Dear readers, gazers, critics, searchers...

Welcome to my blog!  My name is Samantha Yang, and these are images of my artwork.  In upcoming posts, you will see a title, an image, pertinent work information (dimensions, media, dates, etc.), and probably some tidbits about each piece regarding process, inspiration, fluff.

I am open to any and all feedback.  Art is a method of communication, and the best art creates a dialog between the viewers and the work.  Please feel free to despise, adore, be bored, be intrigued, be critical, or be all of the above.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!
-Sam

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Mathematics of Aesthetics

Oil, acrylic, charcoal, conte, and ink on canvas
32" x 45"
2007
$200

There is an essay called "The Mathematics of Aesthetics" by George David Birkhoff.  The essay asserts that aesthetic mass is order over complexity, and that the  more aesthetic mass something has, the more beautiful it is.  This piece is a reaction to that formula, and actually to all formulas for what is beautiful and what isn't.  

When I first discovered the essay, I was determined to make a painting which maximized aesthetic mass according to the equation.  But when I thought about how to maximize order and minimize complexity visually, I ended up with an image that I found incredibly boring.  This piece shows the space that I was working in while studying the essay.  The blank book and the clean equations contrast with the disorder of the studio, but I think both look beautiful in their opposition.
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