Mondrian, Severini and Pollock are Depicting
Entropy
Entropy is the "Big Ben" of our universe

             
                                Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow               Spherical Expansion of Light
                                by P.Mondrian                             by G.Severini



Lavender Mist
by J.Pollock

      Entropy, a basic concept stemming from the second law of thermodynamics, is concerned with the unavoidable tendency of our universe to slide spontaneously to a state of increasing disorder. Simultaneously, entropy is increasing, and time becomes a one-way road. The concept of entropy can also be applied to art. A complete order in geometrical organization is one extreme, considered as minimal entropy.
      The other extreme, i.e. a random painting formed by random spray of colors on the canvas, is a state of high entropy.
      Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow by Mondrian is characterized by complete order, each square is separated from its neighbors by black lines; the squares also have different colors. Thus, the picture may be considered as having minimal entropy. Lavender Mist by Pollock demonstrates complete disorder in the mixing of colors, hence, its entropy may be assumed to be maximal. However, the entropy in Spherical Expansion of Light by Severini, composed of triangles in which different dots are painted, is somewhere in between.
      An interesting question for which there is no definite answer is whether an increase in the entropy is associated with higher or lesser aesthetics. Either way, we see how art serves to illustrate the concept of entropy, in its varying magnitudes - a concept not always readily perceivable.


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