Parallel Worlds: Paintings and Drawings as Metaphors for Ideas in Art and Science

Have you ever dreamed about the fourth dimension? The author has, and if you dream you probably have too. Have you experienced curved space and surfaces, the complexity of perception, and infinity? Tom Cappuccio has tried to experience the above forms, spaces, relationships and ideas. He also has attempted to translate these forms and ideas into drawings and paintings to convey their mystery, complexity, and beauty. Curved forms are not imaginary, they can be found in any spherical, cylindrical or warped objects in one's environment. Though dimensions beyond the third are speculative, these concepts have been very well worked out in the worlds of mathematics, and certainly theorized in physics. A fourth dimension would allow us to see through walls, travel to different parts of the universe with ease, and able us to escape any earthly enclosure. A stainless steel cooking pot, a metallic sphere, a highly reflective doorknob or hubcap offer terrific visual opportunities to twist and bend space, and thereby create new worlds. Cappuccio has over 30 original paintings and drawings which explore the concepts of multi dimensions, bending and warped spaces, figure and ground reversal, the relativity of perception and time, and infinity. Who has not yearned for and at the same time shuddered at the mere thought of infinity, and delighted in the great distortions seen in curved, reflective forms? You will find paintings and drawings based on such concepts which have counterparts in the mind of the artist as well as that of the scientist. Other artists such as Picasso with Cubism, Salvador Dali through Surrealism, and Escher with his impossible figures influenced not only artists, but also individuals in math and science. This book makes connections between visual art, geometry, and ideas in science. The interaction between painting, color, and geometry helps to visualize concepts which would be impossible to imagine. Concepts such as multi dimensions, curved spaces, and infinity are made more tangible when formed through drawing and painting. Artists, non-artists, as well as individuals interested in ideas and science will find this book thought provoking.