When it comes to giving us a handle on the world we live in, science no longer cuts it. In its latest incarnations — superstring and M-theory — it postulates 10, 11 or even more dimensions, only three or four of which we can perceive. Science's explanation of matter is equally unsatisfying. Since the atom was proclaimed the basic unit of matter in the optimistic days of the 19th century, it has progressively unraveled into smaller and less substantial particles until it almost seems as if nothing really exists.
This failure to give people a palpable sense of their world, however, has been an opportunity for contemporary artists, as the exhibition "Primary Field: Art Today — Discussion with Seven 'Places' " at the Museum of Modern Art, Hayama till Jan. 14, suggests.
"They talked about physics a lot," says the show's curator Hiraku Kore-eda, referring to the interviews he conducted with the seven contemporary artists brought together for the exhibition. Not only is the title "Primary Field" a term associated with the world of physics, but each of the seven seem to be striving for something primordial and essential, while using forms that mirror and express cosmic structures.