Representing Kinematics and Dynamics by Pattern Breaking in Nature, Art and Music

We explore some aspects of two-dimensional visual images with respect to how they can portray movement (kinetics). Patterns, not necessarily regular or repeated, can suggest movement by distortion or ‘pattern-breaking’ involving something ‘unexpected’ in the visual imagery. This unpredictability can be associated with randomness or chaos. We explore some effects of regularity and pattern breaking in music, and sonic effects (such as Chladni and Lissajous figures). In landscapes, networks can show growth as well as distortions that represent flow of materials (such as tree profiles and river networks). ‘Scientific’ concepts such as Fourier series, phase changes and catastrophes produce creative possibilities, not just for research in science and technology but with implications for cognition, design, and graphics

Keywords: change ; chaos ; cognition ; design ; emergence ; Fourier analysis ; landscapes ; Patterns ; Phase changes ; randomness ; structure ; two-dimensional imagery