Apply The Method of the Theoretical Scientist.

`Imagination is more important that knowledge. For knowledge is is limited to all we know now and understand, while imagination embraces he entire world and all there ever will be to know and understand.`

Albert Einstein

Saturday was the opening of the Pembrokeshire open at the Torch Theatre Milford Haven.
I was lucky enough to have the Iota chosen as part of the show. It took two days to install., Many millions of billions of thanks to Jake , for dropping everything at a moments notice to help with installation. His calm and logical systems over rode my moments of relatively controlled hysteria and we got most of it done on the first day. See his beautiful photos and some of mine on flickr here
I find peoples reactions interesting when confronted with an installation in the same vicinity as more traditional two and three dimensional work. Not only are they mystified by the appearance of the piece, but by the science theory behind it. Dan Shaw, the Torch Theatre manager looked up and said...`it`s like being in the forest.` Fabulous. I hope there will be a review of the show on the web site soon.

Interesting to see the piece in a urban environment. The area was light and lit, with natural light wells, all of which interact with the piece. Its a bit of a shame about what the staples have done to the gallery walls, but a bit of filler will see it right after the event! Steep parabolic trajectory on that learning curve.

HEY... the Large Hadron Collider was switched back on early this morning. HURRAH!

Mechanistic Philosophy

Search for the windmills in the
Carmarthenshire quilt.

Anthony Gormley, Angle (!) of the North.

Seized windmill with no physical power.

Instant disobedience.

I make the journey from Carmarthen to Cardigan most weeks and have become accustommed to the visuals. It is a vicious, undulating menace of a back road , that has claimed one car from me already, so I try and pay attention to the technical matters in hand. Recently, the forestry commission have done a bit of subtle land scapeing (NOT!) and left a view , that was hidden before. The no entry bilingual sign rattled the purile anarchist tendancies in me, and I went to investigate. I have no recollection of the view before, or when the tree harvest took place, but now it is, to quote Neil Armstrong...`beautiful desolation.`

You can now see the towering wind turbines way across the valley. It wasn`t until I had taken the photo and arrived home I saw how small they were in the picture.
A trick of renaissance perspective indeed. In real time they are towering and majestic, and make a most awesome whooshing. Elemental Angels on a hill top. One of the hiddeous bends on the journey, passes under the swooping shadow of an `..umbrageous limb...` (Guy Wetmore Carryl.) A symbol of passage and protection.

Ofcourse, I write this as a complete town dweller that doesn`t live near them. Others have different views.

Reductions in Emergence

Heart in the Cosmos

Heart on a sleeve

Commercial appeasement

The starry, romantic cardiac annomily is the result of two colliding galaxies. It happens in all shapes and sizes!

Happy Valentines.

Emergence is the philosophical debate that covers the old axiom that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. One interpretation of this is, that there is something else apart from the constituants of an entity. That in unity, entirety becomes a greater force than a collection. It is a popular and enduring philosophical and scientific debate. I find it fascinating and inspirational.

Humans as individuals are complicated and unique assemblages. (Stating the bleedin` obvious!)

Joined in force as a race there is something more than atoms and molecules. More than physical, more than can be explained by equation and reasoning.

Phenomenological and emergent concepts like interconnection and unity are important issues that inform my practice. The philosphical opposite is reductionism. Here is a link to a lecture on the Royal Society web site, that I really enjoyed.

The sympoisum on artistic collaborations I attended this week provided emergent food for thought. One lecturer suggested that the current increaseing trend for collaboration in the art world, is a form of direct response to the decrease of unity through direct political action, that requires mass physical presence. There is a vast increase in the trend for internet networking, and a massive increase in social grouping and political activism through internet sites. Previously, membership to a specific group or party required attendance and physical affilliation, sometimes even a physical image or uniform. This provided identity, support and companionship. It is interesting to watch the enthusiasm with which the public will exersize the right to vote commercially through the household media, but struggle with the politcal apathy rife in the U.K. at this time. Even groups such as the womens institue have suffered with membership numbers. As a race we need communication and contact with each other, thats not news. What is interesting is the manifestation of various substitutes, which attempt to compensate for physical alienation.

Parahelic Car Arc

The Nuremberg happening of 1561, depicted by Hans Glaser in a woodcut from 1566.

...and that rare phenomenon

The iridule- when beautiful and strange,

In a bright sky above a mountain range

one opal cloudlet in an oval form

reflects the rainbow of a thunderstorm...

Vladimir Nabakov, Pale Fire.

I did not take this photo but I wish I had. Driving back through south west Wales, a bit the worst for wear on Saturday morning, Jake pointed out something in the sky I have never seen before. A sundog. This photograph is as near to its appearance as I could find. These rare and beautiful light phenomenons are goodly and fine omens and considered very lucky. Thank you for that!

The light refracted from the sun is projected in an arc onto near by low lying cirrus type clouds.I only caught a few glimpses because I was driving at the time, but this is what it looked like. The arc of a parahelion (scienctific name), always 22 degrees from the horizon can be seen all year round, but shines from a low sun.

I am inspired.

Critical Crocheted Chandrasekhar Limits

Two crochet adepts

Mystery picture

Loop- loop-loop, 1-2-3-, loop-loop-loop, 1-2-3-, loop-loop-loop, 1-2-3-, loop-loop-loop, 1-2-3-
The crochet goes on and on and on. I have made these two figures for a call for work from Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff. An artist called Helen Frik is making an installation from toys, called `Difficult` and has called for assistance from the public. Glad to be of service. It is satisfying to be able to finish somthing for a specific purpose.

As`The Invisible Blanket`increases, I find I am consuming enough calorific mass to reach the required size of eight plus solar masses, and am indeed fast approaching my own version of the Chandrasekhar limit.

At a point in its long and bright life a small star will burn to a white dwarf, then a red dwarf and then old and tierd, depleated of fuel, fade gently away. It is not this simple , but I understand this much.

A bigger star, thats the required eight solar masses plus, will reach a point in the fusion of heavier elements at its core, where the density of the cores mass reaches the Chandrasekhar Limit. The gargantuan heavy star, reacts with the force of gravity around it, and becomes a huge supernova explosion. The collapsed and condensed remains of the star will either spend the rest of its life as an incredibly tiny and dense neutron star, or if the collapsing star matter is dense enough to defy the pull of gravity, continue to collapse inwards and become a singularity black hole. My favorite. Super massive blackness here I come. Ah, but it is still January, soon be spring.

Wheres My Crochet Gone?

Alberich puts on the Tarnhelm (hat of invisibility) ,and dissappears.
Illustration by Arthur Rackham.

The Shadow of an Invisible Blanket

More pictures on flickr

Invisible clothing vid here

More invisible research shows that most ancient culltures had a legendary garment or headwear that renders the user invisible. Greek mythology tells of a cap used by Hades, and a version of a tale where Persius is given a similar cap by Athene.

What are the origins of mysterious sartorial invisibility? Where did this legend begin? I will investigate austrolasian, asian and african stories, older cultures may hold a clue.

The Welsh Mabinogion tells of Caswallanwn. He donned a cloak of invisibility and murdered Caradog ap Bran, one of the seven chieftans left to look after `Blighty` whilst the king was off in Ireland. I have been reading the Lady Charlotte Guest translation, but was ammused by William Owen Pughe (1795), who reffers to the Mabinogion as ` juvenille ammusements, being Welsh romances.`

The development of a modern equivalent is as thrilling as it is a little worrying. (We don`t all abide by `Star Fleet regulations)`. It adds a prophetic touch to the tales of old though.

R.I.P. Jean Simmonds. (Sarah Browne in Guys and Dolls).

Gold Star Award

Dre Wapenaar dwellings

Thank you to the beautiful , intelligent and talented Quilt Architect for a Gold Star Blog Award. I shall in turn be passing it on. What a fabulous gift.

Thank you also for an amazing link.

The link takes you to the web site of Dre Wapenaar, a dutch designer of three dimensional sculpture to use as dwellings.

Developeing with a step to the left from Mario Merz and the fine art igloo , Dre Waapenaar has moved from mathematical and geometric sculpture, to investigate the practicle functionality of alternative `tent` spaces. These new works consider the relationships of the people that will use the spaces with the environment, and with each other.

I love the drop shaped tree tents. Hmmm. A little planning needed, and a larger crochet hook.