Astro-Artist of the Month - July 2013: Jean Constant

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Jul 04

2013

by Thilina Heenatigala

Published: Thursday, July 04 2013 07:13

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Jean Constant is past professor of Visual Communication and Media Technology and resides in New Mexico. As an artist, he has been actively involved for many years in Science and Art collaborative projects, particularly in the field of mathematics and art.

The following is a series of mathematical objects set on a background of images from the planet Mars taken by the HIRISE experiment.

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HIRISE) is a project of the University of Arizona, Tucson. A HIRISE camera is flying on-board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) mission, investigates deposits and landforms resulting from geologic and climatic processes and assists in the evaluation of candidate landing sites.

The mathematical objects are space curves created in a mathematical visualization program called 3DXplorMath. A space curve is a curve of three dimension in Euclidean space that may pass through any region of three-dimensional space. A very suitable category for space art!

The soundtracks in the animation are part of the UC Berkeley Space sciences lab and the European Space agency sound libraries.

The following images include both the mathematical origin of the objects and a detailed technical reference for the Mars backgrounds you can review in HD format on the HIRISE site.

Cave painting

This background reminded me of Werner Herzog’s “Cave of forgotten dreams”. Maybe that’s how mathematics started: charcoal graffiti on a cave wall instead of stick on the sand.

Tech data - A) Mars - Possible Olivine-Rich Terrain (PSP_010535_1575)
Lat: -22.4° Long: 99.3°. B) Maths - Genus 2 knot: the value of an orientable surface’s genus is equal to the number of “holes” it has.

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Medieval decay

Some middle ages architectural design floating in a timeless environment. Why? When did it happen? And how?

Tech data - A) Mars - Bouncing Boulders (PSP_001385_1985) Lat: 18.5° Long: 65° . B) Maths - Spherical cycloid: when a circle rolls along a stationary straight line a point on the circumference of the circle traces a curve called a cycloid.

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Red Aspen

The inspiration for the title was coming mainly from the combination of color and shape.

Tech data - A) Mars - Dune Monitoring (ESP_014401_1360). Lat: -43.5° Long:
35°. B) Maths - Variation on the genus 2 knot theme. Genus 2 knot: the value of an orientable surface’s genus is equal to the number of “holes” it has.

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Turquoise migration

Mechanical school of fish over a coral reef.

Tech data - A) Mars - Colorful Streaks (ESP_016136_1525) Lat: -27.2° Long:
185.8°. B) Maths - Variation on the concept of genus. Genus: a class, kind, or group marked by common characteristics; a category of biological classification ranking between the family and the species, comprising structurally or phylogenetically related species or an isolated species exhibiting unusual differentiation (Merriam & Webster)

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