MATHEMATICS, ART

AND PHOTOGRAPHY
(from Antiquity to Futurism)
Talk at the Final Event: “SCIENAR Project”
The Dutch Academy of Science
Amsterdam, 15 October 2010

Marcella Giulia LORENZI

(Università della Calabria)
(in collaboration with Mauro FRANCAVIGLIA)

Part I: Geometry in Art until XX Century

GEOMETRY AND ART from Antiquity to Futurism

Project SCIENAR
Agreement Number 2008-2254/001-001 CTU-MECOAN
SCIENtific Scenarios and the ARts
Culture Project
PARTNERS
University of Calabria - Italy (Coordinator)
Institute for Computers - Romania
Virtual Image - England
Electronic Media Reporting - NL
Polytechnic School - Slovakia

www.scienar.eu/main
GEOMETRY AND ART from Antiquity to Futurism

Project SCIENAR
Art and Science: they shared deep relationships over the centuries
from ancient Greek to nowadays

Interdisciplinary Approach: scientific and humanistic domains are part of

A SINGLE AND UNIQUE CULTURE

Today: Importance of communicating and diffusing Science through emotion

Possibility of involvement of public and policy makers, more funding
 Geometry & Art - A Parallel Development – I
Art & Science as a Whole

Katherine Hayles says that: “artistic expression and Science are cultural products that,
at the same time, express and contribute to form the matrix of the culture itself out of
which they emerge.”
“Observing reality through the
algorithmic formulation means to
contemplate the “true” image of
reality, to grasp its mechanisms,
to understand its secret codes.
[…] Accordingly, all constraints,
all obstacles, all bridgeless
abyssae between Art and Science
disappear…” (from an interview
with Haebel, i.e. Antonio
D’Anna, one of the major
exponents of Fractalism in Italy).

William Latham - Internal Shape

 Geometry & Art - A Parallel Development – II
The Common Language of Art & Science
Galileo Galilei (“Il Saggiatore”, XVI Century) One cannot understand
the Universe if one does not learn before to know the characters by which
it is written. The Universe is written in mathematical language and its
characters are triangles, circles and other geometrical figures.

A. Einstein (XX Century) “Where the world ceases to be the

scene of our personal hopes and wishes, where we face it as
free beings, admiring, asking and observing, there we enter
the realm of Art and Science”.

“The new relation between Art and Science has to be

understood in terms of “dynamical complexity”: well
established although unpredictable. One looks for a way to
escape cultural addiction, rigid and pre-established models;
Fractal Geometry is at the same time an instrument and a result
for this. Art Making can be therefore realized within a pensive
and careful feeling of contemporaneity, animated by a cognitive
pull made actual by appropriate modes and means.” (Giudi
Haebel - Ripetitività Incostante Scotto Rosati - 2006).
 Geometry & Art - A Parallel Development – III
The Four Eras in the Geometry of Art & Space

All “Geometries” - the Euclidean one, the Geometry of “Perspective”, “non-Euclidean

Geometries”, as well as more “modern” and mathematically formal ones, like “Topology”,
“Riemannian Geometry” or “Fractal Geometry” - share striking relations with Art:

Euclidean Geometry Interprets and describes “ordinary space”

for all “Classical forms of Art”.

Painters use it as Perspective, as they want

Projective Geometry to reproduce exactly what the eye sees.

Has to do with XIX Century Art (Cubism,

Riemannian Geometry Impressionsim) in coincidence and in full
consonance with the historical, perceptive and
interpretative developments of observed reality.

Fractal Geometry, Have to do with Modern and Contemporary Art,

T o p o l o g y , where new research is performed on Form, Shape
Dynamism and Deconstruction (Cubism, Futurism).
 Mathematics & Art in the Antiquity – I
Pythagorean Arithmetic and the Beauty of Cosmos. 1

The Mathematics of Antiquity is conventionally divided into Arithmetic and Geometry.

Arithmetic is the “Science of Numbers” – it has to do with the human need of
“counting”. Geometry is the “Science of Shapes” – it has to do with the human need of
“measuring”. The two needs are of course deeply intertwined; they are developed
together with the need of understanding and representing “Space”.

The Pythagorean School develops Number Theory and

attributes to them the task of “regulating beauty”.

Pythagoras of Samo
 Mathematics & Art in the Antiquity – II
Pythagorean Arithmetic and the Beauty of Cosmos. 2

  Astronomical observations of the three major “natural

cycles” (Earth, Moon, Sun) lead mankind to develop
the idea of Day, Moon Period and Year – the ratio
between the approximate durations of these cycles
lead to attribute special meanings to a few Numbers,
considered as “magic” because of their relations with
the periodicity of Nature: twelve lunar cycles (in one
Year) and twenty-eight Days in each Lunar Cycle
(“Lunar Calendars”). Since periodicity imposes four
periods also the Numbers three and seven acquire
thence a special role (the Months in each Season and
the Week). The twelve Months in a Year lead
eventually to subdivide the Celestial Sphere into
twelve parts and introduce what we call the Zodiac.

12
 Mathematics & Art in the Antiquity – III
Space and Euclidean Geometry

  The knowledge about the properties of Space and its

measures are eventually encoded into the famous
treatise “The Elements (of Geometry)” of Euclid.
Euclidean Geometry describes a Space formed by
points, lines, circles and all “geometrical shapes”
obtained by using a ruler and a compass.
  A central role is attributed to the existence of
“parallel lines”. They are postulated to exist, even if
vision tells us that parallel lines are seen to converge
somewhere…

Euclid of Gela
 Mathematics & Art in the Antiquity – IV
Euclidean Geometry and the Dichotomy: Continuum or Discrete…?

  While for Euclid the point is immaterial, the

Pythagorean school attributes instead “materiality” to
the point: Pythagoreans points have “a dimension”.
  The Greek thinkers speculate around Infinity and
Infinitesimals; their speculations will eventually form
the basis of modern Science and still form a
challenging “table of debate”. Even if post-Euclidean
Science will favor the idea that “Geometrical Space”
Pythagoras of Samo is Continuous the dichotomy between continuity and
discreteness will continue forever.
  Democritus will introduce the
idea of Atomism.
  The Physics of XX Century will
eventually revitalize the dichotomy
because of the advent of
Quantum Mechanics.

Euclid of Gela Democritus of Abdera

Mathematics & Art in the Antiquity – V
Pythagora’s Theorem
 Mathematics & Art in the Antiquity – VI
Platonic Solids

  In Ancient Greece
  The Theory of Proportions was a canon for Science and Art;
  “Mathematical Objects” such as Platonic Solids were “symbols” of
classical beauty and harmony.

Octahedron
Exahedron
Tetrahedron

The most beautiful objects in

Dodecahedron the Universe…
Icosahedron (Plato)
The “Persistence of Forms” in Geometry & Architecture – I

•  Since the Antiquity the shapes of

Euclidean Geometry have been used in
the constructions of buildings.
Architecture is plenty of lines and
surfaces belonging to the canons of
Geometry. In all cultures and
civilizations “Forms are Persistent”.

The Parthenon (Athens)

The Pantheon in Rome

Roman Architecture

Church of “Gran
Madre” in Torino –
Neoclassic
Architecture
F.L. Wright -
Marine County Civic Center The “Persistence of Forms” in
Geometry & Architecture – II

Fractalized structures in Roman time

Bridges and in modern constructions. 1)
The Marine County Civic Center; 2)
Aqueduct on Gard River (France)

Aqueduct of Gard
 The “Persistence of Forms” in Geometry & Architecture – III
•  Even if the correct equation of “catenaries” was in fact derived in 1691 by Leibniz,
Christiaan Huygens and Johann Bernoulli, catenaries begun early to be used in the
construction of Mesopotamic arches (already at the time of pre-Greek and pre-Roman
Architecture). In antiquity the curvature of the (inverted) catenary was in fact
intuitively discovered and understood to be useful in the construction of stable arches
and vaults. Greeks and Romans preferred instead to use the much less efficient
curvature of the circle, both in circular arches and semi-spherical vaults.
Catenaries in Taq-i Kisra in
Ctesiphon (Mesopotamia)

Parabolas and catenaries in Gaudí

Architecture (XX Century)
The “Persistence of Forms” in Geometry & Architecture – IV
Geometrical Shapes in Romanesque Architecture. 1

Photo by M.G. Lorenzi

Castel del Monte and its Geometry
The “Persistence of Forms” in Geometry & Architecture – V
Geometrical Shapes in Romanesque Architecture. 2

Photo by M.G. Lorenzi

Castel del Monte and its Geometry
The “Persistence of Forms” in
Geometry & Architecture – VI

Lisbon
from “Mosteiro dos Jeronimos”
to Calatrava’s Station of Oriente

Photos by M.G. Lorenzi

 The “Persistence of Forms” in Geometry & Architecture – VII
Revolution Surfaces in Modern Architecture (Gaudí)

•  Throughout his life Gaudí studied natural angles and

curves and tried to incorporated them into his Hyperbolic Paraboloids from
sculptured particulars, into mosaics and into the the Exterior of the Vaults of
designs of his Architecture. “La Sagrada Familía”
•  Instead of relying directly on the
“simple shapes” of Geometry he
rather mimicked Nature by subtly
combining them; rotational surfaces
having a peculiar role, such as
hyperboloids and paraboloids, were in
fact borrowed from Nature, so to
allow his work to resemble
environmental elements. He said
once: “Those who look for the laws of
Nature as a support for their new
works collaborate with God”.
 The Canon of Beauty: The Golden Mean – I
What is the “Golden Mean”…?

  The “Harmonic Ratio”

Take a segment AB and divide it into two parts AC and CB, so that “the whole” AB
contains the larger part AC as many times as the part AC contains the smaller part CB

AB : AC = AC : CB
AB = AC + CB

implies

(AC + CB) : AC = AC : CB A________________C_________B

(AC + CB)/AC = AC/CB

setting AC/CB = Φ

1 + 1/Φ = Φ ===> Φ = (1 + √ 5)/2

The Golden Mean is an Irrational Number

 The Canon of Beauty: The Golden Mean – II
The Golden Mean

  The “Harmonic Ratio” was called “Golden Mean” by Luca Pacioli

Take a segment AB and divide it into two parts AC and CB, so that “the whole” AB
contains the larger part AC as many times as the part AC contains the smaller part CB

AB : AC = AC : CB
AB = AC + CB

implies

(AC + CB) : AC = AC : CB

(AC + CB)/AC = AC/CB

setting AC/CB = Φ

1 + 1/Φ = Φ ===> Φ = (1 + √ 5)/2

Luca Pacioli said: the Golden Mean is “Divina Proportione”

 The Canon of Beauty: The Golden Mean – III
The Golden Mean in Egyptian Pyramids
  The “Golden Mean” pervades Art since the Antiquity
… it is supposed to exist in the proportions of many Egyptian monuments.

Gizah (Egypt) - The Pyramids of Saqqara

 The Canon of Beauty: The Golden Mean – IV
The Golden Mean in Greek Architecture
  The “Golden Mean” pervades Art since the Antiquity
… as “a canon of beauty” it is easy to recognize it in many pieces of Art.

Athinai (Greece) - The Parthenon

 The Canon of Beauty: The Golden Mean – V
Johannes Kepler and The Golden Mean in Cosmology

Johannes Kepler –
Harmonices Mundi

Johannes Kepler said: the Golden Mean is one among two “jewels of Euclidean Geometry”
 The Canon of Beauty: The Golden Mean – VI
The Golden Mean in Nature

  The “Golden Mean” in Nature

The Golden Mean is in fact intimately related with several “growth phenomena”
as it was recognized by Leonardo Fibonacci. It belongs to Nature…..

AB : AC = AC : CB
AB = AC + CB

implies

(AC + CB) : AC = AC : CB

(AC + CB)/AC = AC/CB

setting AC/CB = Φ

1 + 1/Φ = Φ ===> Φ = (1 + √ 5)/2

 The Canon of Beauty: The Golden Mean – VII
The Golden Mean in Proto-Geometry. 1

Amazing
ques0on:
Was
Lower
Paleolithic
Man

mastering
Geometry?


Acheullian-Kilombe
hand-axes seem to
respect the proportions of
the Golden Mean

Hand axes from Lower Paleolithic

Reproduced after Φ in the Acheullian-John Feliks-University of Michigan – Courtesy of Gheorghe Samoila
 The Canon of Beauty: The Golden Mean – VIII
The Golden Mean in Proto-Geometry. 2
“Making hand-axes in the same proportions at
different sizes provides the earliest practical
demonstration of principles treated hundred of
thousand years later in Euclid’s Elements of
Geometry” (Gowlett, 1993).

Answer to the dilemma: not the mastery of Geometry

was the reason of building precise tools as the hand
axes, but the capacity of early hominids to make
analogies. Scientists agree that the transformation of
primates into humans evolved from the moment when
these primates begun to use their hands to
manufacture tools. Using the hand for hundred
thousand years implied also carefully observing the
hand and its inner proportions.
Courtesy
of
Gheorghe
Samoila

 The Canon of Beauty: The Golden Mean – IX
The Golden Mean in Human Proportions. 1

• 11/12=(11+12)/11=1,618= Φ

• 10=11+12

• lengths of 12,11,10, form a

progression corresponding with the
progression 1, Φ, Φ².

Courtesy
of
Gheorghe
Samoila

 The Canon of Beauty: The Golden Mean – X
The Golden Mean in Human Proportions. 2

Courtesy
of
Gheorghe
Samoila

The Canon of Beauty: The Golden Mean – XI
The Golden Mean in Human Proportions. 3

Leonardo da
Vinci

Homus
Vitruvianus
 The Canon of Beauty: The Golden Mean – XII
from the Golden Mean to Symmetry

“Symmetry, after Vitruvius, resides in

the correlation by measurement between
various elements of the plan, and between
each of these elements and the whole… As
in the human body…

It proceeds from proportion and it achieves

consonance between every part and the whole…
This symmetry is regulated by the modulus, the
standard of common measure which the Greeks
called the number”
 Art & Symmetry - I
The Paradigm of Symmetry

Since the antiquities, Symmetry has

played a fundamental role in the
construction of “classical beauty” - in
good Sculpture, in good Painting
and especially in good Architecture.
The old meaning of “symmetry”
had to do mainly with the static
notion of “proportion”; the present
notion of symmetry, on the
contrary, has a dynamical
interpretation, having to do with
“motions” or “dilatations” that
allow parts to superimpose exactly
to other parts of a given object. Symmetry as a Mirror Game.
Exactly in this sense symmetry
enters the new and more dynamical This mathematical exhibit is due to the
forms of Art. Department of Mathematics of the
University of Milano.
 Art & Symmetry - II
The Paradigm of Symmetry in Painting

Narciso (1579-1599) by Caravaggio (1573 – 1610)

In this famous painting one can immediately

recognize the existence of an axial symmetry.
 Art & Symmetry - III
The Paradigm of Symmetry in Architecture
  Symmetry is present in an essential and practically universal way in Architecture, starting from
Mesopotamic, Egyptian, Greek and Roman buildings; it helped in structural calculations and
contributed to construct elegantly and in a structurally stable way.

Bramante - San Pietro Planimetry Town of Palmanova

Example of 4-folded or 8-folded symmetry Unusual 9-folded symmetry
 Art & Symmetry – IV
Symmetry in Arab Architecture. 1

Ahlambra in Granada
 Art & Symmetry – V
Symmetry in Arab Architecture. 2

Ahlambra in Granada
 Art & Symmetry – VI
Rosettes

Rosettes existing in some Medieval Churches

Rosettes represent invariance groups of geometrical figures, that do not contain: i)

rotations of exact sub-multiples of 2π (cyclic groups); ii) rotations and reflections
(diedral groups).
 Art & Symmetry – VII
Friezes

The 7 types of “Friezes”

“Friezes” are infinite sets of forms that repeat and show invariance with respect to
translations in a single direction.
 Art & Symmetry – VIII
Mosaics

Mosaic in Via Tiberti (Cesena)

Mosaics – i.e. crystallographic groups of

the plane (forming a family of exactly 17
elements) - are infinite groups of forms that
repeat by showing a translational invariance
in two or more independent directions.
 Art & Symmetry – IX
Knots in Mathematics: they are
images of a circle, i.e. closed Knots. 1
curves embedded into 3-
dimensional Euclidean Space.
 Art & Symmetry – X
Knots. 2

Examples of Knots in Art

1) Isis Knot;
2) Savoia Knot;
3) Longobard Knot;
1 4) An example of Quipu.

2
 Art & Symmetry – XI
Tessellations. 1
A Tessellation is a way to fill up the
Euclidean Plane by means of regular
polygons (or other surfaces by means of
“suitably regular pieces”).

Aperiodic Tessellation - Roger Penrose

 Art & Symmetry – XII
Tessellations. 2

Other Tessellations of the Euclidean Plane.

 Art & Symmetry – XIII
Tessellations. 3
Examples of Colored Tessellations in the Plane.
Examples of Tessellations Art & Symmetry – XIV
of curved compact and Tessellations. 4
non-compact surfaces.
 Art & Symmetry – XV
Symmetry in Modern Art

Symmetry in Advertising…?
Andy Warhol Symmetries in the Euclidean Plane
 From the V Postulate of Euclid
to Perspective and Projective Geometry - I
A primordial form of Perspective
already existed in Greek and Roman
Painting, as well as in Gothic:

  in Masaccio (1401-1428)
(frescoes of Cappella del Carmine, in
Firenze);
  in Giotto (frescoes of Cappella degli
Scrovegni, in Padova, as well as in
“Madonne in Trono”).

In a sense an “elementary” perspective

was adopted, with more than one point
at infinity; it is like having more than Several convergence lines,
one point of observation in the painting, more than one point at infinity
each one corresponding to a different
“Perspective” in Giotto is not exactly
viewpoint
codified and there is no single point of
convergence
 From the V Postulate of Euclid
to Perspective and Projective Geometry - II
A primordial form of Perspective   While in Renaissance, Painters and
already existed in Greek and Roman Mathematicians begin to abandon “empirism”
Painting, as well as in Gothic:
and look for general methods, that later one
will be codified in systematical treatises on
  in Masaccio (1401-1428) Perspective (rules for “Buona Pittura”).
(frescoes of Cappella del Carmine, in
Firenze);   Thanks to Filippo Brunelleschi, Leon
  in Giotto (frescoes of Cappella degli Battista Alberti (in Architecture) and Piero
Scrovegni, in Padova, as well as in
della Francesca (in Painting), the Theory of
“Madonne in Trono”).
Good Proportions becomes a general
instrument, giving to painters “rules” that he
In a sense an “elementary” perspective
has to follow to obtain that what is seen is also
was adopted, with more than one point
at’infinity; it is like having more than painted.
one point of observation in the painting,
each one corresponding to a different
viewpoint
 From the V Postulate of Euclid
to Perspective and Projective Geometry - III
“Perspective” in Piero della   While in Renaissance, Painters and
Francesca: one point at infinity. Mathematicians begin to abandon “empirism”
and look for general methods, that later one
will be codified in systematical treatises on
Perspective (rules for “Buona Pittura”).

  Thanks to Filippo Brunelleschi, Leon

Battista Alberti (in Architecture) and Piero
della Francesca (in Painting), the Theory of
Good Proportions becomes a general
instrument, giving to painters “rules” that he
has to follow to obtain that what is seen is also
painted.
 From the V Postulate of Euclid
to Perspective and Projective Geometry - IV

“ (…) E sappi che cosa niuna dipinta mai parrà pari alla vera, dove non sia certa
distanza a vederle. (…)
Pertanto affermo sia necessario al pittore imprendere geometria. (…)”

Leon Battista Alberti

Geometry is recognized as an essential tool for Artists.

“Perché ho dicto dato l’ochi, se intende essere posto al vedere in quello

luogho, dove tu vai stare a vedere il piano assegnato”
Piero Della Francesca

De prospectiva pingendi

(a mathematical treatise with

“good rules for painting”).
 From the V Postulate of Euclid
to Perspective and Projective Geometry - IV
“Perspective” in Piero della
Francesca: one point at infinity.

??.

Several convergence lines,

more than one point at infinity
“Perspective” in Giotto is not exactly
codified and there is no single point of
convergence
 From the V Postulate of Euclid
to Perspective and Projective Geometry - IV
“Perspective” in Piero della
Francesca: one point at infinity.

??.

Several convergence lines,

more than one point at infinity
“Perspective” in Giotto is not exactly
codified and there is no single point of
convergence
 Painting in Renaissance
Symmetry, Perspective and Proportions - I

Botticelli Piero della Francesca Leonardo da Vinci

 Painting in Renaissance
Symmetry, Perspective and Proportions - II

This famous masterpiece by Raffello

Sanzio is essentially based on a
clever use of both Perspective and
the Golden Mean.

The Painting occupies a Golden

Rectangle; in the square at the basis
of this rectangle there is a circle,
that inscribes two squares to form
an octagon. Prolonging its sides one
can determine the radius of two
further inscribed circles….

Raffaello Sanzio - La Trasfigurazione

 Painting in Renaissance
Symmetry, Perspective and Proportions - III

Courtesy
of
Gheorghe
Samoila


Leonardo da Vinci - Mona Lisa (Harmonic Analysis)

 Painting in Renaissance
Symmetry, Perspective and Proportions - III

• 
Two
horizontal
superposed
golden


rectangles.

• 
Golden
sec0on
divides
the
rectangles

at
leF
and
right.

• 
Parallels
with
golden
rectangles
diagonals


are
drawn.

• 
At
half
the
base,
a
meridian
marks

Leda’s
body
which
is
perfectly
framed
by

the
Golden
sec0on
markers.

• 
Golden
sec0on
rectangle
diagonals
are


Drawn.
Their
crossing
marks
important
focal


points
of
the
composi0on.

• 
A
horizontal
line
marks
the
head’s
chin.

• 
The
eye
line
is
marked
by
the
side
of
the
triangle

built
having
the
previous
line
as
height
and


Mediator.


Courtesy
of
Gheorghe
Samoila

*Reproduced
aFer
Ma0la
Ghyka
The
Geometry
of
Art
and
Life
(1)

From Linearity to Curvature in XIX Century
Non-Euclidean Geometry

K. F. Gauss
(1827, “Disquisitiones
supra Superficies Curvas”)

B. Riemann (1854, “On the Hypotheses that lie at the bases of

Geometry”, published postmously in 1866)

If the independence of bodies from position does not exist, we

cannot draw conclusions from metric relations of the great to
those of the infinitely small; in that case the curvature at each
point may have an arbitrary value in three directions, provided
that the total curvature of every measurable portion of space does
not differ sensibly from zero […] The question of the validity of
the hypotheses of geometry in the infinitely small is bound up with
the question of the ground of the metric relations of space.
 From Linearity to Curvature in XIX Century
Non-Euclidean Geometry, Impressionism and Fourth Dimension
The discussion about the validity of Euclid’s fifth postulate lead, however, also to
Hyperbolic Geometry and, in the artistic field, that paved the way for the development
of Impressionism. It turns out, in fact, that our visual space is hyperbolic rather than
Euclidean (Lunemberg, 1947), so that it is not surprising that artists in the XIX Century
begun to represent what the eye actually sees rather than what the eye is pretended to see
in a fully Euclidean world. The XIX and XX Century will finally see the introduction of
time as a fourth “sensibile” dimension alongside – and on equal footing – with height,
lenght and depth (Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity is at the top of this line of
thought); motion and curvature become part of the World and not something which is
embedded into the World. This will form the subject of the second half of this Lecture.

 MATHEMATICS, ART
AND PHOTOGRAPHY
(from Antiquity to Futurism)
Talk at the Final Event: “SCIENAR Project”
The Dutch Academy of Science
Amsterdam, 15 October 2010

Marcella Giulia LORENZI

(Università della Calabria)
(in collaboration with Mauro FRANCAVIGLIA)

Part II: Space, Time and Motion in XX Century Art

 Art & Science in XX Century – a Renovated Interaction. 1

At the end of XIX Century and during the XX Century Science becomes – in a number of
occasions – a source of inspiration for Art.

Examples begin with the Impressionists’ desire to decompose colors according to their light
decomposition in fundamental components (Divisionism, Pointillism)

Later on Picasso and Braque – with Cubism – will introduce different viewpoints into painting,
destroying classical perspective and letting extra dimensions enter the scene of Art

The need of representing dynamism and motion will lead Futurists to their ideas
Eventually motion will be captured by Cinema and later on by Computer Graphics

Art Nouveau will introduce new geometric shapes in all forms of Art, from Painting to
Architecture to all “Arts Decoratifs”

Geometric Forms and also Fractals will be used as subjects for Art

Photography and Digital Photography will produce new forms of Art

in which Science can play a predominant role
 Art & Science in XX Century – a Renovated Interaction. 2

Dynamics is impossibile to represent in just two

dimensions, yet artists (e.g., Balla, Boccioni,
Duchamp) tried to provide pictorial
representations of movement. Dynamism in
Modern Art is achieved through the moving
camera and Cinema, but the idea of time-flowing
sections may be also used in figurative arts (think
of Picasso or Dalì, a 4-dimensional hypercube
that opens up in 3-dimensional space). The new
Mathematics of the XX Century is also the
Mathematics of Manifoldness, Curvature,
Discreteness, Fractals and Chaos, and some
Picasso - Still Life
modern
ways
of painting reflect these new ideas “The substantial monochromy of the
(Picasso, Pollock). Also the famous artist Escher, ensemble, the unususally elliptic shape
the unchallenged inventor of impossibile objects (shared by other works of the Cubist
and imaginary world, was influenced by the period) and the simple rope used as a
Mathematics of Poincarè and Penrose in creating frame represent an intentional recalling
his striking pieces of Art. The connection existing of shape that transfigures in matter,
between Art and Mathematics is universally matter thakes new shapes, which do
recognized and needs no more examples. not belong to its own
nature“ (Itinerario nell'arte. vol. III).
 Art & Science in XX Century - Impressionism and Pointillism
Impressionism generated in XIX Century a great innovation in composition –
in particular, studies on the decomposition of colors lead to “Pointillism”

Seurat 

Le pont de
Courbevoie

Notice the
persistence
of the
“Golden
Mean”
 The Deconstruction of Perspective - I
Paul Cézanne

  Perspective - so long looked for in

Renaissance, in order to “reproduce exactly”
reality, by respecting the “mechanisms of
vision” - was rejected in the XIX Century Art: House of the Hung Man – Paul Cézanne

  With Impressionism Artists begun to renounce the

older rules of “good painting”, by first deforming and
later cancelling totally the “fundamental principles” of
Renaissance perspective canons;
  With Post-Impressionism Artists create paintings
in which different parts respect a rigorous
perspective, although several different viewing angles
are mixed-up together;

  In a sense, Perspective gets deformed but not

The Big Bathers – Paul
Cézanne completely abandoned by Artists.
 The Deconstruction of Perspective - II
Picasso and Cubism – Manifolds and Fourth Dimension. 1

  Pablo Picasso - demolishes Perspective and paints

fragments of reality as seen from different angles or in
different planes, later mixed-up

  Many elements of Euclidean Geometry and Optics are

rejected;
  Euclidean Distance looses its meaning with strong
influence on the final result: particulars that are far from
each other are seen to be near, whilst particulars that are
not near appear to be contiguous in the painting.

Ambroise Voilard - Picasso

The represented reality cannot be always detected directly; one has to recognize different
pieces, glueing them together in its own perception - as in a Manifold or in a Kaleidoscope.
The artistic message is thus reconstructed in an independent way by each onlooker. The
Artistic piece becomes thus a Topological Manifold, that can be reconstructed only by
“chart glueing”.
 The Deconstruction of Perspective - III
Picasso and Cubism – Manifolds and Fourth Dimension. 2
Breaking the Euclidean Symmetries

Guernica - Picasso

The famous painting “Guernica” is formed by several independent portions, that intersect
and overlap without an apparently clear and immediate logical order. Looking carefully at
this painting, however, one can realize that the painting is in fact formed by an Atlas,
Is it a Manifold or a Piece of Art…..?
 Geometry as an Inspiration for Modern Art - I
The Golden Mean in Brâncuşi
25 of Brâncuşi’s ovoid works respect the rule of the Golden Mean. Out of
these, 5 display the ratios of 0,617 and 0,620, which compare with the
ideal ratio of 0,618. Other 13 display this ratio with a slight variation of
1%, and in only 4 there is a deviation of 2-3% from the nominal
value.” (taken from a note of Ştefan Georgescu Gorjan)

Golden Mean and Brancusi’s works

Courtesy
of
Gheorghe
Samoila

 Geometry as an
Inspiration for Modern
Art - II
Salvador Dali. 1

Salvador Dali - Leda 

Persistence of the Golden

Mean

Courtesy
of
Gheorghe
Samoila



Internet
image
 Geometry as an Inspiration for Modern Art - III
Salvador Dali. 2

  An hypercube in four dimensions can be constructed out of 8 ordinary 3-

dimensionl cubes in ordinary Euclidean Space, in much the same way in which an
ordinary cube in three dimensions can be constructed out of 6 ordinary squares (that
are ordinary cubes in 2-dimensional Euclidean Space) and an ordinary square can be
constructed out of 4 ordinary cubes in 1-dimensional Space, i.e. four segments.
  This construction was adopted by
Salvador Dalì to represent a skillful
Crucifixion, in which the Holy Cross is in
fact the 3-dimensional representation of an
hypercube. This introduces “de facto” an
extra dimension in the painting, which -
in a sense - acquires also an extension in
time, to represent the flow of events that
has accompanied the Passion of Christ.
 Geometry as an Inspiration for Modern Art - IV
Art Nouveau and Geometrical Forms

•  The beginning of XX Century

marks the eve of new forms of
Art. Art Nouveau is one of the
most important ones (also called
Liberty or Jugendstil)
•  One of the most important
characteristics of this New Style
resides in its continuous
reference to Nature, from which G. Klimt – The Tree of Life
the structural elements are
derived and given dynamical
undulate contours.
The clever use of geometrical structures inspired by such curves would produce
shapes in the form of trees and flowers, a reason for which the Style was also
called “Floral”. Some of the curved lines used became clichés, to be adopted by
artists worldwide.
 Geometry as an Inspiration for Modern Art - V
Art & Mathematics in Antoni Gaudí’s Architecture. 1
“La Sagrada Família”

Fig. 2 “La Sagrada Familía”, photo by Marcella Giulia Lorenzi

 Geometry as an Inspiration for Modern Art - VI
Art & Mathematics in Antoni Gaudí’s Architecture. 2
Geometrical Forms for “La Sagrada Família” (1)
Cubic Elements for the Pinnacles of “La
Sagrada Familía”, in the Museum of the
Church,
photo by Marcella Giulia Lorenzi
 Geometry as an Inspiration for Modern Art - VII
Art & Mathematics in Antoni Gaudí’s Architecture. 3
Geometrical Forms for “La Sagrada Família” (2)
Platonic Solids and other
Geometrical Shapes for the
Pinnacles of “La Sagrada
Familía”, in the Museum of
the Church, photo by Marcella
Giulia Lorenzi
 Geometry as an Inspiration for Modern Art - VIII
Art & Mathematics in Antoni Gaudí’s Architecture. 4
Geometrical Forms for “La Sagrada Família” (3)

Other Elements for the Pinnacles of “La Sagrada Familía”,

in the Museum of the Church,
photo by Marcella Giulia Lorenzi
 Geometry as an Inspiration for Modern Art - IX
Art & Mathematics in Antoni Gaudí’s Architecture. 5
The Geometrical Columns of “La Sagrada Família”. (4)

photo by Marcella
Giulia Lorenzi
 Geometry as an Inspiration for Modern Art - X
Art & Mathematics in Antoni Gaudí’s Architecture. 6
The Geometrical Columns of “La Sagrada Família” (5)
•  Columns resemble Trees,
from the Museum of the
Church, photo by Marcella
Giulia Lorenzi
 Geometry as an Inspiration for Modern Art - XI
The Golden Mean in Modern Painting. 1

F.A. Alsbach’s Disced field at down - Harmonic Analysis

Courtesy
of
Gheorghe
Samoila
 Reproduced
with
ar0st’s
permission

 Geometry as an Inspiration for Modern Art - XII
The Golden Mean in Modern Painting. 2

Courtesy
of
Gheorghe
Samoila
 Reproduced
with
ar0st’s
permission


“I
do
use
the
Golden
Mean
as
a
star1ng
point
and
to
arrive
at
basic
dimensions.

The

design
begins
with
the
Golden
Mean,
but
I
also
played
with
the
Geometry
somehow

as
I
painted.”
























Floyd
Alsbach












































Evening Canticle

 Geometry as an Inspiration for Modern Art - XIII
Patterns and Topological Forms. 1

In the Peinture of XX Century some artistic movements begun to use Geometry

as a mean to construct pieces of Art. Among the great names of these currents
we may just quote Vassili Kandinsky or Max Bill, but many others could be
recalled. In their paintings and sculptures the presence of Geometry (Euclidean
or not) is not accidental but represents in fact an artistic theme.

Vassily Kandinski - Black Square (1923) Max Bill - Endless Ribbon

 Geometry as an Inspiration for Modern Art - XIV
Patterns and Topological Forms. 2

Disco Simultaneo - Robert Delaunay

Numeri innamorati – G. Balla

Geometry as an Inspiration for Modern Art - XV
Patterns and Topological Forms. 3

Emblematic examples of “broken symmetry”

may be found in the sculptures of Arnaldo
Pomodoro, that are placed along the streets of
the Swiss town of Lugano: they represent objects
that are symmetric only if seen from suitable
angles or positions.
 From Order to Disorder - I
Fractals in Mathematics. 1

  One of the most fascinating conquers of XX Century is the notion of

Fractal. Introduced at the end of XIX Century as curves that fill-up
portion of the plane and have an “intermediate dimension” larger
than one but smaller than two (e.g., the Peano Curve or the Koch
Curve), they represent stimulating objects related with iteration and
self-similarity at scales smaller and smaller (coasts, mountains,
vegetation, nervous system are good examples).

Haebel - Isole
 From Order to Disorder - II
Fractals in Mathematics. 2

Koch Curves

•  Worthwhile to mention is the revolutionary idea that continuity and

dimension may be different from the notions that resisted since the time of
Greeks, through their advent.

Peano Curve

B. Mandelbrot
Fractals
 From Order to Disorder - III
Fractals in Mathematics. 3
Mandelbrot Sets

The Mandelbrot Sets are defined starting

from a Julia set, by the recursive formula
(x,y) → (x 2 - y2 + x, 2xy + y)
 From Order to Disorder - IV
Fractalism in Art. 1

•  The advent of computer has certainly

given a great impetus to “Fractal
Painting” - also called “Fractalism” - but
also the literary tradition of XX Century
had a propositive role. Mandelbrot
speaks of “representations of infinity
through finite” and of “non integer
dimensions”. In parallel, several artists
of XX Century had liberated themselves
from predetermined models and have
focused their activity on the “search of
unpractioned and unexperienced Paolo Barlusconi -
dimensions”, so determining new Ineffabili Stati dell’Essere
viewpoints and new models through
which one can experiment “reality”.
 From Order to Disorder - V
Fractalism in Art. 2

Haebel states moreover about Fractal Art:

“The scientific component is present only at
the level of study […] the creative act is by
no means mortified […] and it remains the
undiscussed protagonist […] it would be
impossible to repeat a painting, while
repetitivity is a founding value of scientific
work.”
Haebel - Attrattore in Espansione

Again with Haebel we can say that: “Fractal Geometry

configures a new theoretical and methaphorical field. The
rigid boundaries that have traditionally separated Art
from Science are falling down one by one.
Interdisciplinarity is extremely open minded: it has no
limits, no boundaries, it is infinite as Fractal Geometry is.
Gianni D’Anna - Fleur Fractal …”
F.L. Wright - From Order to Disorder - VI
Marine County Civic Center Fractals in Architecture. 1

Fractalized structures in Roman time

Bridges and in modern constructions. 1)
The Marine County Civic Center; 2)
Aqueduct on Gard River (France)

Acqueduct of Gard
D. Libeskind - V & A Museum, London From Order to Disorder - VII
Fractals in Architecture. 2

  Fractalized structures are often encountered in

Modern Architecture, as these examples show
(below, a view of Guggenheim Museum at
Bilbao; on the left, the Victoria & Albert
Museum; below, a modern structure at an
exhibition centre in Denver. But also in
relatively older buildings or even in Roman
constructions, as in the next slide…….

Daniel Libeskind - Art Museum, Denver F.O. Gehry - Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao
 From Order to Disorder - VIII
Fractals and Hyperbolic Geometry in Escher’s Art. 1

  Escher found inspiration in Alhambra’s Mosaics and realized tessellations of the

plane through symmetrical schemes taken from Geometry (later replaced by Angels,
Demons, Ghosts, Reptiles, Fishes and Imaginary Beasts – so creating unique artworks
based on Non-Euclidean Geometry or even “Impossibile Geometries”. The following
images live in the so-called Poincare’ Disk.

The dimension of reptiles decrease moving The dimension of reptiles increase moving
towards the centre towards the centre
 From Order to Disorder - IX
Fractals and Hyperbolic Geometry in Escher’s Art. 2

Escher and Poincarè Disk

 Time and Motion in Modern Art - I
The Futurism. 1
  As we said, across XIX and XX Century:
  The idea of Space changes, together with its description;
  Non-Euclidean Geometries are introduced; Time becomes a fourth
sensible dimension; Technology grows rapidly; Velocity becomes
essential

Artists of XX Century begin trying to represent motion pictorially

Nude descending
a staircase –
Marcel Duchamp

Dynamics of a dog on a land – Giacomo Balla

 Time and Motion in Modern Art - II
The Futurism. 2

The Futurism is an Art movement that started in Milano, 100 years ago
(in 2009)

Futurists’ concept of movement and their attempts to capture a sense of

movement in painting, sculpture and photography.
 Time and Motion in Modern Art - III
The Futurism and the Aesthetic of Velocity
The “Aesthetic of Velocity” generates a prevalence of truly dynamical
elements; motion involves both the object depicted and the space in
which motion takes place.
Trains, Cars, Airplanes are peculiar subjects, but also human figures
(dogs, dancers, children) animated by multicolored and polyphonic
brush touches, aimed at putting into evidence the propulsive push of
moving forms. The difference of velocity (higher or lower) is usually
represented by using either broken and rough-edged lines or more
harmonious and fluid linear brushstrokes.

Futurism is well described by the own words of Boccioni (1913):

“I want to render the fusion of a head with its environment.
I want to render the prolongation of objects in space.
I want to model light and the atmosphere.
I want to transfix the human form in movement.
I want to synthesize the unique forms of continuity in space.”
 Time and Motion in Modern Art – IV
Futurism and Photography
At the same time in which Marinetti, Tato, Boccioni, Balla,
Bragaglia, etc. where trying to insert movement in their
art, including photography
Muybridge used photography as a scientific instrument to
study animal and human movement imperceptible to the
human eye
Time and Motion in Modern Art – V
The “Fotodinamismo” of Futurists. 1
Time and Motion in Modern Art – VI
The “Fotodinamismo” of Futurists. 2

Manifesto della Fotografia Futurista

 Time and Motion in
Modern Art – VII

The “Fotodinamismo” of
Futurists. 3
Time and Motion in Modern Art – VIII
 Time and Motion in Modern Art - IX
Generative Art – Painting with Light

  Generative Art is a new method of making Art. The term refers to how the Art
is made, and does not take into account why it was made or what the content of the
artwork is: Artworks, in Generative Art, can be identified in the creative processes
and not only in the results.
  Painting with Light: it is a form of Generative Art that – through Digital
Photography – allows one the “setting in motion of the fourth dimension”

photo by Marcella
Giulia Lorenzi
 The Quest for an “Algebra of Movement” and
Generative Art

•  The Futurist Anton Giulio Bragaglia had said that he wanted to

construct an "algebra of movement" .

•  The Futurist painters had begun working on this idea, for example,
with their concept of "absolute" and "relative" motion.
•  "Absolute" movement was the general overall direction that a subject
was moving toward and "relative" movement was the internal
movement of the subject such as the turning wheels of a car or the
swinging arms of a person walking - movement that was independent
of the absolute movement.

•  The starting point could have been the same “reality”, from which they
generated different artworks (Generative Art…?).
 The Quest for an “Algebra of Movement” and
Generative Art

“The term Generative Art does not describe any art-movement or

ideology. It is a method of making Art. The term refers to how the Art
is made, and does not take into account why it was made or what the
content of the artwork is. Artworks, in Generative Art, can be identified
in the creative processes and not only in the results. Also because the
results of each generative process are endless variations belonging to
the same idea. Generative Art creates an artificial DNA able to
generate individuals of the same species. The results are unique ad
continuum” (Galanter).

“Painting with Light” is in fact a Generative Art process

(as we first claimed in the Generative Art 2007 Conference as well as in

APLIMAT 2009).
 Future of Futurism Project
Doble, Francaviglia and Lorenzi

On the 100th anniversary of the Futurist art movement which

started in Milano, we want to examine the aims and ideas
of Futurist imagery, then proceed to a discussion of how
today's digital photography can achieve many of the goals
of the Futurist artists.
Digital photography can record pictures that are very similar
to the Futurists' vision of depicting a world that is always
in motion.

An Installation/Exhibition was held in Milano in 2009 and in

Bratislava in 2010; it will be expanded and presented in
other cities (Buenos Aires, Bucharest, etc.)

Book – catalogue and scientific and historical hints

 You’ll find more in Rick Doble’s new book

EXPERIMENTAL DIGITAL ART PHOTOGRAPHY

Lark Books, April 2010

The Art Work of Rick Doble

10 Years On The Internet
The Culmination Of Almost 40 Years Of A Life In Art
---- 2000+ Images ----
Including 1500+ Digital Photos
Plus Experiments, Art/Science Images, Essays, Lifestory,
More
Futurism
Future of Futurism
Future of Futurism

Photo Lorenzi
Future of Futurism

Photo Lorenzi
Future of Futurism

Photo Lorenzi
Future of Futurism

Photo Lorenzi
Future of Futurism

Photo Lorenzi
Future of Futurism

Photo Lorenzi
 Optics and photography

Starting from the laws of Visual Perception, from the

anathomy and physiology of the eye to the cerebral
cortex and the elementary laws of Optics, several
devices using these properties have been built.

“Camera Oscura” is an optical instrument the

principles of which are at the base of Photography and
Cinematography.
photo by M.G. Lorenzi Light is a physical phenomenon of electromagnetic
nature; emitted by some sources (for example, the Sun,
fire, lamps, etc.) it propagates into transparent media
and is reflected, diffused or absorbed by matter.
The spectrum of irradiating energy is usually divided into families, that overlap at the
extremes, called microwaves, ultraviolet, infrared, etc.; Human retina is sensibile to
electromagnetic waves in a short interval: the term “light” is usually referred to
electromagnetic wave-frequencies within it. Thus visibile light is a very small region of the
electromagnetic spectrum.

A light wave, irradiating into space at the constant velocity of about 300.000 kilometers per
second, can therefore “energetically” interact with a detector, that could be a film, a retina
or a photoelectric device.
 Photography: it’s all about light
“I often think the night is Many people do not realize and even
more alive and more experienced photographers can forget, that
richly coloured than the Photography is all about light.
day."
Vincent van Gogh, 1888
The word “Photography” comes from two
Greek words, Photos (light) and Graphos
(writing, painting), so “drawing with the light”.
photo by M.G. Lorenzi Photography is not about objects or people or
scenery, rather it is about how the light reveals
those things. The action of light on a light-
sensitive material (film or electronic devices)
creates the image. An object can be lighted so
that it almost disappears or so that it is virtually
three -dimensional.
Color photography is a relatively recent invention, “Digital photography could
so it is not only the intensity of the light, but also be a major art form in the
the color of the light that creates the image. This next century. It may be the
complicates things: for example, a scene may culmination of the
include different light sources which have their development of
own particular color (color temperatures and wave photography. Digital
lengths) and subtleties of color that may be seen cameras may give us the
differently by the camera than by the human eye. power to set photography
loose.”
1950’s: single lens reflex (SLR) camera
Rick Doble
For the first time the photographer could see
exactly what the lens saw.
photo by M.G. Lorenzi
1990’s: Digital Photography

artist see what the camera is seeing in "real time"

on a LCD screen (approximation).
 "I'm an eye. A mechanical eye. I, the
The photograph can be used to record a machine, show you a world the way only I
passage though time, a movement can see it. I free myself for today and
through a space, even an emotion forever from human immobility. I'm in
characterized by the movement of the constant movement. I approach and pull
away from objects…This is I, the machine,
camera. manoeuvring in the chaotic movements,
recording one movement after another in the
most complex combinations.
The elusive change of light, the fleeting Freed from the boundaries of time and
expression, the ephemeral form – all space, I co-ordinate any and all points of
could be captured by the camera, “an the universe, wherever I want them to be.
instrument for working both in time and My way leads towards the creation of a
fresh perception of the world. Thus I explain
space” as the English painter John Piper in a new way the world unkown to you."
pointed out. Dziga Vertov, 1923

Indeed taking pictures needs some

devices and a particular process in Space
and Time.

“Today scientists no longer limit themselves
to the three dimensions of Euclid. The
painters have been led quite naturally, one
might say by intuition, to preoccupy
themselves with the new possibilities of
spatial measurement which, in the language
of modern studios, are designated by the
term: the fourth dimension.
Regarded from the plastic point of view, the
fourth dimension appears to spring from the
three known dimensions: it represents the
immensity of space eternalizing itself in all
directions at any given moment. It is space
itself, the dimension of the infinite.”
Guillaume Apollinaire, 1913
According to Albert Einstein the basic
structure of our world is SpaceTime and
things exist in a spacetime continuum, a
world of four dimensions: height, width,
depth and time.
A generative process is usually referred to
as “setting in motion”. Motion is the
essence of Life. To be alive is to move.
It seems that both Cubism and Futurism
were deeply affected by Einstein's Special
Theory of Relativity, which was published
in 1905. The goal of the Futurists was to
include motion (and therefore Time) in a
painted image, much like the cubist
wanted to include multidimensions in a
portrait.
 “Photography may be the visual Art
Photography, and Digital Photography in best suited to creating still images
particular, is uniquely capable of of subjects in time. This is because a
recording a space/time image.
photograph is made by recording an
object (via the lens) over time (by
Yet to photograph a space/time image is opening the shutter for a specific
quite complex. For example, the correct duration). Therefore, a
shutter speed to depict motion varies p h o t o g r a p h i c e x p o s u re i s a
considerably depending on the motion of combination of space and time, a
the subject and the artistic intentions of recording of space and time” Rick
the photographer. In addition there are Doble
many other variables to movement. And
to record this kind of imagery photo by M.G. Lorenzi

successfully, the photographer must have
a tool that allows instant display of the
imagery just taken so that adjustments
can be made based on that feedback -
which is the very powerful capability
provided by Digital Photography.


“The artist and the scientist
each substitute a self-created
world for the experiential one,
with the goal of transcendence”
Albert Einstein
photo by M.G. Lorenzi
panning a camera with a moving subject.
Digital photography and
Futurism
Digital photographers who are interested in
the depiction of movement have tried to add
to the Futurist idea of an “algebra of
movement”. The craft of Photography
defines two fundamental kinds of movement:
“subject movement” and “camera
movement”. It also adds a third kind of
movement which is the combination of
subject and camera movement such as
The Futurist's notion of absolute and relative
movement is part of subject movement and
works very nicely with other photographic
considerations when it comes to taking
pictures of a subject in motion.
 “The eyes within the camera
Some digital photographers have added other
shift and capture each moment.
aspects of subject movement to their ideas.

This act of perception trasmutes
For example, one of us (RD) defined these and trasfigures each object
different types of subject movement:
perceived creating a montage of
unique and pivotal images.”
Regular movement: Some movement is
Yulla
unchanging, like that of a train; it moves at a fairly
steady pace in a predetermined direction. A car’s
movement is also regular but with some variables,
such as swerving a bit to the left or right and
slowing down or speeding up.

Predictable movement: Less precise than regular photo by M.G. Lorenzi

movement is predictable movement. A car heading
down the road will continue to head in that
direction; a car with its right turn signal blinking
will turn right. A dancer doing a traditional dance
will repeat the same steps but not in exactly the
same spot.
Left: “Le mani del Violinista”, by G. Balla

Right: “Violinist”, subject movement, photo by Rick Doble

Irregular movement: Some movement repeats but in an irregular fashion, such
as a dancer who moves in a free-form manner. Nevertheless, this dancer will
repeat many of the same motions and, after a while, a photographer might gain a
sense of how that particular dancer is likely to move.

Erratic movement: The movement of a singer on a stage or a child playing

with a dog can be hard to predict, however, scenes such as these can yield
exciting and unusual imagery.

Left/right: Photodynamic portraits of Dee Dee Bridgewater singing and dancing with a
green fan during a Jazz concert. Photos by M.G. Lorenzi

 “Can an art form, which has
been committed to creating
high resolution images of the
real world, find happiness as a
contemporary art form that
includes things that
photography has been avoiding
up to now, such as blurriness,
overexposure, underexposure,
camera movement, subject
movement, graininess and long
exposures in which the
unexpected happens?”
Rick Doble
photo by M.G. Lorenzi
Camera Movement
Camera movement, by itself, depicts
motion from the photographer’s point-of-
view. This type of imagery has been
called ”Painting with Light” and also
”camera painting”.
It is essentially a new Art form that has
only been made practical with the advent
of Digital Photography and leads to
dynamic abstract imagery much like the
abstract work of the Futurists.
NOTE: while this imagery was
technically possible with film
photography, not much work was done in
this area due to the high cost and large
amount of effort that was required.
 “I was by myself
In addition camera and subject ‘action painting
movement together add with a camera’…”
powerful techniques in the
Rick Doble
depiction of movement as well
as providing considerable
individual artistic control.

Combined camera and subject
“My Wife Driving”,

movement can record the most subject and camera

movement combined,

dynamic imagery where the photo by Rick Doble

world seems to be rushing to fill
the picture.

“The vital instant is the The New Digital Photographic
‘decisive moment’ of Capabilities

snapping the shutter”


Henri Cartier-Bresson The capabilities of Digital Photography can make
use of all of these ideas about movement in a
fashion that the Futurists could only dream about.

LCD Monitor: To begin, digital photographers can

see a rapid thumbnail photograph immediately
after taking a photograph. The instant image on the
LCD monitor gives digital photographers the
essential tool they need - since photographing
photo by M.G. Lorenzi

motion is so complex and requires a good deal of
trial and error. Yet the LCD monitor allows the
accomplished photographer to hone his or her
imagery in real time and to take pictures both in the
studio and in the streets to record the vital pulse of
Life.

 Low Cost: prohibitive cost of film and
processing in the past. Taking pictures of
movement, by necessity, requires a lot of
test shots and shots that are not the best.
“Camera movement
Digital photographers can now shoot
combined with a slow
hundreds of pictures without worrying
shutter speed can
about the cost.

create fluid images
full of energy.”
Stabilizing Control: The new stabilizing
feature on most digital cameras allows
photographers to handhold shots at very
photo by M.G. Lorenzi
low shutter speed such as 1/2 second with
no camera shake. This means that
photographs of subject movement by
itself, for example, can be accurately shot
without any camera shake or with minimal
camera shake. And this is a new feature
only now available with digital
technology.

EXIF Data: Also important is the EXIF
exposures data that is recorded by most
digital cameras and embedded in the
photographic image. This invaluable new
digital tool lets a photographer go back and
review the settings, such as shutter speed, that
were used with different photographs and
then allows the photographer to learn from
and to build on that information.
“I suppose I am interested,
above all, in investigating the
golden ability of the artist to
achieve a metamorphosis of
quite ordinary things into
something wonderful and
extraordinary…”
Eduardo Paolozzi, 1959

Expressive Control: And while Digital

Photography is a technical craft, it is also an
expressive medium. Different photographers
can make very different images that reflect photo by Rick Doble

their personalities and their artistic visions.
As a result the world in motion can be both
accurately recorded and also depicted in an
expressive and individual manner.


“The artist and the scientist
each substitute a self-created
world for the experiential one,
with the goal of transcendence”
Albert Einstein
photo by M.G. Lorenzi
expressionism”. Generally speaking the
Selecting particular initial conditions,
adding a fourth dimension and
photographing motion by means of
randomised generative processes can
give rise to very expressionistic results,
in full agreement with Galanter’s
definition of Generative Art.
Rick Doble proposed a new term for
this Photography, namely “photo–
most interesting effects will occur at
extremes, because it is at these "edges"
that the normal relationship between
light and film/CCD breaks down and
something unusual happens.
Real context



Light painting

photos by M.G. Lorenzi

Real context
photos by M.G. Lorenzi Light painting
Future of Futurism
Future of Futurism

Photo Doble
Future of Futurism
Future of Futurism

Photo Doble
Future of Futurism
Future of Futurism

Photo Doble
Future of Futurism
Future of Futurism

Photo Doble
Future of Futurism

Photo Lorenzi
Future of Futurism

Photo Lorenzi
Future of Futurism
Future of Futurism

Photo Lorenzi
 Thank you for your attention!

Contacts:

rick_doble@yahoo.com photo by M.G. Lorenzi

marcella.lorenzi@unical.it
mauro.francaviglia@unito.it

“The artist and the scientist

each substitute a self-created
world for the experiential one,
with the goal of transcendence”
Albert Einstein