Spiritual Space (Represented)

"The eye itself has not, of course, remained in the monocular, fixed construction defined by Renaissance theories of perspective. The hegemonic eye has conquered new ground for visual perception and expression. The paintings of Bosch and Bruegel, for instance, already invite a participatory eye to travel across the scenes of multiple events. The seventeenth-century Dutch paintings of bourgeois life present casual scenes and objects of everyday use which expand beyond the boundaries of the Albertian window. Baroque paintings open up the viewerÕs vision with hazy edges, soft focus and multiple perspectives, presenting a distinct, tactile invitation, enticing the body to travel through the illusory space."
Pallasmaa J, 1996, The Eyes of the Skin, Polemics, Academy Group Ltd, pp23
Crivelli LÕAnnunciazione, 1486, London, National Gallery
Da Vinci, Adoration of the Magi

 

"That the first cause [i.e., God] could not make several worlds." But if God is truly omnipotent, reasoned Tempier, then there is no reason why He cannot make other worlds than this world. As Nicholas Oresme (ca. I375-I382) put it straightforwardly in the fourteenth century: "God can and could in his omnipotence make another world besides this one or several like or unlike it." Of most interest to us is not the question of world plurality as such; rather, it is the implication of such plurality: if there are several worlds that coexist with each other, then they must share a space larger than the place taken up by any one of them. If, moreover, there are an infinite number of such worldsÑas the Atomists first speculated, and as ensues from God's omnipotence (for why should He stop at the creation of one or even a few worlds? - then the space shared must be infinite in extent. Such intercosmic space is empty, a void, except where occupied by given worlds, as Oresme concludes: "Outside the heavens, then, is an empty incorporeal space quite different from any other plenum or corporeal space." The indefinite plurality of worlds calls for such a space; thanks to its coherent imaginability, its real-its plausible-possibility (though not its actuality) is assured."
E, Casey. The Fate of Place, The Ascent of Infinite Space. Pp108

 

Fibonacci sequence or series n. the infinite sequence of numbers, 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, etc., in which each member (Fibonacci number) is the sum of the previous two. [named after Leonardo fibonacci (?1170-?1250), Florentine mathematician]

Golden section or mean n. Fine arts, the proportion of the two divisions of a straight line or the two dimensions of a plane figure such that the smaller is to the larger as the larger is to the sum of the two. If the sides of a rectangle are in this proportion and a square is constructed internally on the shorter side the rectangle that remains will also have sides in the same proportion.

Mario Merz drawing and sculptures of the Fibonacci sequence

 

 

Einstein Tomb

Lebbeus Woods 1980

Newton and Descartes considered Time a neutral product of relationships between energy and matter, or a condition essentially independent of them. Their Time was a linear field of infinite extension, described by regular increments; accordingly, their universe was not only eternal, but also of infinite measure.

EINSTEIN, however, conceived a new Time, one interdependent with the mechanics of motion and materiality. His is a Time of transparency and elasticity, of subtle and complex interval and modulation, a forceful, active Time that colours and shapes events . His universe is a warp of finite duration and boundary yet of infinite renewal and continuity.

The form of the Einsteinian universe is related to the most ancient symbol of the cosmos: the circle (mandala) set in motion by Time to create the epicycles of day, month, year, and millennium.

As the mandala symbol presages the effect of Relativity so Einstein's thought bears into the modern world ancient wisdom regarding the unity of nature the oneness of all things. His quest for a Unified Field Theory was an attempt to give new meaning to the ancient dream of Totality. In this way he advanced beyond the boundaries of pure reason, bringing Western philosophy and science nearer to the synthetical realms of Pythagoras, Herac litus and the mystics of the Cabala.

After his death, Einstein's body was cremated and scattered over the Atlantic Ocean.

. . . has conceived a Tomb

His tomb -if it is to house his remains must "not only honour his memory" but must also embody his ideals.

Pamphlet Architecture 1-10, Princeton Architectural Press