Topologist’s Pool Toy

Posted by Susan Happersett

We have been having a hot and humid week in NYC so it was probably not the most well advised plan to go traipsing around the Lower East Side. I was thinking to myself what am I doing here in the midday sun walking from gallery to gallery and then… I saw this amazing sculpture that just seemed to scream Mathematics in the Summer time.

This inflated vinyl hanging form”Squirm” is the work of Doreen McCarthy and is part of the group show titled “Object’hood” at the Lesley Heller Workspace. This sculpture has the materiality of a classic tube used for floating around in a pool on a steamy afternoon. Topologically we think of the traditional pool toy as being a donut-like torus, but this baby blue version is a knot instead. It is a 3D interpretation of a trefoil knot, Which is a basic overhand knot with the ends joined together. I found “Squirm” to be a refreshing topographical Summer treat.
Susan Happersett

Platonic Solids in Rockport, Massachusetts

Posted by Susan Happersett

The G19 Artisan Gallery is located in Rockport, Massachusetts. Rockport is a picturesque town known for its art community for almost one hundred years. Historically, Rockport artists are known for their seascapes, but the G19 gallery exhibits art in a wide range of materials, styles and themes. I was so happy when I discovered some amazing geometric metal sculptures.

Dodecahedron and Octahedron

I was able to meet with the – somewhat reclusive – artist who would like to be referred to as Dan H. Dan told me that he first became interested in Dodecahedrons when they were referenced in an episode of the TV series “Doctor Who”. He started out making paper models, but after learning how to weld he found metal a better choice of medium. He quickly figured out that the angles for the pentagons need to be fairly accurate or the shape would not fit together. G19 is currently exhibiting Dan’s Dodecahedrons, Octahedrons, and Icosahedrons. These three shapes are all Platonic Solids. The faces of Platonic solids are congruent regular polygons where the same number of faces meet at each vertex. There are only 5 possible Platonic solids and Mathematicians have been studying them for thousands of years. Dan now uses computer software and laser cutting techniques to cut the metal shapes. The finally fabrication, however, is all done by hand. This gives the sculptures a wonderful organic element. The welded edges have a nice texture and the sides retain the flame patterns of the torch. The juxtaposition of using technology for accuracy of the geometry, but then adding the mark of the artists hand makes these sculptures a great example of how artists can use high-tech tools while retaining control of the aesthetics of their work .

Icosahedron

— Susan Happersett

Rotational Printing by Dikko Faust at Purgatory Pie Press

Posted by Susan Happersett

Dikko Faust has been making prints using rectangular sections of grids and other geometric line patterns. By shifting the grids across the plane he has created a series of overlapping prints. Recently he has added a new twist to his process. Faust has invented a new printing tool that allows him to rotate the rectangle around a central axis point.

(A quick note about printers’ measurements: In the print studio distances are measured in picas and points. One inch is equivalent to 6 picas and 1 pica is equivalent to 12 points.)

To measure the rotation of the rectangle, Faust uses a straight edge to form a line from the bottom corner of the rectangle that is perpendicular to the horizontal bottom edge of his press, and then measures how far from the center point to the horizontal line. The initial measurement for a straight up and down rectangle would be 12 picas from the center (the rectangle is 4″x 6″ or 24 by 36 pica).

Faust has been experimenting with what happens to different patterns throughout the rotation process

To better explore the relationship between the grids,Faust has made series of two-color prints. He has selected only the prints that are the most visually interesting. Making consecutive prints with the number of ratio of pica differences to correlate with the Fibonacci Sequence is one technique.

The day I was in the studio, Dikko was working with a pattern he had created using airline (1/2 point) rules. He used parallel lines: there is 1 point of space between the first two lines, 2 points between the 2nd and 3rd line, then 3 points between the 3rd and 4th….. up to 6 points of space between the 6th and 7th line. Then the whole pattern repeats 12 times.

While I was at the printing studio Faust was making a single print with multiple rotational images. I took pictures throughout the process.

This is an early stage of the process: it has the original line print plus a 5 pt and 10 pt rotation clockwise and a 5pt and a 10pt rotation counter clockwise.

This is the finished print. There are 5pt, 10 pt, 15 pt, 20 pt, and 25 pt rotations in both the clockwise and counter clockwise directions. The process that Faust has developed to create these new prints is very algorithmic. It requires a commitment to experimentation trying different patterns and rotations. The outcomes are then judged on their aesthetic merit determining which prints are to be completed works of art.

Susan Happersett