Episode
Jonas Mureika, Loyola Marymount University - Can You Paint Like Jackson Pollock? Physics has the Answer
- Podcast
- The Academic Minute
- Published
- Jul 16, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 150
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Summary
Anyone can make a Jackson Pollock painting, right? Jonas Mureika , chair and professor of physics at Loyola Marymount University , examines what physics has to say on the matter. Faculty Bio: Jonas Mureika serves as chair and professor of physics at Loyola Marymount University. Mureika spent much of his academic training at the University of Toronto, where he earned his B.S. in astronomy and physics and Ph.D. specializing in theoretical cosmology. He also holds an M.S. from the University of Waterloo where he studied particle physics.His research is focused on modified theories of gravitation, from implications for early universe cosmology, to micro black hole formation in high energy particle collisions. One such proposal that Mureika has helped advance is the idea that at high energies, the effective dimensionality of space decreases. A novel implication of this theory is that the universe was effectively one-dimensional in the moments following the Big Bang.Mureika is currently interested in the observational signatures of quantum gravity that might arise in future experiments, including LIGO gravitational wave detections, and imaging of supermassive black holes through the Event Horizon Telescope. He has also spent years analyzing Jackson Pollock’s art through fractal and lacunarity analysis. Transcript: 20th-century abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock is most well-known for his pour paintings. Though highly regarded in the art world and a household name, many people have wondered: “Is his technique random?” “Can’t a child do that?” There are many fascinating aspects of Pollock’s work, but one of the most striking is the fractal patterns consistent throughout. Fractals exist everywhere in the natural world: in coastlines, lightning, and plants, to name a few, an…