While art is often something incredibly conspicuous, it can also be viewed through the lens of minimalism as the absence of defining characteristics and obtrusive features. A relevant example is the implementation of photovoltaics in large building structures. The solar panel arrays that are most common use wafer-based silicon cells that appear to be blue in color and are very distinct. These are beautiful in their own right but to imagine eliminating their obtrusive presence while still maintaining their feature set seems absurd; carbon nanotubes allow for just that. Researchers from Adelaide's Flinders University have developed transparent carbon nanotubes that can generate electricity from sunlight. These cells can be sandwiched in-between class and ultimately added into window arrays. Imagine a building with solar windows. It's not far-fetched.

Transparent solar cell via carbon nanotubes

In less dense implementations these cells could actually appear to be absent from the window itself, creating a minimalist and beautiful marriage between technology and art.
     It's hard for the average person to appreciate what he or she doesn't see since it requires extensive knowledge of the relative subject to understand the inherent beauty in an application, so more common artistic applications of nanotechnology are in the usage of nano particles. The 4th-century Lycurgus cup is a fascinating implementation of dichroic glass which changes color based on the location of the photon emitter. The cup appears to be green when viewed in daylight but becomes red when illuminated from the inside. The cup includes 330 ppm silver and 40 ppm gold in addition to the glass flux and the particles are approximately 70 nm across.

Dichroic glass Lycurgus Cup (4th century AD)

     Nanoparticles also allow for fascinating product characteristics when they are introduced into common commodities such as windows. Self-cleaning glass contains titanium dioxide nano particles and exhibits the following characteristics: breakdown of dirt due to reaction with sunlight, hydrophobic in nature and thus water repelling. The hydrophobic nature is due to the fact that the material's molecules are non-polar. These are amazing when viewed in practice as below:

     We as conscious beings have convinced ourselves that it is nature that imitates our creations and not the other way around. Irrespective of viewpoint, there are similarities between nature and art primarily in the field of color. Vibrant colors characterize Leonid Afremov's depictions of life in all seasons. Nature's answer is the Menelaus Blue Morpho (Morhp menelaus,) a tropical butterfly native to Central and South America that boasts astoundingly blue wings. This color is due to a nanostructure on the surface that manipulates the photons, causing the observer to see a blue butterfly.

Above: Leonid Afremov's "Melody of the Night"

Right: Menelaus Blue Morpho

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Works Cited

Afremov, Leonard. "The official online virtual gallery of Leonid Afremov here you can order original oil paintings directly from the world renown artist Leonid Afremov." The official online virtual gallery of Leonid Afremov here you can order original oil paintings directly from the world renown artist Leonid Afremov. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2014. <http://afremov.com>.

"Blue Morpho Butterfly." Audubon Nature Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2014. <http://www.auduboninstitute.org/animals/butterflies-flight/blue-morpho-butterfly-16376>.

Freestone, Ian , Nigel Meeks, Margaret Sax, and Catherine Higgit. "The Lycurgus Cup - A Roman Nanotechnology." . N.p., 1 Jan. 2007. Web. 27 July 2014. <http://master-mc.u-strasbg.fr/IMG/pdf/lycurgus.pdf>.

Hess, Catherine, and Karol Wight. Looking at glass: a guide to terms, styles, and techniques. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2005. Print.

Ridden, Paul. "Carbon nanotube solar cells point to possible transparent solar window future." Carbon nanotube solar cells point to possible transparent solar window future. GizMag, 23 Mar. 2012. Web. 27 July 2014. <http://www.gizmag.com/transparent-carbon-nanotube-solar-cell/21912/>.

Whitwam, Ryan. "Carbon nanotubes harvest the Sun’s energy as heat for better solar cells | ExtremeTech."ExtremeTech. ExtremeTech, 30 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 July 2014. <http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/175377-carbon-nanotubes-harvest-the-suns-energy-as-heat-for-better-solar-cells>.