Thomas Paiement Lecture

Last week I attended a lecture by artist, Thomas Paiement. He was an interesting fellow, and his voice instantly reminded me of Christopher Walkin's, so let's just say this speaker demanded my attention from the start. His lecture began as somewhat of an autobiographical account of his artistic life. Originally studying as an engineer, Paiement did not always envision himself as an artist. However, one day while viewing art at a gallery, one piece struck him so profoundly that he knew, at that moment, that he wanted to create art for his life. He then called the artist who made the inspiring piece and asked him if he meet with him.
Some of Paiement's work currently hangs in the university's Art Museum, and he discussed the ideas behind it during his lecture. He described a triptych (two of three of these paintings are in the museum) and how the were inspired by the laws of science. This was something that I thoroughly enjoyed about the lecture and the artist himself. He merged his ideas and knowledge from his scientific background with a visual imagery. Using laws like "energy is neither created or destroyed," and the disorganization behind entropy, he was able to create a beautiful paintings that were inspired by some of the most basic principles in our world.