Job's Universal Constant
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Job's Universal Constant by John M. Robertson
Materials: graph paper, acrylic, toner, glass, LED lighting, acrylic caulk, quick set cement, typeset, crown moulding.
Dimensions: 27” x 23”
Date: 2007
This piece is based on the following passage from the first chapter in the Book of Job that is engraved on the glass and illuminated by LED edge lighting.
And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
It struck me that “blessed be the name of the LORD” was an unusual thing to say, given the emotional devastation Job was experiencing. It was as if he was commenting on something that transcended the moment of his feelings, that was as constant as gravity above and below the vacillation of the tides. This piece is composed of a portion of those universal constants and laws upon which our reality is built.
The white rectangle made of graph paper is a mathematical construct called a ‘Golden Rectangle’. This is a special figure because if a square is made from the short side, the length and width of the remaining rectangle has the same ratio as the original rectangle. This process can be repeated forever, with the resultant rectangle always having a length and width keeping this same ratio of 1.61803... or phi. Upon the graph paper, phi is printed to several thousand decimal places. A series of rectangles drawn in this way will create a logarithmic spiral that is forever approaching, but never reaching, a point in space nicknamed “The Eye of God”. This point is represented by the anatomical drawing of a human eye and logarithmic spiral centered on this point. The mathematical constructs represent the laws that govern the reality we conceive.
I have also used this point to represent our source of light, the sun. The first four planets are depicted as colored dots along the spiral, captured in their perihelion (closest point to the sun along their orbit). This symbolizes the fixed gravitational and electromagnetic forces that govern the reality we directly perceive.
The asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter is also represented in a rendition of a cloud chamber. A cloud chamber is a tool of particle physics used to explore the subatomic world. This is depicted as a series of dark blue curves and spirals in a wash of lighter blue. The cloud chamber sits atop a green field containing a recent version of the periodic table of the elements. Together, the chamber and the table represent the fixed subatomic forces that govern the reality indirectly perceive. This version of the table is in Russian, as a reference to the Russian chemist Dimitri Ivanovich Mendeleev who originally described it in 1869.
Overlaid on top of these “universal constants” is an architectural drawing of Duomo di Milano. This represents how man has used his understanding of these fundamental forces to build and shape our own reality as we further pursue questions about the nature of the universe. The symbol “C” for carbon and the cathedral are colored red to represent man’s sin tainted nature. (Carbon is a fitting representative for human beings or life in general because it is carbon’s unique chemical properties that allow life to exist.)
In contrast is the pure, white point of light in the center of the “eye of God”. This point of light refers to the love (agape) that God is. Agape is one of the Greek words for love indicating a selfless, perfect, unending love. The phrase “God is Love” originates from 1st Epistle of John* and is refers to this agape love. For God is this love that under-girds the very stars and atoms and thoughts of this universe: for in Him we live and move and have our being - Acts 17:28
The phrase "God is Love" in Greek is written in the lower left hand corner of the piece.
The frame references a concrete foundation. The LED lighting is turned on by touching various strips of metal in the frame.
Exhibited at Xnihilo Gallery (Houston, Texas) - July 27 - September 3, 2007 for Beneath The Words.
*And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 1 John 4:16 (NIV)
Dimensions: 27” x 23”
Date: 2007
This piece is based on the following passage from the first chapter in the Book of Job that is engraved on the glass and illuminated by LED edge lighting.
And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
It struck me that “blessed be the name of the LORD” was an unusual thing to say, given the emotional devastation Job was experiencing. It was as if he was commenting on something that transcended the moment of his feelings, that was as constant as gravity above and below the vacillation of the tides. This piece is composed of a portion of those universal constants and laws upon which our reality is built.
The white rectangle made of graph paper is a mathematical construct called a ‘Golden Rectangle’. This is a special figure because if a square is made from the short side, the length and width of the remaining rectangle has the same ratio as the original rectangle. This process can be repeated forever, with the resultant rectangle always having a length and width keeping this same ratio of 1.61803... or phi. Upon the graph paper, phi is printed to several thousand decimal places. A series of rectangles drawn in this way will create a logarithmic spiral that is forever approaching, but never reaching, a point in space nicknamed “The Eye of God”. This point is represented by the anatomical drawing of a human eye and logarithmic spiral centered on this point. The mathematical constructs represent the laws that govern the reality we conceive.
I have also used this point to represent our source of light, the sun. The first four planets are depicted as colored dots along the spiral, captured in their perihelion (closest point to the sun along their orbit). This symbolizes the fixed gravitational and electromagnetic forces that govern the reality we directly perceive.
The asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter is also represented in a rendition of a cloud chamber. A cloud chamber is a tool of particle physics used to explore the subatomic world. This is depicted as a series of dark blue curves and spirals in a wash of lighter blue. The cloud chamber sits atop a green field containing a recent version of the periodic table of the elements. Together, the chamber and the table represent the fixed subatomic forces that govern the reality indirectly perceive. This version of the table is in Russian, as a reference to the Russian chemist Dimitri Ivanovich Mendeleev who originally described it in 1869.
Overlaid on top of these “universal constants” is an architectural drawing of Duomo di Milano. This represents how man has used his understanding of these fundamental forces to build and shape our own reality as we further pursue questions about the nature of the universe. The symbol “C” for carbon and the cathedral are colored red to represent man’s sin tainted nature. (Carbon is a fitting representative for human beings or life in general because it is carbon’s unique chemical properties that allow life to exist.)
In contrast is the pure, white point of light in the center of the “eye of God”. This point of light refers to the love (agape) that God is. Agape is one of the Greek words for love indicating a selfless, perfect, unending love. The phrase “God is Love” originates from 1st Epistle of John* and is refers to this agape love. For God is this love that under-girds the very stars and atoms and thoughts of this universe: for in Him we live and move and have our being - Acts 17:28
The phrase "God is Love" in Greek is written in the lower left hand corner of the piece.
The frame references a concrete foundation. The LED lighting is turned on by touching various strips of metal in the frame.
Exhibited at Xnihilo Gallery (Houston, Texas) - July 27 - September 3, 2007 for Beneath The Words.
*And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 1 John 4:16 (NIV)
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Books I used for this project:
 
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