Study: modern masters like Jackson Pollock were “intuitive physicists”

Enlarge / Collective Suicide (1936), by Mexican muralist David A. Siqueiros, is an example of the 'accidental painting' technique developed by the artist. (credit: A. Aviram/MOMA, New York, via R. Zenit) There's rarely time to write about every cool science story that comes our way. So this year, we're running a special Twelve Days of Christmas series of posts, highlighting one story that fell through the cracks each day, from December 25 through January 5. Today: the fluid dynamics of modern painting techniques.


In the 1930s, a small group of New York City artist—including Mexican muralist David A. Siqueiros and Jackson Pollock—began experimenting with novel painting techniques and materials. For the last few years, a team of Mexican physicists has been studying the physics of fluids at work in those techniques, concluding that the artists were 'intuitive physicists,' using science to create timeless art.
'One of the things I have come to realize is that painters have a deep understanding of fluid mechanics as they manipulate their materials,' said Roberto Zenit, a physicist who is leading the research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. 'This is what fluid mechanicians do. The objective is different, but the manipulation of these materials that flow is the same. So it is not a surprise that fluid mechanics has a lot to say about how artists paint.'
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