From the Inside Out

Of the two art installations below, which piece appeals to you the most?

Jackson Pollock’s #31 (1950)?

Or, the rose window of Strasbourg Cathedral, designed by the architect Erwin von Steinbach in the twelfth century?

Pollock’s work impresses us for his unique creativity at the time, its size (nearly 9’ x 18’), the gnarled texture, and the illusion of movement.

The second artwork dazzles us for its intricate design, its size (nearly 50 feet across), and the precise, colorful artistry.

Another factor that draws our eye: symmetry—the quality of being made up of similar parts facing each other or around an axis.

Imagine the number of glass pieces required for the Strasbourg window, each carefully cut to exact dimensions in order to complete sixteen matching petals. Note that the number doubles where the sixteen sections become thirty-two.

Research conducted with babies has proven: humans are born with a predilection for symmetry, whether it’s in art, nature, music, or the people we find attractive.

Beauty is bound up with symmetry.

Herman Weyl, physicist [1]

Even Pollock employed symmetry in his work. There’s balance between the right and left sides, the top and bottom, in the amount of paint used, and in the ratio of gray, white, and black paint (albeit not as precise as a rose window)!

Of course, it wasn’t a human who introduced symmetry into the universe, it was God, and it is everywhere.

Countless examples can be found in four basic forms.

Bilateral, with matching right and left sides:

Except for a few anomalies, all animals fall into this category.

Radial, with parts radiating outwards from a center:

Aeonium arboreum

Biradial, which combine both radial and bilateral symmetry:

See all those hundreds of barbs on each feather? They’re bilaterally symmetrical too.

And spherical:

Globe Thistle

But then there are numerous variations, including:

Fractal, where the same shape or pattern in various sizes is repeated over and over.

Romanesco Broccoli

Wallpaper, with its repeating pattern horizontally and vertically.

Macro Photography of actual honeycomb

Fibonacci, based on the ratio 1:1.618 and called the Golden Ratio [2], is found in the double spiral of sunflower seeds.

Rotational, when an object still looks the same after some distance of rotation.

Icosahedral, with its adjoining faces, each connected to the others at the same angle, creating a spherical shape.

Model of the Carbon 60 Molecule

The Carbon 60 molecule is just one example of symmetry at the microscopic level. But it also occurs at the cosmic.

For instance, on April 8, 2024, Planet Earth will experience a total solar eclipse—another example of bilateral symmetry. Such a phenomenon occurs because the sun is 400 times larger than the moon, but also 400 times farther from the earth, making the two bodies appear the exact same size in the sky [3].

Nearly everywhere we look, some form of symmetry is bound to be within view.

And what might we learn about God from his use of symmetry?

The wonder of creation is,

every encounter illuminates

something about God.

Margaret Feinberg [4]

Symmetry indicates that he loves order and organization, pattern and design, proportion and balance.

Symmetry gives evidence of his intentionality in creation, his attention to detail, his care and precision in the execution of his plan.

Symmetry affirms Intelligent Design. All of these astounding patterns could not have happened by chance, any more than pieces of glass can randomly come together in a rose window.

The more we know of God’s works, the better we know him.

The better we know God, the greater our awe and wonder.

And wending along the shoreline of wonder leads to worship [5].

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Thank you, Glorious Creator, for the joy of discovery as we learn about you.  You ARE the Master Craftsman. Everything you’ve made has been thoughtfully and expertly fashioned by your hand. I delight in your deeds and happily sing in celebration of your handiwork!

1 Timothy 4:4a; Psalm 92:4

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[1] Symmetry (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1989).

[2] See https://nancyaruegg.com/2017/06/22/the-language-of-the-universe/ for a more detailed explanation and many astounding examples of the Golden Ratio in creation.

[3] https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/eclipses/science/geometry/

[4] Wonderstruck, 55.

[5] Though we intend our worship to bless God, he blesses us as we do. See https://nancyaruegg.com/2022/07/07/what-happens-when-we-pause-to-praise/

Photo credits: http://www.flickr.com (Wally Gobetz); http://www.commons.wikimedia.org (Martin Kraft); http://www.flickr.com (Chris Bertram); http://www.commons.wikimedia.org; http://www.flickr.com (Brian Auer); http://www.pexels.com; http://www.pxhere.com; http://www.wikimedia.org; http://www.wallpaperflare.com; http://www.pxfuel.com; http://www.flickr.com; http://www.commons.wikimedia.org (2); http://www.wallpaperflare.com.

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