James Siena Typewriter Drawings at Sargent’s Daughters Gallery

Posted by Susan Happersett

James Siena has had a successful career creating algorithmically created abstract paintings. Some of his most recent work involves using manual typewriters and are on display at the Sargent’s Daughters Gallery on The Lower East side. Using a typewriter to create art is not a new phenomenon. For over a century artists have been experimenting with typewriters. The Bauhaus artist H.N. Werkman and the poets of the Concrete Poetry Movement of the 1960’s are good examples.
Siena creates mathematical visual poetry, using algorithms to determine which typewriter keys are pushed, and in which order. Instead of a pen, pencil, or brush with ink, lead or paint, Siena uses the the depression of the type writer keys and red or black typewriter ribbons to execute his mark making.

James Siena – Untitled (0-9, ten, eight, six, four, three, two, one), 2014 – ink on paper
Picture courtesy of the artist and the gallery 11 x 8.5 inches

The drawing “Untitled (0-9, ten, eight, six, four, three, two, one)” features vertical zigzag pattern that is created by the visual variations of the digits. There are horizontal lines of reflection symmetry running through the chevron pattern.

James Siena – Untitled (flat helix), 2014 – ink on paper
Picture courtesy of the artist and the gallery 11 x 8.5 inches

In the work “Untitled (Flat Helix)” – a helix is a coil curve – the artist engages the viewer in an interesting counting exercise. The first row is all ones. The next ones and twos. the third row is ones, twos and threes. This continues until the digits go from one through nine and then zero. Below this solid section of text, the pattern changes with a row of all ones, then all twos, etc. Farther down the page spaces and shifts are introduced to the drawing adding zigzag elements.

I can only imagine the amount of planning and rule development required before Siena hit the first type writer key. The elegant patterns and poetry Siena coaxed from the manual printing process of these machines is amazing.

FibonacciSusan

Jacob Hashimoto at Mary Boone Gallery

Posted by Susan Happersett

The artist Jacob Hashimoto has created a breathtaking installation at the Mary Boone Gallery in Chelsea NYC. “Sky Farm Fortress” fills the entire main room of the gallery.

This huge 3-D grid environment is comprised of a multitude of kite-like square, circular, and hexagonal elements. These small elements consist of thin paper over bamboo support bars that cross in the center.

The paper panels are suspended from the ceiling with black thread. The arrangements of these panels are based on the structure of the cube. They hang in a series of rows and columns, sometimes with large gaps, where only the thread is visible so the viewer can see the next series of shapes in the background.

The ceiling of the gallery is completely filled with the paper grid, that trembles as the air circulates through the room.

Jacob Hashimoto has created two different dichotomies in his “Sky Farm Fortress” installation. The work incorporates the rigid structure of a 3-D Cartesian system grid, but the individual elements are not static, they move in response to air flow of the gallery. Hashimoto uses small ephemeral paper elements that appear fragile in nature to construct a monumental work of art. I have already visited the gallery twice to experience this exhibition and I plan to go again. It will be on display until October 25th.

All pictures courtesy of the artist and the gallery.

– FibonacciSusan

Matt Keegan Wall Sculptures at Andrea Rosen Gallery

Posted by Susan Happersett

The Andrea Rosen gallery in NYC is exhibiting the work of Matt Keegan. I found two of the powder coated steel wall sculptures of particular interest. These structures originate as folded paper cut-outs that are then fabricated in steel. The type of fold that is used to make the paper forms is called a French fold. To make a French fold you take a sheet of paper and fold it in half. Then without opening the paper you fold it in half again perpendicularly to the first fold. When you unfold the paper you have two types of folds: valley folds, which are concave, and hills folds that are convex.

In the sculptures Untitled (Navy) and Untitled (Neon) the French fold technique creates horizontal valley folds running through the centers. The top portion of each sculpture shows a vertical hill fold through the center, and the bottom half has a vertical valley fold through the center. Disregarding the fold directions both sculptures have two lines of reflection symmetry, vertical and horizontal.

Keegan celebrates the simplicity of the folded and cut paper by transforming the patterns into substantial steel structures .

Till next time,

FibonacciSusan

Charles Thomas O’Neil at Howard Scott Gallery

Posted by Susan Happersett

Charles Thomas O’Neil

The Howard Scott Gallery in Chelsea NYC is currently exhibiting a selection of Charles Thomas O’Neil’s recent abstract paintings.

Untitled 2740, 2013
Picture courtesy of the artist and the gallery

The painting “Untitled 2740” (2013) has a vertical line of reflection symmetry running through the center of the canvas. The top section of the features a rust colored bridge-like shape enclosing a white rectangle. The bottom section of the painting has a variation of the bridge shape in dark grey.

Untitled 2741,2013
Picture courtesy of the artist and the gallery

The oil painting on panel “Untitled 2741” (2013) is a 2-D rendering of what appears to be a 3-D impossible object. It looks like a rectangular bar with square ends positioned so both ends are visible to the viewer. This work has 180 degree rotational symmetry.

O’Neil’s geometric designs are enhanced by his use of saturated colors that immediately draws in the eye of the viewer. I also appreciate his use of visible painterly strokes which keep the work from looking flat and static.

More MathArt next time.

Susan Happersett

Right Triangles – Cordy Ryman and Kwang Young Chun

Posted by Susan Happersett

It can be very interesting to see how the same type of shape is used it different contexts. Recently I saw the work of two artists both using right triangular 3-D wedges.

Cordy Ryman

Cordy Ryman has the installation “Zipper Spine” 2014 at the Lesley Heller Workspace gallery in the group exhibition “Destructure” curated by Jonathan Melville Pratt.

“Zipper Spine” is s series of 16 isosceles right triangles. They have two vertices with 45 degree angles and one vertex with 90 angle. The 16 wedges are attached to the wall in the vertical line of the corner. Each wedge has a 45 degree vertex positioned into the corner.

This placement creates a study of the equal positive and negative space of the 45 degree angle of the triangle in the 90 degree corner.

Kwang Young Chun

Kwang Young Chun also uses triangular wedges in his wall sculptures. Hasted Kraeutler gallery is currently hosting a solo show of Chun’s work. His art is created by using a multitude in polystyrene triangles wrapped in Korean mulberry paper. The result is complex 3-D patterning.

The large scale (69″X57″) assemblage “Aggregation 13-APO18” 2013 features right triangles of many sizes covering and protruding from the entire canvas. The result is a wild explosion of pattern and the texture.

Both Chun and Ryman are elevating the humble right triangle. But in very different ways. While Ryman uses consistency of size and shape to explore the theme, Chun uses hundreds of elements in varying sizes to build a dynamic environment.

More MathArt next time

Susan Happersett

Rachel Garrard at Klemens Gasser & Tanja Grunert Gallery

Posted by Susan Happersett

Mitra Khorasheh has curated a fascinating exhibition of the paintings, sculptures, videos and performance art of Rachel Garrard title “VESSEL” at Gasser Grunert. All the work in the show is about geometry, a very personal geometry, based on the physical measurements of the artist’s body. In the press release from the show Garrard is quoted as saying: “I see the human body as a microcosm, a seed encompassing all the geometric and geodesic measures of the cosmos, as a container for something infinite”.

One of the geometric forms used by Garrard is the isosceles triangle.

The work “Convergence 2004” (quartz dust on linen) features layers of transparent isosceles triangles, 4 with the bottom of the canvas as the base and three with the top of the canvas as their base. The vertex angles are lines up on a vertical reflection line of symmetry that runs through the center of the canvas. This expresses the symmetric nature of the human form, with a vertical line of symmetry, but also the non-symmetrical nature, i.e. the absence of a horizontal line of symmetry.

The geometry for “Blue II” (Ink on canvas, 2004) is takn diretcly from the outline of the artist’s body. Garrard uses various rectangles to create a structure that relates the proportions of her body and again displays a verical line of reflective symmetry.

Garrard has also created videos and performance works that are based on her techniques of dividing up her body into a sort of grid of points. The artist then connects these points with either tape lines, directly on her body, or paint lines on a clear panel.

The sculpture “Geometric Void” (paint on perspex) is the result of an 8-hour performance from 2010. Rachel Garrard has created a new way to express geometry based on the proportions of her body. Although the nature of this work is very personal, the essence of these symmetries and proportions reveal universal truths.

Bridges Math Art Conference Seoul – Part 3

Posted by Susan Happersett

There was so much interesting work at the Bridges Conference Art Exhibition it is difficult to select just a few but… here are a few more of my favorites.

John Hiigli

John Hiigli is a New York based artist whose work I have admired for years. His Contribution to the exhibition included an outstanding black and white painting titled “Chrome 203 Homage to De Barros I: Translation”:

Hiigli – Chrome 203 Homage to De Barros I: Translation
Picture courtesy of the artist

This painting is a great study of the power of positive and negative space. Hiigli uses 3/4 squares in alternating black and white to build a square pattern that he then uses to create a 3 by 4 grid of these square elements. I really like the concept of using a 3/4 fraction of a square, the general outline of the square remains even though 1/4 has been removed. These patterns are based on the work of Brazilian painter Geraldo De Barros.

Henry Segerman

There were a lot of sculptures at the conference that were made using 3-D printers. One artist whose work stood out was Henry Segerman. His “Developing Fractal Curves” figures had a graceful presence and conveyed the narrative of the Mathematical sequences in an interesting linear fashion.

Segerman – Deloping Fractal Curves
Picture courtesy of the artist

These four structures start at the top with the basic iterations of the fractals clearly defined. As the viewer’s eye travels down into the curves the patterns become more and more complex. These small sculptures do an excellent job of conveying the nature of fractal curves.

Mike Naylor

Mike Naylor has created an interactive Mathematical pattern generator called “Runes” that can be used on a tablet or smart phone. This program allows the participant to explore the operation of multiplication by making curves within a circle that is divided like a numbered dial. The more numbers on the dial the more complex the patterns become. ”Runes” is available here. Naylor has created an excellent tool to show students how a simple mathematical process, used in different permutations, can result in a wide variety of visual images.

Susan Happersett

Bridges Math Art Conference Seoul – Part 2

Posted by Susan Happersett

I have just returned from an amazing visit to Seoul to participate in the Bridges Conference. Bridges is an international organization that promotes the connections between Mathematics and Art, Music, Architecture, and Culture. This year the conference was a satellite conference for the huge International Congress of Mathematicians that took place in Seoul during the same week. This proximity enhanced our events by bringing numerous renowned Mathematicians (including Fields Medal winner Cedric Villani) to speak at the Bridges conference. One of the highlights of this conference is always the Art Exhibition. There was so much exciting work on display but I will only be able to discuss a small percentage in my blog.

Gary Greenfield

There is a type of computer assisted painting referred to as Ant Paintings in which points of pigment are deposited on a surface using an algorithm that determines when the pigment is picked up, where it is carried and where it is dropped. This process of “mobile automata” mimics the natural behavior of ants moving grains of sand. The completed paintings have an organic quality. Gary Greenfield has created a new series of work using this technique. He is the first artist to explore the incorporation of formulae into the algorithms in such a way that geometric shapes are formed in the painting.

PCD #11863 – 6″ x 6″ – Digital Print – 2014
Picture courtesy of the artist

In the digital print “PCD #11863”, Greenfield starts the process with uniformly distributed grains of pigment. Then the virtual ants are instructed to carry and deposit the color on to twelve polar curves. Polar curves are curves drawn using the polar coordinate system. This is a 2-D coordinate system like the Cartesian coordinate system, but instead of having two axis to define the placement of a point on the plane, the Polar Coordinate system uses a single fixed point, an angle from a fixed direction, and the distance from the initial point, to determine the placement of the point. For this particular painting Greenfield used the formula

to determine where the pigment would be distributed The resulting image has order four rotational symmetry and a graceful use of concentric shapes, but what makes this work unique to me is its organic quality.

David Reimann

There was one sculpture in the exhibition that I felt was a great visual representation of the whole conference. “Mathematics is Universal” is a wooden dodecahedral form by David Reimann.

Mathematics is Universal – 23 in x 23 in x 23 – Mixed media sculpture – 2014
Picture courtesy of the artist

A regular dodecahedron is comprised of 12 regular pentagons (regular means all sides have the same measure), and 30 edges. The sculpture “Mathematics features the 30 edges of the dodecahedral form made out of wood strips. Each of the 30 strips has the word mathematics hand-painted in a different language. I feel this sculpture is a perfect metaphor for our conference. People from many cultures gathering to discuss the beauty and form of Mathematics.

Suman Vaze

Some of the most abstract and gestural art on view was by the painter Suman Vaze. Her canvas “Ryoanji III” is an expression of the balance found in a 4 by 4 magic square. It is divided into a 4 by 4 invisible grid, and the number of horizontal and vertical lines going through a section of the canvas represents the number that would go in the corresponding square of the magic square.

Ryoanji III – 24″ x 24″ – acrylic on canvas – 2013
Picture courtesy of the artist

The particular magic square Vaze selected to depict in “Ryoanji III” is particularly well balanced each row and column adds up to 34 but each 2 by 2 square also adds up to 34. A nice Fibonacci number!

These are just a few of the interesting works on display at Bridges. I will tell you about some more in my next post!

Susan Happersett

Bridges Math Art Conference Seoul

Posted by Susan Happersett

Math Unmeasured

Posted by Susan Happersett

Summertime is a time to relax the rules. During most of the year my drawings require the use of grids and calculated templates. In the warmer months, when I am away from my studio, I continue to draw, but using a more organic approach. I have created two new types of small scale drawings based on the Fibonacci Sequence. These works are more about counted iterations then measuring. This allows the patterns to grow and develop more freely across the paper.

The first type of drawing I am calling Fibonacci Fruit. This type of drawing features pod-like forms with internal structures based on the consecutive terms of the Fibonacci Sequence. Here are two examples using the numbers 5 and 8.

In the first drawing there are 13 pods each divided into 8 segments and each segment contains 5 seeds.

The second drawing has 21 pods and again each pod has 8 segments with 5 seeds each.

Another type of new drawing I am calling Fibonacci Branches. In these drawings one branch divides into two new branches. Those branches each divide into three branches, then those branches each get five branches, then each of those gets eight branches until finally each of these branches gets thirteen new branches.1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13. This creates a treelike arrangement.

In the next example, five sets of branches are scattered across the page. Each branch formation starts with one branch and grow in a similar fashion to the other drawing but in this case the final branch count is eight.

I am always interested in the negative space in my drawings. A good way to explore this is to make a white on black drawing.

There are still a multitude of possibilities for the continuation of these two drawing series. It will be exciting for me to see where the Fibonacci Sequence will take me next.

Susan