The Eccentric Orbit of Planet Esquivel
2000
Oil on Masonite 24x36"
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This work is the first of an ongoing series in which I utilize the law of gravity in the painting process. The painting is about gravitational attraction. In physics, there are wave forms referred to as Lissajous Figures or Bowditch Curves. These wave forms are produced when two previous sets of waves approach each other at perpendicular angles, producing an interference pattern. I constructed a device which replicates these patterns, and I use it to apply paint. There is a fantastic connection between the behavior of this device, called a compound pendulum, and the mutual gravitational effects between two planets in space. I happened to be listening to music by the marvelous Mexican composer, Juan Garcia Esquivel while I was doing some of these experiments, so I named a planet after him.

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please email Andy Feehan at andrew.feehan@gmail.com