Image Attribution:
Photographer – Alexander James Hamilton
Source – https://www.distilennui.com/category/cymatic-water-and-light-2022-ongoing.html
Title – Cymatic Plate No 0864
Alexander James Hamilton – not the founding father from the musical, but a talented artist and photographer. He is an expert in cymatics, which is “the study of visible sound and vibration at a point of resonance” (Distil Ennui, n.d., para. 1).
Hamilton puts water on a vibrating surface that is pumped full of different sine waves to present a myriad of unique patterns in the fluid. He uses lasers to project light of different hues across the surface of the water, effectively performing a marked boundary technique of flow visualization. Long exposure images were used.
The variety of flow shapes in this image is abundant, but at the same time, one can appreciate how all the shapes seem to work together and create a full piece of artwork. The blending of colors from Hamilton’s boundary lighting creates a galaxy that I can get lost in.
Physically, this is both interesting and beautiful to see how vibrating devices allow for the visualization of sound waves and other resonant frequencies. The artist emphasises the Faraday waves that are created due to the vibrations, which allows him to capture long exposure pictures.
The inspiration for this collection of photographs for Hamilton was the research being done at LIGO and VIRGO gravitational wave labs in the US and Italy. The gravitational waves that are moving across the universe are invisible and massive, but research into cymatics may result in more knowledge about these waves, because “space-time waves and liquid-time waves [may] have fundamental physical relationships” (Carey-Kent, n.d., para. 1).
Sources:
Distil Ennui. (7/13/2023). Cymatics: The study of wave phenomena – a philosophical and artistic view of physics and science in photography. Distil Ennui Studio. https://www.distilennui.com/journal/cymatics-the-study-of-wave-phenomena-a-philosophical-and-artistic-view-of-physics-and-science-in-photography.html
Carey-Kent, P. (9/21/2023). Alexander James Hamilton. Seisma Magazine. https://seismamag.com/visual-fine-art/alexander-james-hamilton
Citations were made by ChatGPT.
4 Comments. Leave new
Third Place. This still photograph is so visually intriguing, as we can see the superposition and resonance manifest itself in the fluid. I think this is a great way to visualize the wave mechanics of resonance. The contrast of blue and yellow is a nice touch as well.
First prize: This is a super unique visual and I love the artistic inspiration behind it. The level of detail captured in these is phenomenal.
Third Prize. I love these cymatics images, all of them have a ghostly feel and show the chaotic motion of sound. I’ve never seen it done with a scattered rainbow of light before, very cool.
Second Prize: This is a very cool image in many respects. I love seeing the constructive and deconstructive wave patterns. For me it is definitely one of those images that starts to shift and move the more you look at it.