Complex Curvatures in Form Theory and String Theory

The authors use new aesthetic criteria concerning structures and properties to explain parallel concepts within theoretical astroparticle physics and contemporary form/compositional research. These aesthetic criteria stem from complex curvature models developed both in string theory and in artistic perceptual research on transitional surfaces and concavities. The authors compare the complex curvatures of the mathematically derived CalabiYau manifold with one of Akner Koler’s sculptures, which explores an organic interpretation of the looping curvature of a Möbius strip. A goal of the collaboration is to gain experience and insight into the twisting paradoxical forces in the 3D world and to explore the properties of transparency as applied to the Calabi-Yau manifold and a point cloud translation of Akner Koler’s sculpture. AR TS C IE N C E: TH E ES S EN TI AL C O N N EC TI O N Article Frontispiece. Cheryl Akner Koler, Twisted Curvature, cast aluminum, 20 × 24 × 18 cm, 2002. (© Cheryl Akner Koler. Photo © Åke Sandström.)