Description
Jeanne Heifetz
2014
Pewter, graphite, bronze, zinc, nickel, stainless steel, wax, on quartzite.
24″ x 24″
Swiss mathematician Jean-Louis Nicolet argues that the mind does not instinctively grasp scientific principles through the conscious study of formulas. True scientific understanding begins with an intuitive process that unites direct apprehension of the natural world with our own internal associations, knowledge we may not even be aware we possess.
Perhaps certain natural forms resonate deeply with us because they spark more of these unconscious associations. For me, one of the strongest resonant visual frequencies is the structure of foams, which occur throughout the universe at every scale from the clustering of galaxies to the growth of sea sponges.
The search itself poses another question: do we find order in the universe or impose our expectations of order upon it? Scientists are now discovering that even at the cellular level, randomness plays a large, perhaps even dominant role. Does this visual amalgam of randomness and order remind us of something we have long understood about the natural world, even if we don’t yet know that we know it?
