Thursday, October 6, 2011

Harold Urey would like this,four easy pieces









I was out and about, strolling and clicking today, perfect golden light, clear, just glad to be alive weather, and after I got home with these art pix, literally art underfoot, what I saw on the ground, I cracked up laughing when I rotated the bumpy one and realized I'd achieved a great optical illusion by moving the shadow, so the viewer now thinks it's a series of depressions. Art being the big lie that tells the truth, you know.

The reference to Harold Urey, at least I think it was he, some Big Name in Studying the Moon long before anyone walked on it, gave a special big deal lecture in England years and years ago, to which scientists were invited and as the spouse of same, I got to go along.

He was showing big slides of the craters of the moon, but kept on getting the giggles when the craters would suddenly seem to be mountains and bumps. He was quite frivolous, and the audience didn't know what to make of this, expecting a solemn disquisition on Lunar Excrescences or Cavities or something or other. But I loved him for breaking up over the slides and saying, oh, look, it did it again! which goes to show that childlike behavior may very well be a part of genius. I bet Feynman would have cracked up, too.

3 comments:

  1. I love looking at optical illusions. I saw the depressions the first time, then after I read your post, went back for another look and both pictures had lumps until I forced my eyes to see the depressions again. Funny!

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  2. When looking at it with both eyes, I see depressions. Close one eye and I see depressions with one eye, close that one open the other, I see bumps. Back and forth and they don't look the same twice in a row. I'll have to read up on this, very interesting. Beautiful photos. J in Cowtown

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  3. I do think that amusement is a necessary part of any creative process, that and humility! I enjoyed this post.

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