Intersection of Art and Science Fall 2015: Prism of Light -- Natalie & Lillian

In undertaking the task of exploring patterns of nature and mathematics, we were immediately drawn to Janna Levin's emotive discussion on the discourse between the finite and the infinite.

The mathematical system of pattern reproduction that we will be employing is that of capturing the effects of the dispersion of light through a prism and further digitizing and pixeling the result to create a pattern of abstract color that is suggestive of this originally created light spectrum. We will then be projecting the pixeled video back onto the prism itself (the source for which the video was created) as it sits on a spinning surface in a space entirely covered in Mylar. Heavily influenced by Yayoi Kusama’s masterful creation of infinite fields of space using mirrors (which evoke the duality between infinite and finite space seeing as the viewer is aware that he/she is standing in a confined space), our piece will attempt to evoke nature in an extremely limbic and psychological way (thus referring to human nature itself), addressing the ways in which reality can be a product of the individual self. Further the piece will attempt to evoke the idea of agency over one’s perception in multiple ways. First, the viewer may engage in suspension of disbelief, allowing their senses to be engorged with the experience that surrounds them. Second, the viewer will be allowed to spin the rotary device upon which sits the prism that casts light in the space, creating a commentary on the subjectivity of experience and internalization of fixed reality. Finally, the crux of the piece remains in the nature of the projection (video captured of the prism emitting light and then projecting this onto itself again). Its cyclical suggestion evokes questions both infinity and finite patterns. For the former, the projection suggests and endless cycle where light feeds into itself. For the latter, the piece evokes Levin’s argument on the Mobius strip- something that ends up where it began (though slightly altered).