On the Creation of Art

In 1979 while going to the University of Florida I decided to switch my major from Physics to Architecture. The reason for this switch was to better align my studies with my creative and artistic nature. The study of Physics did not present the opportunities that I desired to express myself fully. However, the study of Architecture held the promise of one day enabling me to apply concepts of structure and design to the creation of beautiful, functional artifacts that would benefit others.

While studying Architecture I also became very interested in meditation. My favorite author of books on meditation was Lama Anagarika Govinda. His writings opened to me a new way to contemplate symbolic and creative thinking. He became for me a great Mentor alongside my other great Mentor, R. Buckminster Fuller.

During the development of an Architecture project for school I decided to apply the wisdom of both of my great Mentors to solve the design problem given to me by my Architectural Design Professor. The design problem was to create a band shell for musical performances in an outdoor park setting. My inspiration was based on a natural shell geometry that "grew" from a progression of overlapping tetrahedrons of increasing size.

I wish that I still had the model that I built. However, I do still have a small plaque that I created that speaks of my design intent. On the left side of the plaque is my obviously Bucky Fuller inspired design intent.

"Superimposure of the 8 unfolded Tetrahedron pairs which combine in lefthand - righthand - reflected, macro-expanded, micro-contracted, equiangular - spiraling - layers, to form the ever-growing shell integrity."

On the right side of the plaque is a quote by Lama Govinda that still inspires me to this day. I have it displayed on my bookcase so that I may refer to it often.

"ART … while using the forms of the external world does not try to imitate nature, but to reveal a higher reality by omitting all accidentals, thus raising the visible form to the value of a symbol, expressing a direct experience of life."

This is my life's goal to create ART in the manner described by Lama Govinda while applying the Synergetic Geometric forms of Bucky Fuller.

Inspirational plaque by Thomas J. Greenbaum

After graduating from Architecture school in 1981 I came across a wonderful book Creative Meditation and Multi-Dimensional Consciousness by Lama Anagarika Govinda. This book became my "Bible" for some time as I immersed myself into a new metaphor of meditation and creative thought. I have the well-worn book still on my shelf.

Creative Meditation and Multi-Dimensional Consciousness by Lama Anagarika Govinda

The following quote from this book (page 134) describes the relationship between meditation, visualization and multi-dimensional symbols. It is the realm where all three intersect that for me becomes the space of creativity and artistic expression.

"The Buddha himself said that his teaching is deep, profound (gambhira), beyond the realm of speculation and world-thinking (avitarka, avicara), comprehensible only to the wise. The only way , however, to free ourselves from the tyranny of words and concepts is the imaginative method of visualization, or the replacement of our one-track logic by the multidimensional symbol. Even a strict science such as mathematics has developed a language of multidimensional symbols and visual formulations in which the position of each sign or symbol in the general context of a formula determines the meaning and value of each particular sign. The meditative experience of Buddhism developed a similarly intricate system of visual symbols based on archetypal forms or images which evolved from the depth of human consciousness and proved their efficacy through millenia of meditative practice."

Therefore, the creation of ART which stems from deeply inspired forms can arise from within the practice of meditation. Meditation is not the opposite of creation. Meditation is the ground from which creation manifests. 

Spirals: Geometry Of Awareness

If you have visited my website http://www.karmatetra.com/ you may have noticed that I am fond of spirals. What is it about spirals that evokes the imagination? The Golden Spiral has inspired philosophers, poets, architects, physicists, astronomers and biologists. We see spirals in nature; from the recorded trails of exotic subatomic particles, to flowers and galaxies. Spirals are everywhere.

Recently, I have been exploring spirals on the surface of spheres. I have published a study on generating these spirals on my website. See Spheriphor Study 03 for details and images. As far as I know this is the only spiral of its kind. There must be other people who have created a geometric design where spirals symmetrically cover the surface of a sphere - so if the reader knows of any, please comment here and let me know where they can be found.

I do a lot of my work in POV-Ray. I have provided sample code on my website for generating some of the images. I even provide information on how to run the code. If the reader is willing to follow a few step-by-step instructions, then it should be fairly simple to reproduce the images.

The image shown in the beginning of this post is titled Golden Spiral Sunset Sailing. It is a 3D rendering of a series of rectangles arranged whimsically in the space above a tranquil body of water. A spiral reminiscent of the Golden Spiral flows through the rectangular structure like the sails of a fanciful sailboat. More spiral digital art to come in future posts ...