Thinking about Space,
The necessary element that makes the ‘other’ visible.
Our book collection seems to constantly be growing with art
books, poetry, science, sociology, psychology and 'how to' books hogging the majority of the shelf real estate.
I like used book stores, and try to visit them when on travels, especially abroad. You never know what will present itself in a dusty, almost universally poorly lit, spot! I delight in finding the older books, including outdated elementary school textbooks. They are written in a plain,
uncomplicated manner, offering a comprehensive yet simple overview of their
topic in an engaging conversational way.
Mathematics, by The Golden Library of Knowledge, published
1958, begins with the sentence, “Mathematics
is the science in which we think carefully about numbers and space.” In another that I cannot find right now, “Mathematics is about one and zero.”
I love it! As far as I can remember, no math teacher every pointed
out to me that it requires a zero to define the one, a space to create separate
and distinct units. In Music, space
divides sound into separate notes which can be used to create rhythm and
pattern. For dancers space is the
expanse which allows movement. It may seem obvious that Visual Art needs space
as well, but I find often in pursuit of creating the subject, I can forget
about the important element of space.
