We have all heard that mathematics uses a universal language, that it underpins the construction of our world,
that every individual is born with the ability to operate with the concepts of mathematics and find answers to fundamental questions about ourselves and our relationship to the physical universe.
Yet there are voices that doubt its universality because, being a language, it is an abstract invention of our species, with which we work in infinite situations.
What happens if someone tells you that they disagree with the axioms, those statements that are considered true, which serve as starting points for all subsequent arguments and reasoning?
You think that mathematics, which proves the various variants of reality, rests unconditionally on precisely these statements, which cannot be proved.
And axioms are many!
There are two ways of understanding:
– one in which mathematics is an object of study, as the architecture of a platonic world, an intellectual construct, an extremely stable projection of the human mind
– the second, as a model of the relationship between the objects of the physical universe
In our attempts to intersect mathematical structures with those of the surrounding reality, we have encountered countless paradoxes. In physics we must explain them, using the whole language of mathematics. Mathematicians, however, remove paradox from the discussion by creating additional axioms. We enter a territory of interference with philosophy.
I think we should not confuse mathematical language (which is, of course, invented) with the structure of mathematics, which we are constantly discovering. We advance in knowledge and other segments reveal themselves to us. The horizon becomes more transparent.
Intervals of an Infinite Line speaks about my fascination on set theory, an area of mathematics systematically explored relatively recently (late 19th century) by Georg Cantor and Richard Dedekind.
The constituent elements of a set become special entities, we use them in relation to neighborhoods, they place themselves in countless contradictory situations because they are of any nature and can define arbitrary realities.
By analogy with the physical universe the theory does not overlap perfectly with ordinary perception. The segments analyzed are as large as the whole. The consistency of the mathematical universe is hidden in every fraction of infinity, in multitudes, abstractions, logical repetitive structures.
In the poetry of existence.
ARTIST INTERVIEW (audio)
- You finished your studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Timișoara’s graphics department. Later, however, your interest in new media and topics such as theoretical physics, astronomy, the interpretation of messages, the scientific aspects that surround society and human experience, directed you towards conceptual art, frequently documented and presented with the help of the photographic medium. Tell us a little about this journey.
- Navigating through your artistic projects, it seems obvious to me that photographic thinking is often an inherent part of them, from conception to (re)presentation. I am curious, however, if it started as a need to document the artistic practice, which then evolved, or if it was always a medium you felt close to in this way.
- I find fascinating by the scientific notions surrounding cosmology, the visible (vs. invisible) spectrum, the relativity of time perception and how these are found in the elementary particle of electromagnetism – the photon, which (at least at a quantum level) could be said to represent the object of photography, capturing it. Given your spheres of interest, I am curious if you have formed any opinion regarding these correlations between physical properties and the implicit social/philosophical qualities of Photography, with its power of analysis on (the perception of) Time.
- Timișoara has an impressive role in the forming of numerous artists, theorists, curators, historians and art collectors. One must not forget the important history given by phenomena such as the Zona Festival, the influence of the local Fine Arts High high school, the major impact of Sigma Group or the openness shown at the beginning of the 1990s towards mixed and new media. Today, as far as photography is concerned, commendable journalistic-documentary approaches can be identified and an attraction to analogical experiments. But the number of Timișoara artists who have taken on the medium of contemporary photography is relatively small. As one of the exceptions in this context, I’m curious to hear your opinion on it.
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This journalistic material was produced with funding from ENERGIE! Creation Grants, awarded by the Municipality of Timișoara, through the Project Centre, within the national cultural program “Timișoara – European Capital of Culture in 2023”.
The material does not necessarily represent the position of the Timișoara City Project Centre and the Centre is not responsible for its content or how it may be used.
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Ciprian Ciuclea (b.1976, Timișoara)
He’s a visual artist and researcher based in Bucharest. He is interested in interdisciplinary projects that focus mainly on the conceptual features of reception. The themes explored are close to the social aspects of communication, interpretation of messages, astrophysics and theoretical physics, contemplation, and surveillance, placed in relation to the scientific aspects of human existence. Ciprian Ciuclea is a singular personality in the context of Romanian visual arts for his constant interest in researching the relationship between art, science and technology, as well as for applying advanced forms of thinking from scientific knowledge in the artistic field.
He exhibited worldwide including Saitama Modern Art Museum (Japan), Engramme, Quebec (Canada), Platforma MNAC, National Museum of Contemporary Art Bucharest (Romania), Brukenthal National Museum, Sibiu (Romania), D. Manuel Palace, Evora (Portugal) or alternative spaces such as Hospital de Santiago, Cuenca (Spain), Forte Marghera, Venice (Italy), etc.
He is president of Experimental Project (an independent platform for contemporary art and culture – www.experimentalproject.ro) and a founding member of the Romanian Society of Ophthalmogenetics (www.srogen.ro). Between 2000 and 2017 he was the director of IEEB (International Experimental Engraving Biennial). He holds a PhD in visual arts from the National University of Arts in Bucharest. His PhD thesis on the interpretation of reality mediated by technology and the description of the mathematical language used in the production of images was published in 2022 at Vellant Publishing under the title “The Particular Landscape”.