For my artistic work, I have incorporated several ideas of the Quantum Theory. While I’ll explain the meanings behind it, I will also describe to you what I have created and how I’ve come to the ending result.

First off, in the lab “Atomic Emission Spectra,” we learned that when atoms absorb a certain amount of energy, the atom is said to be “excited” and this causes an electron to jump to a higher level. Once this energy is emitted, the electron will go back to a lower level. To portray this, I decided that I was going to create a Bohr model of the atom, Sodium. This is somewhat personal because I have always wanted to create a model and now I am given the opportunity to do so. To create the nucleus, I painted a Styrofoam ball where I cut a quarter of it to show the neutrons and protons inside of it. For the subatomic particles, I used little foam balls and for the orbitals, I simply used pipe cleaners. Because I had to consider its visual impact, I decided to use bright colours. To show that an electron can jump from one level to another, I made a spring using pipe cleaners and glued it on the valence electrons. Although the inner electrons can also jump from one level to another, I decided that I was only going to portray this for the valence electrons. The reason for this is because I wanted to keep it simple and not confuse anyone or alter the visual representation I had in mind. This part relates to the Quantum Theory because it has to do with electrons in which they can emit energy (possibly light known as the emission spectrum) that has been absorbed previously. This relates to the basics of quantum which are wavelengths. Sometimes, they can be visible depending on their length and other times, they can be invisible, which shows how what we see has limitations. Overall, the main idea I was trying to show for this component is the ability of electrons jumping from one level to another.

Next off, when we first learned about the Quantum Theory, I was very fascinated by many elements. One of them was how our perception of the world is limited compared to our imagination. For my artwork, I was inspired by Magritte’s works, particular the “This is not an apple.” When I first saw this, I thought it was ridiculous because it obviously was an apple but after learning about the Quantum Theory, I realized that it was in fact not an apple but a mere representation of an apple. To incorporate this idea, I decided that I was going to show that my model of an atom was not a real atom but a representation. For this, I used a Styrofoam board that hung my atom model and that wrote the words: “This is not an atom.” Again, I did not want to leave it white because it gave a feeling incompleteness so I decided to paint it yellow with water colours. Yellow was the best choice in my opinion because it is bright and makes my work more attention-grabbing. Once it was painted, I still thought it was a bit incomplete and that’s when I decided to put silver borders for the corners. I had other things in mind for the finishing touches like adding gold ribbons around the board but I thought that it wouldn’t add that much contrast since the background was already yellow. Overall, the main idea I was trying to convey is that paintings, drawings and pictures are only illustrations of the real thing.

Finally, the third idea that I used for my art project also has to do with perception. I remember that at the beginning when we learned about this new subject, you showed the logo for batman. You said that when you first saw it that you only saw the yellow part and could not see the actual bat. I thought this was pretty interesting and it showed how our perception is limited and how our brain has to adjust to what we should be seeing. When creating the “This is not an atom,” I wanted to include this idea of the Quantum Theory. After lots of thought as to what I would do, I decided to carve the letters out using a razor blade. By doing so, I thought that it could bring the same idea. For example, when someone reads something, they usually read black writing on white, so they get used to reading things that are on a paper. But in my picture, if someone was to look at the work, the person would have to read it not by looking at what’s on it but by looking through it. I think that this part is complex but simple at the same time. It’s complex because it takes a bit more effort and time for our eyes to figure out what it says. It’s also simple because once our brain adjusts to what we are supposed to see, it can be easily read. I believe that carving out the letters was the hardest and longest part of this process but once everything was done, I was very happy with the results.

After having done the project, a couple of people looked at it and have asked “Why is that not an atom?” I thought this was pretty funny since it defied their common sense. I was gladly able to explain the main ideas I was trying to convey, which are to show that it wasn’t the actual thing itself but only a representation and that our perception of the world is limited due to our senses. What I like about this experience is that it can really play with someone’s mind. Things like this are definitely relatable to our everyday lives. It brings up questions on how we see the world. For instance, “Is what we see what it really is or is our brain creating false images?” For example, when we look at a painting or a picture of a scenery, we may be so convinced that it is real given that it is very close to the real thing. However, we have to realize that it is only a piece of paper or canvas and that it is only a image of the real thing. In a way, this is an optical illusion because it plays with our minds. It deceives us into thinking that it is the actual thing or it could also deceive us into thinking it is something else and not what we see. Even though the Quantum Theory can be hard to grasp, like the potential existence of parallel universes, it is a field of science that involves our imagination and creativity.

To conclude, the overall result was more than what I had imagined. The end result of my project kind of reminded me of a picture but in my case, it was a 3-dimensional picture. The effect of 3-D made it more appealing and interesting. I could have done the same thing by painting it or drawing it but I thought assembling it was the best choice. What I love about my project is that it can really get the person thinking. I hope that people looking at it will give them a strong effect on their perspective of the world.