Greektown Chicago, and provide thought-provoking works of art which brighten the daily commute for pedestrians and hopefully bring patrons to the neighborhood. The various pieces line Halsted Street in downtown Chicago between Van Buren on the south and Madison on the North.
String Theorōs features a hybrid blend of musical symbols along with various equations and symbols used in physics.
Reverse side of String Theōros
On the flip side, there is an image of Pythagoras of Samos, an ancient Greek philosopher who legend has it founded a secretive cult of scientists and mathematicians who strongly believed that all truth can be found through mathematics. And that math and geometry (including the right triangle and Pythagorean theorem on the sculpture) underlie the entire structure of the universe.
Moreover, these early theorists were adamant that specific ratios held mystical powers, such as the spacing of the musical tones on stringed instruments that represented the notes a third or a fifth, for two examples. These notes, it turns out, are indeed most pleasing to the human ear, and the Pythagoreans – almost religious-like – thought they were sacred.
As for music, in physics, when sound reverberates through the medium of air particles, it creates a type of vibration, what scientists call a “resonance.” This phenomenon is related to electrons and the force of electromagnetism. On the sculpture, Poulos represents this from the redshift wavelength (a motorcycle’s wailing sound tailing off as it moves away from the observer) to the blue end of the spectrum (volume increasing as the motorcycle moves toward the observer). Poulos attempts to portray this action by painting a rainbow on the lyre’s strings, a metaphorical full “color” electromagnetic spectrum. Furthermore, the artist depicts various equations put forth by James Clerk Maxwell, who formalized the equations of electromagnetism.
Also appearing on the sculpture is a widespread artistic theoretical interpretation of a so-called Calabi-Yau manifold, the alleged six hidden dimensions of string theory which are claimed to be so compact and found at energies far too large to be detectable by our current high-energy particle accelerators. As string theorists are fond of saying, the math works and all four forces – electromagnetism, the strong and weak forces, and gravity – are unified in 10 dimensions.
However, the proof for string theory – or superstring theory and supersymmetry – has yet to be exhibited in empirical experimentation. For now, all we know of are the three familiar spacial dimensions (latitude, longitude, altitude for simplification) along with the additional configuration or coordinate of time. 4 + 6 (Calabi-Yau) = 10. Then there’s 11 dimensions in M-Theory and 26 in Bosonic String Theory. We’ll leave those for another post.
Einstein’s Special and General Theories of Relativity informed us of the three spacial and one time dimension and the curvature of space. By dimension, he meant four degrees of configuration, and that space and time were integrated, inseparable. With this knowledge, Poulos decided no theory of resonating strings (as an ultimate theory of everything) would ever be complete without folding in Einstein’s famous equation for energy/mass equivalence, that energy equals mass times the speed of light squared. Einstein’s most famous equation for gravity (the geometrical bending of spacetime) is also depicted on the painting.
Related images are from Sir Isaac Newton’s 2nd Law, the force/mass and acceleration equivalence, that force equals mass times acceleration. The artist further includes Leonhard Euler’s famous “Euler’s identity,” often called “the most beautiful of all equations.” The constant, infinite number E is used heavily in economics to compute compound interest, for one example. It’s approximately 2.71…, and when raised to the power of i (the imaginary unit, commonly the square root of -1) times Pi (3.14…), plus 1, equals zero.
It takes a bit of contemplation to figure out, but in mathematics the equation has not really been challenged and it’s thought to be one of the most insightful and profound statements in all of mathematics. Such a truth surely must be related to any theory of everything (which string theory purports to be), and with that in mind the artist included it on the sculpture.
Halsted Street cityscape. Side view of sculpture with Psi, the Greek letter used to symbolize the famous Schroedinger Wave Function in physics
Poulos also saw fit to include hTz, the symbol for Hertz, the unit of measurement for frequency and sound. String theory operates under the presumption that these tiny strings create matter and light by means of varying frequencies, angles of integral, and whether the strings are open or looped close.
There are also glyphs of waves painted under the hTz symbol, reminiscent of the famous Schroedinger wave function, represented by the Greek letter Psi painted on the two sides of the sculpture. The wave function gives observational probabilities for the potential outcome of a quantum event. The copper color on the side runs downward, creating the appearance of waves of paint. More precisely, electromagnetic waves.
If you look really close, you’ll see the Greek letter Lambda which is used in physics to convey the Cosmological Constant, the rate of expansion of the universe alleged to be driven by dark matter, in addition to the symbol for the Planck Constant, which serves a dual purpose concerning the smallest possible emission of energy from light quanta, and is also used as a unit for the smallest possible distance in a spacial measurement.
Inside the museum’s Calamos Hall. The event was covered by ABC7 Chicago, among other media outlets
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by a host of dignitaries, including Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, Water Reclamation District Commissioner Mariyana Spyropoulos, Township Committeman Dean Maragos, and Consul General of Greece in Chicago Emmanuel Koubarakis. Also appearing were Marianne Vallas Kountoures (museum executive director), Anthony Caputo (Chairman of the Greektown Special Service Area #16 which sponsors the art exhibits), President of Chicago Greektown Educational Foundation Irene Koumi, and business owner Eve Moran, an arts patron who serves as director of the Greektown arts project and whom has conceived of the various themes employed for the street art exhibitions.
The presence of a live harp player added great atmosphere to the event. The harp is about the closest modern-day musical instrument to the ancient lyre
By Terry Poulos, Scientiquity founder and polymath artist
[CHICAGO, IL USA; 10/16/2021] Mother nature spinning geometry.
The mechanistic universe was how the ancient Greek atomists and astronomers viewed the world. This paradigm lasted all the way through Galileo and Newton – Mother Nature as a giant geared machine. Galileo looked to the heavens and witnessed the near-perfect regularity of planetary orbits. Newton thought time and space to be constant and fixed. It all seemed so predictable, machine-like.
Along came the 20th century advent of General Relativity, quantum mechanics and the uncertainty principle. Ever since, modern physicists have been attempting to debunk the mechanized universe theory (with a great deal of success, we should add). They view nature as a continuous, non-local phenomenon that does not always operate in terms of geared teeth (bits) or discreet media.
Furthermore, modern science also no longer fully accepts that the quantum realm holds any discernible cause and effect, opposed to the rotating gear moving an adjacent gear in clear temporal sequence, or Earth’s regular rotation and seasonal orbit about the Sun.
Non-locality and atemporal sequence are philosophical puzzles that vexed Einstein to his dying day. He explained gravity as the pull of the curvature of space, yet how did it act upon objects at a distance? Does gravity have its own “graviton” particle? Or energy wave? We still don’t have the answer. But Einstein held that all things could be explained in terms of logical cause and effect, even if our instruments were not sensitive enough to unmask and comprehend these supposed hidden variables.
All that said, even quantum physics admits a dual particle/wave nature of all known particles. The famous 1801 double-slit experiment by Thomas Young showed that light acts simultaneously as both a particle (photon) and energy wave, spreading out through a process called diffraction. And it’s not even a quantum experiment. It’s a classical mechanics set-up, something that can be replicated by a layperson in their own home, let alone a laboratory setting.
Recall also, Newton’s F=MA and Einstein’s e=mc² equations showing an equivalence between force, energy, mass, and acceleration. The mass, or bit, does exist. But where, and when? Somewhere in the spectrum of “reality” resides at least some modicum or fraction of a discreet “thing,” or bit. A 1927 experiment confirmed the same particle/wave principle for electrons. The current consensus is all particles have at least one part bit and one part momentum vector.
The atomists were not entirely wrong, nor were they entirely accurate. But we must admit the “thing” amidst the “things” does exist on some level, lest we entirely dismiss all notions of materialism.
On the left-hand side appears a semi-abstract rendering of a feminine-looking being, eyes peering out albeit somewhat obfuscated. In the body position of what would be her womb is a geared mechanism. Her arms are turning the gears and spinning off geometric fractals. As the sequence progresses, higher complexity emerges.
The painting uses primarily gallery glass paint, with some glitter glue, applied on an acrylic surface. This allows a rear light source to penetrate through the acrylic. The dimensions are approximately the size of a standard wall poster.
The artist harbors hope that through art, we can fill in the blanks where equations and philosophy inevitably fall short. That we may further push the boundaries of knowledge and insight, and spark new ideas about nature and reality. And with a little luck, some day theoretical and applied scientists may run with said visualizations and take them in new directions heretofore unimagined, unrealized, and non-manifest.
Terry Poulos is a Chicago-area writer, archaeological historian, artist and geometer whose investigations focus primarily on physics, geometry and fractal topology, and Number Theory
[CHICAGO 9/20/2021]: Many artists produce what they call multi-dimensional art. Scientiquity created literally multi-dimensions of color and depth by employing a three-pane glass overlay featuring various geometric drawings, using light to tease out the colors, dimensions, and geometry.
The piece is titled “Tri-Mentional Fractal.” It’s the latest in a growing line of mathematical and scientific-related art – including sculpture, painting, numismatic, and hydro-refractive light art – by Scientiquity polymath artist Terry Poulos.
The final product is pictured top-left in the featured image. The top-right image is before color and other mediums were applied. The bottom image shows the three panes of glass individually.
Zooming in close, the viewer can witness a plethora of Rorschach-like fractal images – `shadows of shadows’ which ignite the imagination and spark inspiration.
YouTube video, animated version of “Tri-Dimensional Fractal”
The light, shadow, and color-induced illusions make for an extraordinarily unique, near natural blend of patinas that even the most experienced of artists might be hard-pressed to produce. Much of the effect is also attributed to texture and the use of colored mediums beyond solely paint.
For more information, contact the artist at Terry1email@aol.com.
Reverse side of “Tri-Mensional Fractal.” By turning the three panes of glass around, we get a different pattern and slightly different colors. The piece in essence is two paintings in one, and if we unfold the three panes, we get three individual paintings, as seen in the featured image at the top of this blog. That’s a grand total of five separate images, each distinct from the others Playing around some more with bits and pieces of the two sides of “Tri-Mentional Fractal” by Scientiquity
Terry Poulos is a Chicago-area writer, archaeological historian, artist and geometer whose investigations focus primarily on physics, geometry and fractal topology, and Number Theory
Collection by Scientiquity bridges Atlantis, Alexandria, Archimedes, Antikythera
Scientiquity 4A anthology
[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.
Click image for 15-second YouTube video. Scientiquity moving light, water, and bubble show
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.
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, by Scientiquity
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 Anikythera, by Scientiquity
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, by Scientiquity
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, by Scientiquity in conjunction with The Sports Index, Inc.
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, by Scientiquity
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, by Scientiquity
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
Hex-lantis, by Scientiquity
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, by Scientiquity
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, by Scientiquity
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, by Scientiquity
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, by Scientiquity
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, by Scientiquity
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 Refratus, by Scientiquity
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, by Scientiquity
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.
“Eye of Hours” by Scientiquity, on display in Greektown Chicago Summer/Fall 2021
By Terry Poulos, Scientiquity founder (originally published 6/15/2021)
The 2021 Greektown Education Foundation outdoor art exhibit “Hello Helios” hit Halsted Street in Chicago this June. Scientiquity polymath artist Terry Poulos, one of more than 15 artists selected, contributed a sculpture for the fourth consecutive year. The exhibition is designed to beautify the streets of Greektown Chicago, and provide thought-provoking works of art which brighten the daily commute for pedestrians.
“Eye of Hours” is the title of the Scientiquity piece and its main feature is a harmonic oscillating photon pendulum, exhibiting the concept of warped time at relativistic, luminal velocities. Images include the light spectrum, melting clock, solar eclipse, Salvatore Dali’s “Persistence of Memory,” sun dial, Tower of the Winds, Stonehenge, Aztec Sun Stone, Egyptian obelisk, ancient Egyptian solar deity Ra, Horus (as in “the Eye of Horus,” Archimedes’ “death ray,” an artist’s depiction of the ancient Helios statue (alternatively, the Colossus of Rhodes), and the famous “Doomsday Clock” from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
The artist’s intent is to depict time in all its various formations and means of computation beginning with the natural radiation of the sun’s daily 24-hour period of rise and fall, to the warping of time and space according to the principles of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, and human inventions and mechanisms, commemorative art and archaeological structures used to track time, and ultimately an ode to ancient myth and legend. The lights of Halsted Street at night doing their own photonic sculpting on Eye of Hours. Notice the red, pink, and purple tint from the night sheen, which lend a dynamic nature to the cascade of colors on the sculpture The famous “Doomsday Clock” from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Other side of “Eye of Hours” by Scientiquity
Eye of Hours is now on display, and can be viewed until Spring 2022, at the intersection of Halsted and Monroe streets in Greektown, Chicago at the main entrance of Mariano’s supermarket.
The Greektown Arts Committee coordinated the exhibit, headed by arts patron and Greektown business owner Eve Moran, who also designed the prototype for the sculptures.
Terry Poulos is a Chicago-area writer, archaeological historian, artist and geometer whose investigations focus primarily on physics, fractal topology, and Number Theory
By Terry Poulos, Scientiquity founder (Originally published 8/8/2020)
Scientiquity, a brand of science-based art billed as “The Science of Antiquity,” submitted a forth commission piece to the ongoing Greektown Education Foundation street art exhibit. The 2020 theme is Fun and Fanciful Fish.
The title of our piece is “Aquatic Decoherence.” It’s been given the nickname “Poly,” short for polyethylene terephthalate, the most common polymer used in single-use plastic bottles. These containers are a scourge in our oceans, seas, rivers, and lakes. literally choking marine mammals in record numbers.
For the fish’s eyes, we inserted the logo for Chicago-area marine conservation advocacy BlueRing.blue, a foundation established by Alex Rose, Science Editor and a principle writer for Ocean Geographic Magazine, and Managing Editor of Ocean Geographic Explorers.
The sculpture was installed this Summer and will reside at the intersection of Jackson and Halsted streets in Chicago’s historic Greektown, and will remain there for the near future.
Reverse side of “Aquatic Decoherence”
The United States has one of the developed world’s worst records when it comes to incentives for recycling plastics, and we’re also consumers of more products packaged in plastic than any nation per capita. Plastic in our waters was already reaching critical levels when Covid-19 hit in 2020. Since, it’s reached even more critical levels, with plastic in discarded masks also finding its way into the waterways, and eventually into our food supply and the air we breath.
It takes at least 450 years for a plastic bottle to completely degrade
Globally, more than a million plastic bottles are sold every single minute
In the U.S., only 30% of these bottles are recycled; Norway recycles 97%
Bottled water requires up to 2,000 times the energy used to produce tap water
Between 1994 and 2017, water sales in the United States had grown by 284 percent, according to Beverage Marketing Corp. data published by the Wall Street Journal
Today, plastic bottles and jars represent about 75% of all plastic containers, by weight, in the United States, according to the Plastics Industry Association
ABC15 report, more than 1.5 BILLION masks believed to have entered oceans in 2020
Scientific American report, Covid-19 has worsened the ocean plastic pollution problem
CBS News report, microplastics in drinking water, WHO study
MARINE LIFE
2020 New Scientist report, most whales and sea turtles seem to have plastic in their bodies
2019 National Geographic report, whale dies with 88 pounds of plastic in its stomach, comprising 8% of its total body mass
Water comprises on average between 65-80% of all fish body mass
WATER IN GENERAL
Sources: Encyclopedia Brittanica, Wikipedia
Water covers 71% of the Earth’s surface, mostly in seas and oceans
Groundwater accounts for 1.7%, glaciers and ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland another 1.7%
Air contains water vapor and clouds formed of ice and liquid water result in precipitation in the amount of 0.001% of the total
Water is the main constituent of Earth’s hydrosphere and the fluids of most living organisms. It is vital for all known forms of life
Water’s chemical formula is H2O, one atom of oxygen and two atoms of hydrogen
Water is connected by covalent bonds which decohere under the stress of outside chemical elements
IN THE AIR
A 2020 report in Science Direct cited the world’s first incidence of microplastics found in a human placenta
2020 New Scientist report, microplastic pollution discovered near top of Mount Everest
Cosmos magazine report, microplastics problem “worse than we thought”
Scientific American report, thousands of tons of microplastics are falling from the sky
Aquatic Decoherence stands approximately 4 feet in height and is about 3 feet wide. Other items found on the surface include one empty plastic bottle inserted on the mouth of the fish, the image of plastic bottles floating in water, and the message “Save our waters.”
Terry Poulos is a Chicago-area writer, archaeological historian, artist and geometer whose investigations focus primarily on physics, fractal topology, and Number Theory
[CHICAGO, IL USA] The Scientiquity sculpture “Discuss Refractus,” along with about 20 other sculptures by various artists, in May was moved to a site adjacent to the National Hellenic Museum in Chicago.
The sculptures will take up residence at the intersection of Halsted and Van Buren streets for the foreseeable future.
The outdoor art exhibit is an initiative of the City of Chicago to beautify neighborhoods and inspire people in their daily commute. The West Side Chicago Greektown neighborhood program was spearheaded by business owner Eve Moran, who worked with the Greektown Arts Committee (GAC) and Special Service Area #16 to conceive and fund the project. Moran chairs the GAC committee.
“The Modernity of the Ancient Greek Discus” is the theme of the 2019 exhibit. This is the fourth consecutive year of the program. Past exhibits include “Re-Imagining Pharos” (2018), honoring the Lighthouse at Alexandria, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Scientiquity’s entry was “Atlantean Luminescence,” placed in front of Athena Restaurant. In 2017, the theme was “Karavakia,” an homage to the Greek sailboat. Scientiquity contributed “Eyes on Antikythera” for that exhibition, placed in the window of Athenian Candle Company. In 2016, the theme was assorted poster art and Scientiquity’s “ART-ikythera” sculpture and “Net Zero Coin” were featured on one of the posters, again placed at Athenian Candle. Artists, including Scientiquity’s Terry Poulos, are currently at work on the 2020 exhibit (TBA soon).
“Discuss Refractus” represents fractal art, a math-based concept incorporating a geometric expansion series. It is meant to convey surface projection of order amidst chaos, although upon closer examination one can discern emergent, obfuscated patterns. Previous to moving to the new site, Discus Refractus was located for the past year near Greek Islands restaurant at the corner of Halsted and Adams streets.
Terry Poulos is a Chicago-area writer, archaeological historian, artist and geometer whose investigations focus primarily on physics, fractal topology, and Number Theory
“Concealed and Revealed” by artist Euripedes “Rip” Kastaris of St. Louis, MO
By Terry Poulos, Scientiquity founder (originally published 11/22/2019)
Last week we addressed how visual ‘art’ was the alpha of human evolution, with gestures preceding the spoken word as the primary mode of communication. In this way, ‘art’ was the initial driver of complexity of intelligence. Throughout time, visual art and science have been complementary, feeding off one another and co-mutating.
A common refrain among academics is that Euclid’s “Elements” is the most successful, influential textbook ever written. Its compilation of fundamental axioms of pure Number Theory and linear geometry are still taught in nearly every elementary school classroom across the entire developed world, nearly unedited. Elements was the alpha of advanced mathematics. It has been estimated that after the Bible, Elements is the second most distributed literature in the history of publishing. That’s one influential book! And its geometry has informed nearly every artist from Classical times through the present. It’s math has also informed the sciences quite well, all the way through modern quantum particle models. “Elements” as geom-ART-ry
But is Elements one of the most `beautiful’ and ‘influential‘ works of art ever created? Answering a question with a question, is geometry not art? Equally as relevant, is art not geometry? Science owes much to the visual arts, and art owes much to science. Each serves the other.
“If every true art is always contemporary and every contemporary art has its origins in antiquity and every artist becomes a scientist and a scientist an artist, therefore art is a real proof of infinity,” opined artist Gosia Koscielak Krolikowska, also atelier at Gosia Koscielak Studio & Gallery in Wilmette, Illinois. “Digital Creek” by Gosia Koscielak. Digital projective art
“Digital Creek” by artist Gosia Koscielak Krolikowska of Wilmette, IL
Disclaimer: Scientiquity (“the art and science of antiquity”) is grossly biased on this topic. But that alone doesn’t impair proper perspective. Art serving science is backed by more than a few artists, mathematicians and scientists. But Euclid alongside Rembrandt? Granted, that’s a tough sell. Personally, I’ve got Euclid miles ahead of the oft cartoonish Matisse, but that’s just me.
What we can state with certainty is that the teachings of Elements were highly influential with the majority of artists throughout history, most notable being Leonardo da Vinci and M.C. Escher. Elements informs of perception, dimension, composition and structure. Whether it be realism, impressionism, geometric or most any genre of art, only the most radically abstract artist gets a pass from Euclid’s classroom.
As for beauty, that depends on how one defines art. If by art we mean visual representation of any kind – whether it be a Picasso sculpture or Pollack fractals, or the Golden Ratio in architecture – then Euclid is indeed in the pantheon of all those who’ve painted nature’s truths. We could go on but in the end it’s perhaps a matter of semantics, our choice of nomenclature. You say geometry, I say geom-ART-ry. In any event, we know for sure art has benefited greatly by science and mathematics.
“The Camera Obscura was an invention that changed art forever,” notes Euripedes “Rip” Kastaris, a St. Louis-based painter/sculptor who works with traditional and digital media and has been an official poster artist for the International Olympic Committee. He’s also been commissioned to paint major public works projects. “Camera Obscura was a projection device with a lens that Vermeer used to produce art that was more photo realistic than anything previously. The lens can be focused to project an image onto the back of a canvas. Artists could then trace the image. It was a genuine game-changer that would forever make art look more realistic than it ever had. Camera Obscura would shift art we recognize as Byzantine or Medieval to what we now see as realistic.”
The myriad color pigments used in art were fused by alchemists (forerunners of scientists) throughout the ages, and later built upon by modern scientists. One particular innovation that forever altered the course of art is oil-based paint, a paradigm shift for its slow drying property and the ability to blend color and glaze.
“Oil paint can create more subtlety and you’re much better able to glaze using a small amount of pigment diluted in medium,” continued Kastaris. “Glazes can be put on, layer after layer, so rich pearlescent finishes can be achieved.
“Michelangelo’s works in the Sistine Chapel were cleaned and a lot of people believe it was cleaned too thoroughly,” added Kastaris. “The theory was he intentionally over-intensified his colors so they were too bright, cartoon almost, and then he would finish the painting by putting a glaze of dark smokey color, rubbed over it and selectively removed, to adjust the final vibrancy of the work. Some scholars say that they cleaned the grime off but mistakenly took the layer of glaze off as well, revealing the currently over-intensified results that were not the final intent of the artist.”
The grand-masters all had one quality in common; maniacal devotion to detail. Leonardo spent the last 14 years of his life painting the Mona Lisa and didn’t even finish! This was common for Leonardo, who was never satisfied with any of his art. It’s what made him who he was, the greatest hybrid painter/inventor/scientist/mathematician in history. He studied the science of optics and light to an extreme, dissecting upwards of 200 or more cadavers to examine up-close the intricate bone, muscle, tendon, orbital and vascular structure of human and animal anatomy.
Many go so far as to assert that Mona Lisa’s eyes follow you as you go from side-to-side, a credit to Leonardo’s master craftsmanship and scientific obsession. Kastaris clarified the latter notion.
“If the eyes in a painting are looking straight out at the viewer,” Kastaris insisted, “they will follow the viewer wherever they go. It’s a universal phenomenon of any painting. If you move, you will perceive this as the eyes following you, but it’s an optical illusion and has little to do with da Vinci having some special quality about his approach, although his skills may have enhanced the effect.”
While da Vinci revolutionized the Renaissance approach with his “smufato” blurred edges, which captured the essence of the real world, in modern times LED technology (Light Emitting Diodes) has been further evolving art. LED bulbs don’t heat up like traditional bulbs and last far longer, up to five years or more. It enabled Scientiquity to create “Hydromeda Atlantis,” a world-first new genre of art called “Hydro-Refractive Kinetic Light Sculpture.” Video is another on the current cutting edge.
“Today anyone can, for a small investment in gimbal stabilizers, mirrorless cameras and high quality lenses, make movies that look as good as what was done in Hollywood in the golden age of cinema,” related Kastaris. “The tech has given artists a chance to make moving pictures for the same price as painting a canvas. Add an aerial drone to that recording set up and you can do magic. You can currently buy a high end drone with a 4k camera for about $1000 that’s better than broadcast quality and has four times the resolution as standard hi-definition.” And so it is that art and science come full circle, cycling back and forth in an eternal feedback/feed-forward periodic pattern, scaling off one another and co-mutating, pushing each to greater heights of complexity and inching us toward that fractional geometric series called “infinity in the limit.”
Terry Poulos is a Chicago-area writer, archaeological historian, artist and geometer whose investigations focus primarily on physics, fractal topology, and Number Theory
(Editor’s note: This blog was first posted on October 14, 2019)
Sometimes, history only survives out of sheer luck. For instance, the ancient Antikythera Mechanism, most cited as the world’s oldest computer and almost universally thought to be the world’s most mysterious human-crafted, extant ancient artifact. This marvel of Greek invention sank in a ship in or around 50-60 BCE and wasn’t seen again until a small crew of daring Greek sponge divers stumbled across the wreck in 1900 CE. Two millennia had passed!
The ship, a Roman-era vessel, by the hands of fate or random fortune, managed to settle on a 50-meter deep shelf off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera, located due north of the island of Crete and due south of mainland Greece. The shelf was precariously perched a few short meters from an abyss. Had winds from an ancient storm carried it any farther, it would have been lost for all eternity. We’d still be in the dark about the true capabilities of the ancients. But it was not lost. Ergo, the history books must eventually be re-written.
This month, divers returned to the shipwreck to re-survey the site and excavate a few select items. It already qualifies as one of the richest hauls of Bronze-age artifacts ever discovered in a shipwreck. The late, great marine historian and filmmaker Jacques Cousteau documented the wreck in the 1950’s and again in the 1970’s. The mechanism itself has been the subject of numerous books as well as a BBC film documentary.
Scientiquity was the first to commemorate it in sculpture and on a numismatic, called “Net Zero Coin” (NZC). Our ART-ikythera sculpture was exhibited at the National Hellenic Museum (NHM) in 2016, as was NZC, now in the permanent collection of the NHM, the British Museum, the American Numismatic Society, and theAmerican Numismatic Association. As you might gather, Scientiquity is near-obsessed with all-things-Antikythera!
“ART-ikythera” by Scientiquity, modern-day rendition of the ancient Antikythera Mechanism
The functions of the mechanism have been definitively confirmed by mathematicians, astronomers, technicians, archaeologists and other experts. It had a minimum of 40 gears and served as an astronomical calculator which could predict solar and lunar eclipses (and more) decades in advance, and track the motions of the five planets known to the era, in addition to tracking galactic constellations.
The device was estimated to have been built around 160 BCE, although evidence exists indicating its invention may have preceded that by another 100 years or more. The legendary Archimedes of Syracuse, considered the greatest scientist/polymath inventor of antiquity, is most speculated to have been its inventor, albeit whoever made it worked in conjunction with a workshop of other astronomers, mathematicians, metallurgists and artisans.
“Net Zero Coin” by Terry Poulos (Scientiquity), the world’s first coin commemorating the Antikythera Mechanism. The numismatic is in the permanent collection of four museums: British Museum, National Hellenic Museum, American Numismatic Association, American Numismatic Society
You protest: But Terry, they didn’t even have indoor plumbing at the time. True. They did not – in 160 BC. However, there absolutely were fresh and waste water pipe systems in ancient Minoa (c. 2500-1500 BCE) at the city of Knossos that was buried in ash and preserved similar to Pompei. Knossos is now modern-day Crete, coincidentally a stone’s throw away from Anikythera.
Innovation and knowledge ebb and flow. For proof, all we need do is cite the 1500 years after the Antikythera Mechanism where technology regressed. There is no linear trajectory of advancement. It’s apparent that we go two steps forward, one step back, then forward again. The modern equivalent in complexity to the Antikythera Mechanism didn’t arrive until the Renaissance with the arrival of European clockwork.
The Antikythera Mechanism is an outlier, a unicorn. Something that quite simply should not be. And yet, there it is, residing today at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Perhaps we’ll find more of these ancient marvels. Hopefully we won’t have to wait another 2000 years.
Terry Poulos is a Chicago-area writer, archaeological historian, artist and geometer whose investigations focus primarily on physics, fractal topology, and Number Theory
By Terry Poulos, Scientiquity founder (originally published April 14, 2020)
A species-wide existential threat is corrupting human bio-coherence, breaking down human cells. Said to be “on the edge of life,” the Covid-19 Coronavirus mutated to the point that this “giant virus” is now homing in on autonomous information capacity. Unlike bacteria, viruses are aerosol and can travel via air particulate directly into our respiratory system.
At what stage is the human species at in terms of collective cooperation to fight this invisible enemy? Trapped in a quagmire of fake news oblivion! Naturally, it came to a head right around April Fool’s Day.
Fake news has been around forever but recently went supernova. We have politicians who make fake news centerpieces of their campaign strategies. Now Coronavirus has taken it to a whole new level of grandiose conspiracy theories, many alleging the virus is an epic false flag. Or that it’s a lab-engineered bioweapon, despite almost all scientificevidence to the contrary. In this “post-truth era,” Coronavirus – while itself very real – has nonetheless become the gold standard of conspiracy theories, the Shangri la of grassy knolls.
Humans have practiced deceit since our origin. The arbiters of “truthiness” swore that Galileo and Copernicus were fake news. Shamans, alchemists, soothsayers, and fake medicine men have all plied their shady wares, and many a religious huckster has wormed their way into our confidence. Indeed, fake news is by no means privy to politicians and authority.
In modern times we’ve encountered countless snake-oil salesmen and slithery corporations. Technology has wrought “spoofed” social media profiles, emails and websites. We’ve witnessed forged signatures, counterfeit money, and cheap knockoffs among myriad hoaxes, frauds, and fictions. Photoshop and “deep fake” videos are so authentic as to be nearly indistinguishable from the genuine articles. The phonies are legion!
It begs the question: Are chaos and veiled reality encoded in the substrate of all things? A theory that has steadily been gaining evidence is that the universe is one giant virtual-reality simulation. Perhaps culture merely reflects this veiled nested reality within ever-more veiled nested realities. Fake news may be embedded in the universal DNA/RNA. Is fake news embedded in the universal DNA?
You counter, “I can see and feel the universe. Stop your fake news!” Be gentile, gentile reader, for the following might just yet have you “seeing” reality in a whole new way – real and fake.
What we see with our eyes is a final rendering of a process that scales up through a trillion-trillion neuronal interactions. Stimulus enters the optical and tactile senses and is routed through the spinal chord near simultaneous with the brain. A “snapshot” is forged and spit out into our mind’s eye, an “end-state” product that lags the event. Study after study confirm that when we do take action to, for example, move an arm, the decision to do so was initiated fractions of a second prior to the physical motion of the arm moving. Consciousness is late to our own party. It’s reactionary.
Everything is filtered and veiled by sensory organs. We see via light. Light is an electromagnetic interaction. When an electron is jostled, it emits a photon, the particle part of the particle-wave known as light. This particle is often detected in two places at once and its position and velocity cannot both be measured simultaneously due to quantum uncertainty.
Special Relativity, for its part, says you’ve got your version and I’ve got mine. But even within you there are trillions of potential action potentials. Your mind’s eye captures but one in an instant. The lone survivor, or quantum “collapse of the wave function.”
On large scales, the universe is estimated to have a visible horizon of 92 billion light years across, the distance light traveled in the 13.8 billion years since the Big Bang. That’s just the space our instruments are powerful and sensitive enough to detect. Space might be potentially infinite.
Within space is a small amount of “stuff” including known matter such as stars and planets, which comprise five-percent. Another 25-percent is dark matter and 70-percent dark energy. The dark components are not directly visible to our instruments, but scientists know they exist based upon gravitational influence. They do have sway. It’s not fake but it’s not “all there” either.
Compared with the vast gap between Earth and the Sun, not to mention far larger gaps between galaxies, the mass we do see is a minuscule blip. Science also says the universe has an aggregate of zero energy. By the law of conservation, what is “lent” to matter must be returned to the vacuum. Everything is temporary!
Condensed matter, in this perspective, is a group of temporary atoms, in sync, which combine to form molecules. Hydrogen is the simplest, lightest and most abundant element in the universe, comprising 90-percent of that five-percent. Hydrogen atoms have one proton and one electron. A proton is primarily three quarks, although other atoms have neutrons but since neutrons have zero charge, they’re nearly insignificant. Bosons and neutrinos are virtual particles that interact with quarks, but they’re believed to have zero or near-zero mass and barely interact.
These constituent particles have fleetingly fast life-cycles, often measured in Planck units, the smallest theorized quantum bit of time and space. Meanwhile, hydrogen has charges that cancel exactly to zero. Think about it: The stuff that props up 90-percent of all known matter has zero charge, must return its energy, and can barely be said to have existed time-wise. Dare say, fake? Hydrogen is 90-percent of all standard matter, has zero charge, must return its energy, and can barely be said to exist time-wise. Dare say, fake?
Furthermore, no quark has ever been isolated. The only time a quark is “seen” is when it has two companion quarks. Adding to the fakiness, the human body reconstitutes 98-percent of its atoms every single year. By the time you turn two years old, you will have not a single atom in your body from the time you exited the womb.
Granted, a body’s geometry, the quote “physical” volume, continues regardless. But 99.999…-percent is energy potential only. Religion has a name for this: spirit. The creator or creation force works in ethereal ways indeed.
Lastly and strikingly on-point, the distance from a proton to an electron is so vast a ratio that if measured in cosmological terms, it would be on the order of that between Earth and the next galaxy, or farther. So not only is the large scale universe virtually empty, the small scale universe also is vastly separated. That’s a whole lotta nothin’!
In summation, the overwhelming majority of “stuff” exists on scales so far apart in space and for so small a duration in time that it’s plausible the universe is the ultimate virtual reality machine – both fake and only temporarily real. This logic is derived from Standard Model physics. Let me guess, fake news.
The hurdle we face is to distinguish real from fake. With far too many anti-science attitudes and adherents of fake news, how can we ever combat Coronavirus, let alone solve the mysteries of the universe?
Terry Poulos is a Chicago-area writer, archaeological historian, artist and geometer whose investigations focus primarily on physics, fractal topology, and Number Theory
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