Diffracted Surge in the Negative by elkement

About "Diffracted Surge in the Negative"

by elkement

About the artwork

Diffracted Surge in the Negative is made up of diffraction curves of a range of inverted spectral colors. Each curve is displayed as a set of dots. Created with custom computer code.

I want to create something that looked a bit like the actual diffraction pattern of spectral colors you see, but not quite. I want to celebrate the elegance of diffraction: There should be a tantalizing hint at the beauty of the underlying mathematics, and there should be one bold deviation from the true spectral colors. Maybe an alien's eye would conceive our spectral colors like that?

The ribbon extends to infinity - to angles of 90 degrees. You look at the "short side" of the ribbon, just slightly tilted. The diffraction grating that would cause this structure has three slits: Pronounced and smaller peaks alternate with one another. Intensities are also weighted using the intensity of blackbody radiation - assuming "white light" from a star like the sun is diffracted into each "components". I am using a temperature of 7000K here, higher than the sun's ~5500K.

I work iteratively: Create a fabric of diffraction curves based on a certain geometry of the diffraction grating. Look at the structure from different angles. Spot the uncommon view. Replace the lines by dots. Tweak the geometry of the grid. Tweak the density and size of dots. Repeat.

I try to take something allegedly straight-forward you seem to know well - and turn it into an unfamiliar experience, applying a seemingly simple operation - like changing the point of view.