Microcosmic Abstractions (or not)

Abstract

The main focus in this thesis is on abstraction, both geometric and organic abstraction. Two- and three-dimensional expression of a single abstract idea was used in a systematic approach in research on form and expression in various media. Virtual experiments were used for dissection, permutation and evolution of the simple abstract form. A conceptual framework for DNA as abstract art was developed with inspiration from modernist abstractionists, in particular the advocates of the De Stijl movement and the Bauhaus school in the early twentieth century. In accordance with the basic artistic research question, the structure of DNA was expressed as simplistic abstract forms as well as basic concepts from modern molecular genetics including nucleotides, the codon, the genetic code and the process of DNA replication and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The outcome was abstract art that is still representational and primarily guided by the functional properties of DNA and its building blocks. The inner construction of nature was thus used to guide my abstract expression. The combination of scientific and artistic research and the status of DNA as a cultural icon, and its influence on arts, is discussed.