Quantum entanglement seems so weird primarily because we tend to think of an electron as a spatially locatable object like a basketball, when in fact it is a quantum field that extends to infinity. Thought of this way, entanglement is a matter of two fields interacting at a great distance. I like this as a metaphor for human persons.
Suppose we think of a person not as a mere locatable human being—a self-contained, discretely identifiable item like a basketball—but instead as an historical field at every moment radiating effects into the present and future.
This metaphor is especially illuminating when thinking about artists whose paintings have continuously radiated beauty and delight. Two of my favorites are August Macke (1887-1914) and Charles Livingston Bull (1874-1932).
Renowned for the luminosity of his exquisite watercolors, Macke was a leading representative of German Expressionism. In April of 2014, he travelled with fellow artists Paul Klee and Louis Moillet to Tunisia on a journey which is surely one of the most popular chapters in European art history. The watercolor below is from that journey. He died in battle at the age of 27, only two weeks after being drafted in September of 2014.
Most Americans are familiar with the most famous work of New Jersey artist Charles Livingston Bull: the trademark leaping tiger of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, commissioned in 1914 for a circus poster. An avid naturalist and explorer, Bull was one of the most sought-after illustrators of his generation. His work appeared on the covers of numerous magazines, including The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies’ Home Journal, and Boys’ Life, and in over 125 books. Besides books by Frank Baum and Rudyard Kipling, Bull illustrated the first editions of Jack London’s The Call of the Wild and White Fang. In 1908 Bull wrote and illustrated Under the Roof of the Jungle, a book on animal life in Guyana. Here is the frontispiece from that book:
Both artists have long been in the past. Yet every day as I sit at my desk, I look up at the walls around me and momentarily become entangled in their visions of wonder in the world.
Interesting thoughts Del. I love that you are doing this. Really enjoying your writing.
I enjoyed this a lot. Thanks, Del.