I feel like photography (and in particular, photographs showing interesting physical systems) is a particularly good fit for “rationalist” artwork. For me, one of the top two or three most fundamental principles of rationality is entangling oneself with the world—living in the real world, and appreciating the real world, rather than escaping into one’s own imagination. That’s not to say imagination is bad, but rather that the role of imagination is to act on the real world, rather than to live on a separate plane of existence. Let the real world inform our beliefs, and use that knowledge to bring our ideas into physical reality.
Photography is a great fit for that, because it portrays physical reality. In some cases, a photograph can help us entangle our own beliefs with reality—as in scientific photographs, like an image of a cell with certain organelles stained. In other cases, a photograph can display the form of some brilliant idea made real—as in the photograph above.
Here’s a similar photo on Wikipedia. Image description:
A multiple exposure picture (one of 68 images created by Century Magazine photographer Dickenson Alley) of Tesla sitting in his Colorado Springs laboratory with his “magnifying transmitter” [= Tesla Coil] generating millions of volts. The 7-metre (23 ft) long arcs were not part of the normal operation, but only produced for effect by rapidly cycling the power switch.[2]
I feel like photography (and in particular, photographs showing interesting physical systems) is a particularly good fit for “rationalist” artwork. For me, one of the top two or three most fundamental principles of rationality is entangling oneself with the world—living in the real world, and appreciating the real world, rather than escaping into one’s own imagination. That’s not to say imagination is bad, but rather that the role of imagination is to act on the real world, rather than to live on a separate plane of existence. Let the real world inform our beliefs, and use that knowledge to bring our ideas into physical reality.
Photography is a great fit for that, because it portrays physical reality. In some cases, a photograph can help us entangle our own beliefs with reality—as in scientific photographs, like an image of a cell with certain organelles stained. In other cases, a photograph can display the form of some brilliant idea made real—as in the photograph above.
What is happening in that photo?
Here’s a similar photo on Wikipedia. Image description: