TIDE-1210: Art Meets Physics
SYLLABUS 2014
 Course description:
Art (in its broadest sense, including visual arts, literature, and various types of
performance) is meeting science all around us. These interactions go well
beyond the use of science as raw material by artists. The advancements in
science lead to dramatic changes in our perception of the world clearly reflected
in artists’ creations. Just as religious and mythological sources had influenced art
before and during the Renaissance, artists are now being moved by the need to
capture the complexities and mysteries of the physical universe. In many ways,
science and art are profoundly similar. The best of each rises up from the depths
of human creativity, in both the arts and science there’s the need for inspiration
and hard work, the willingness to experiment and be brave, and the conviction
that you are searching for or creating work that says something meaningful about
the world or nature.
In this course, we will discuss the mutual influence of arts and science
(particularly physics) using examples from different art forms and historic periods.
 Course Objectives:
• to stimulate intellectual curiosity and the desire to explore new opportunities;
• to introduce the students to interdisciplinary approach in exploring academic
topics;
• to promote active learning through a variety of co-curricular activities outside
of the traditional class setting;
• to provide an opportunity to meet with the experts from different disciplines,
as well as with fellow students with similar interests.
 Course Outcomes:
• the students will become familiar with some of the most important milestones
in development of arts and physics;
• the students will gain a better understanding of the mutual influence of
different forms of art and physics and other sciences;
• the students will prepare and deliver a presentation on a topic illustrating the
interrelationships between art and physics.
 Instructor: Dr. Jerry Shakov
office: 5056 Percival Stern Hall, [email protected], (504) 862-3172
office hours: by appointment
 Class hours and location: Tuesday 5:00-6:15pm; Lindy Boggs Hall 102
 Recommended readings:
• Art and Science, Eliane Strosberg, Abbeville Press Publishers, NY, 2001
• Exploring the Invisible, Lynn Gamwell, Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, 2002
• Einstein, Picasso, Arthur Miller, Basic Books, 2001
• Art and Physics, Leonard Shlain, William Morrow & Co., 1991
 Assessment:
This is a 1 credit hour course. Successful completion of the course will satisfy
Tulane’s TIDES graduation requirement (see http://tulane.edu/college/tides/ for
detail). The grades will be assigned based on:
• your participation in classroom discussions (attendance is mandatory) - 30%
• written reports (two short, 1-2 page reports after the field trips, and a 8-10
pages final report) – 30%
• final presentation (oral, 5-7 min for individual presentations, or 10-15 min for
group presentations) – 40%
 Tentative schedule:
Week
Date
Activity
1
08/26
Introduction and Course Overview
2
09/02
Tulane Reading Project discussion
3
09/09
The Timeline (discussion on major developments in
philosophy, sciences, politics and art, and how changes in
one area are reflected by others, cumulative effects of
changing the perception of the world as seen from different
perspectives)
4
09/16
Paintings (more detailed discussions on how the changes in
the perception of the world were reflected in paintings, e.g.
changes in techniques, dominating motifs and images,
choice of color schemes, etc.)
5
09/23
Architecture (more detailed discussions on how the
changes in perception of the world were reflected in
architecture)
09/27(Sat) Trip to New Orleans Museum of Art (examination of
original paintings from different periods)
6
09/30
no class (field trip to NOMA instead on 09/27)
7
10/07
Other Art Forms (literature, music, performing arts, cinema,
and their interconnection with physics and other areas)
8
10/14
no class (field trip to LIGO instead on 10/18)
9
10
11
10/18(Sat) Trip to the Livingston Laser Interferometer GravitationalWave Observatory (LIGO) (day-long, counts for two
classes, 10/14 and 10/21)
10/21
no class (field trip to LIGO instead on 10/18)
10/28
Final Presentations, Day 1
11/04
Final Presentations, Day 2