Composition

I recently learned more about Lawrence Krause, a theoretical physicist, and his startling discovery concerning the nature of empty space. What he discovered was that empty space is where most of the universe’s energy resides. This observation is so startling because we all tend to focus on and study physical objects, not the space between those objects. Up to this point it was thought that energy resided in matter — the physical particles that form people, plants, animals, planets, and stars. Surprisingly, Krause demonstrated that when you remove all the particles from a space, it can still contain “energy”; empty space has weight. In fact, according to his calculations, the universe is dominated by the energy that resides in the empty spaces. Interestingly, the energy contained in physical matter behaves differently than the energy found in empty space. Energy in matter is positively charged and attracts other matter, which is why we experience gravity. Conversely, the energy found in empty space has a negative charge and repels.

I can’t help but draw analogies between these scientific observations and the study of composition. Most people focus on the object and fail to consider the empty space that surrounds it. When teaching students, I often place two pencils side by side on a table and slowly separate them. I ask them when do the pencils become separate and distinct elements rather than a grouping of pencils. This is a simple way to introduce people to the importance of empty space. In my recent work I have been manipulating pizza boxes. I use wood stick structures to support and hold the painted surfaces in place. As the series progressed, I began cutting the boxes into distinct pieces and hanging those pieces on the wall. An image of one of the works is shown here. I quickly became aware that the empty space I was forming between and around the objects contained more energy than the objects themselves.