Madden, Jack "Abyss without Vertigo." MFA
, Rhode Island School of Design, 2022
Abstract: Science has difficulty changing the way we think because it takes us beyond our natural perception. To scales and phenomena that we are unaccustomed to, that are instinctively inhuman. To fundamentally change the philosophy of our species there needs to be a bridge or, more presciently, an emergency ladder for the human mind to science. As we are inclined to logic yet inherently emotional, the importance of the scientific cannot be understood using science alone. Significance must be felt, feelings are the foundation of art, and validation the consequence of the artifact.
This thesis contains 1600 pages of notes taken by the author's hand during the ten years of undergraduate and graduate work needed for a Ph.D. in astrophysics. Arranged chronologically, these pages show the progression of time, frustration, wonder, and doodles. The surface area of these pages establishes a physical metaphor for the total space within our galaxy. At this scale, the extent to which we have explored our galaxy is expressed by the area within the head of the figure on the back cover. Interspersed among these pages are new writings on the aesthetic solutions to nihilism, scientific sublime, absurdity in scientific discovery, and statements about the artwork.
Department: Digital+Media
, Rhode Island School of Design
Advisor(s): Shona Kitchen
