Josh Rowell
KEPLERS HARMONICIES SERIES
Johan Kepler was a German astronomer and mathematician working in the 16th and 17th centuries and was best known for his work on the laws of planetary motion. Kepler was fascinated by the way in which the Solar system operated and was driven to search for some connection between the planets that would serve as proof that the universe was all connected by a formula.
The four canvases in this series contain a passage of text from Kepler’s Harmonices Mundi which suggested that musical harmonies exist within the positions of the planets. The musical theory provided astronomers and philosophers with a rational explanation for the arrangement of the heavenly bodies. Kepler updated the theory by proposing that the harmony was produced, not just by the planets’ positions, but by the relationship between the distances of the planets from the sun to their orbital periods. Kepler thought that very occasionally, and possibly not since the time of creation, all of the planets “sang” together in perfect harmony. The idea that the solar system operates within the mathematical constraints of music theory to create a ‘celestial choir’ is not only beautiful, but lays down the foundations for Newton’s theory of gravity.
Kepler’s early attempt to rationalise the physical world, although disproved, opened the gate to the fundamental laws of physics, and was an early attempt at ‘codifying’ our existence.