MANUSxMACHINA, Fashion in the age of Technology at the Met

Posted by Susan Happersett

Every year in May the Metropolitan Museum of Art presents an elaborate fashion exhibit. The Costume Institute at the Museum produces a huge show, not in their usual space in the basement, but instead in transformed rooms in the main galleries. This year the exhibition is titled “MANUSxMACHINA, Fashion in the age of Technology”. It examines the way relationship of couture designer clothing and the use of machines. I was not expecting to see any Mathematical references, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Miyake Design Studio “Flying Saucer” , Dress (flat), 1994

The pleats on “Flying Saucer” Dress by Miyake Design were machine garment-pleated, creating a series of pleated circles. When lying flat it is easy to see the large center circle that create the body of the dress and smaller circles that form sleeves. The center points of the circles are in a straight line.

Miyake Design Studio “Flying Saucer” , Dress (unfolded), 1994

When the dress is opened to show its accordion construction, the body and sleeves become pleated cylinders.

Threeasfour, “Bahai” dress, 2014

The “Bahai” dress by design team Threeasfour features 3-D printed elements by Materialise. The structure of this dress alludes to complex geometries. Here is a quote from Threeasfour from the exhibit’s wall signage:

“Next-generation 3-D modeling programs were used to construct the six degrees of fractal growth where each element operates independently from the rest”.

It is obvious mathematics was an intrinsic tool used to create this garment. As more and more designers have access to advanced technology, there will be great opportunities for them to use Mathematical themes and processes in their work.

Susan Happersett

Chinati

Posted by Susan Happersett

Donald Judd put the town of Marfa, Texas on the art world map. He founded this amazing museum, so that large conceptual art installations could be on permanent display. Originally this project was in conjunction with DIA but now it is supported by the independent Chinati Foundation. The museum is situated in the high desert of Western Texas with views of the Chinati mountain range. Art can be seen both in large re-purposed military buildings and outside on the expansive grounds.

Access to the interior galleries is limited to pre-arranged tours but Judd’s iconic work “Untitled, 15 works in concrete” from 1980-1984 can be visited without reservations.

The 15 arrangements of concrete rectangular solids consist of a total of 60 forms all fabricated on site. All have of these elements have the same exterior measurements of 2.5 meters high by 2.5 meters deep by 5 meters long. The slabs of concrete are 25 centimeters thick. The grouping of forms are situated in a straight line and 60 meters apart over a length of 1 kilometer. Each arrangement has between 3 and 6 of the concrete sculptural elements. Judd’s placement of the rectangular open blocks is also mathematically specific relying on a series of ratios to best differentiate the 15 installations and the shadows created by the natural light.

I went to visit the site twice. Once in the bright sun of mid morning and again in the late afternoon. The pictures above were taken during my afternoon visit. The angles of the shadows, both within the concrete forms and on the landscape varies dramatically. By creating a set of numerical rules that allowed for a uniformity of the elements then exploring 15 permutations for this these building blocks in a dramatic setting Judd has provided the viewer an amazing experience to feel a physical connection to the art.

Susan Happersett

Judith Braun at McKenzie Fine Art Gallery

Posted by Susan Happersett

Homeostasis is the current solo exhibition of Judith Braun’s charcoal and graphite drawings at McKenzie Fine Art Gallery. This work is all part Braun’s series titled “Symmetrical Procedures”, a long term commitment to the exploration of symmetry. Since 2003 the artist has been creating abstract drawings that use the rich gray scale attainable through the use carbon based materials. On one wall of the gallery there is a particularly intriguing installation. Four square framed drawings are presented within a large wall drawing.

Each of the four squares contains a circular figures with order-8 rotational symmetry. Here are two examples:

“Symmetrical Procedure” NE-21-3, 2014, Graphite on Dura-lar
Picture courtesy of the gallery

“Symmetrical Procedure” NE-21-4, 2014, Graphite on Dura-lar
Picture courtesy of the gallery

In these examples there is a secondary symmetry, each of the eight lace-like elements around the central circle possess reflection symmetry. The intricate use of positive and negative space in this work demonstrates the complexity and richness that can be achieved with just black and white.

The wall drawing, in contrast, uses the gray scale to allow the large circles to fade away into the top of the wall. There is an allusion to the underlying symmetry of the forms, but it is incomplete. The lower of the two circles has the semi-circles forming on the exterior. The upper circle has the semi- circles going into the interior. This is a great demonstration of convex and concave curves. The marks of this drawing are the artist finger print, created by the artist pressing her charcoal covered finger directly on to the wall to create varying shades of grey. This tactile method creates an emotional connection to the viewer, adding another more human element to the exhibition.

McKenzie Fine Art Gallery is at 55 Orchard Street. Judith Braun’s exhibition is up through April 24.

Susan Happersett

Mark Hagen at Marlborough Chelsea

Posted by Susan Happersett

The exhibition titled “Black Hole” at Marlborough Chelsea is a solo show of new work by Mark Hagen. In the back gallery there is a series of paintings based on rhombi. A rhombus is a equilateral quadrilateral, a four sided figure where all sides have the same length. In these paintings the rhombi are diamond-shaped, similar to the shape found in wire fencing.

“Bumping into this thing or that from conception to decomposition like dumb pebbles on a beach on an alien beach in a remote corner of the universe” 2016, acrylic through burlap, artist frame (titanium anodized with diet coke)

This first work features a series of scattered rhombic triples, created by shifting and overlapping the rhombi along the shorter of the two diagonals. It is important to know that these are not your typical hard edge paintings. Hagen masks off his shapes using tape and plastic then paint is poured through sun-exposed burlap. His unique process creates a more textural quality.

Left “To Be Titled” (Screen Painting #8), 2016 acrylic through burlap, artist frame(titanium anodized with diet coke). Right “To Be Titled” (Screen Painting #1), 2016.

These next two paintings are non-square grids. By changing the thickness of the number of lines between the two works the artist presents various examples of the diamond pattern theme. By limiting his geometric vocabulary to one type of shape in this series of work, Hagen has created a visual dialog of comparison.

Pictures courtesy of the gallery and the artists.

Susan Happersett

“Incomplete Cubes” at Mike Weiss Gallery

Posted by Susan Happersett

“Objects and Everyday Goods” a group show at the Mike Weiss Gallery includes a series of five of Michael Zelehoski‘s “Incomplete Cube” re-purposed wood and ply wood paintings.

The subject matter, the title as well as the materials, immediately reminded me of Sol Lewitt’s 1974 installation “Incomplete Open Cubes”. But these paintings have an extra element of complexity. The 2-D paintings acquire their perception of depth without the use of shading. Instead foreshortening and lines are used to illustrate which elements of each cube is in the foreground or the background.

In this middle painting the center horizontal leg seems to be cutting across the front of the figure but it is attached to the vertical leg at the right of the image that seems to be in the background. So this is not really a cube. if all of the angles in the form are 90 degrees it is actually an impossible figure. What I found so interesting about this work is the way it appears to directly reference historically important work but up on closer inspection there is an unexpected twist that takes the work into a more complex geometry.

Susan

Art Fair Week NYC

Posted by Susan Happersett

This past week there were nine different art fairs held in New York City. The largest was the Art Fair Week NYC that was held on a pier on the west side of town. The Contemporary Fine Arts Gallery from Berlin was there, featuring the work of Marianne Vitale. She made with this very interesting floor sculpture made of rusted steel rail road track.

Marianne Vitale – 2016 – Steel
Picture courtesy of the gallery and the artist

This piece is a square composed of four squares that are placed so the parallel lines of each square are perpendicular to the parallel line of the adjacent squares. This reminded me of the process of weaving with the perpendicular warp and weft.

The next day I went to the Art on Paper Fair where I saw this wall hanging “16th Vanishing and Emerging Wall” by Hideho Tanaka at the browngrotta arts (Wilton, CT) booth.

Hideho Tanaka – “16th Vanishing and Emerging Wall” – 2009
Picture courtesy of the gallery and the artist

Although the outer edge of this work is an oval the piece is all about parallel and perpendicular.

Hideho Tanaka – “16th Vanishing and Emerging Wall” (Detail) – 2009
Picture courtesy of the gallery and the artist

Each of the sections – most are square – are placed so that the parallel lines in each square are at a 90 degree angle with the parallel lines in the adjacent squares in a similar fashion as the squares in Vitale’s floor sculpture.

Over the course of three days I saw a lot of art and navigated crowds of people. At some points it was bit overwhelming. It was gratifying to see two artists tackle the same geometric theme in two unique ways.

Susan Happersett

Geometric Cabinet at Kristen Lorello Gallery

Posted by Susan Happersett

The “Geometric Cabinet” at Kristen Lorello Gallery is an exhibition based on an instructional tool used in Montessori early childhood education to teach geometry. This tool consists of 6 puzzle-like drawers with removable trapezoids, triangles, quatrefoils, and other shapes. The children learn about the shapes by running their fingers along the edges of the shapes, as well as the process of fitting the shapes into the corresponding cutout frame. Two of these drawers are laid out on mats on the floor of the gallery. Kristen Lorello has curated this exhibition by selection work that relate to these geometric shapes and the prescribed educational activities.

Drawer from a Montessori “Geometric Cabinet”
Picture courtesy of Kristen Lorello

The work of eight artists has been included included in this show. There is a kinetic, rotating, circular stone-like wall sculpture by Rachel Higgins that reminds the viewer of the tactile experience of a young student running their fingers along the curved sides of the circular shape taken from the cabinet. Michael DeLucia has provided a direct response to the quatrefoil shaped piece with his drawing “Quatrefoil” .

Michael DeLucia, “Quatrefoil”, 2016, ink on paper
Picture courtesy of Gallery 11r

“Quatrefoil” features a 2-dimensional depiction of four tire-like tori. A torus is a 3-dimensional topological form that has genus one. This means it has only one hole, like a bagel. The tori have been drawn in perspective so that front single torus is larger and in the foreground. There is a pair of tori in the middle ground and the smallest torus in the background.

Through this work De Lucia has not only referenced the basic geometry of the flat cabinet shape but he elevated the quatrefoil to a complex form. The structure of each torus has been expressed by drawing a series of circles rotating in 3-dimensional space around a circular axis. Adding the tire tread element to the shapes gives the form a textural quality that take the drawing out of the realm of text book figures.

The exhibit Geometric Cabinet has one of the most interesting curatorial premises I have encountered. The history and principles of Mathematics education are a fertile ground for creative interpretation and Kristen Lorello has presented a thought provoking selection and installation to explore these ideas.

Susan Happersett

Drawing Then at Dominique Lévy Gallery.

Posted by Susan Happersett

There are a number of Upper East Side galleries that display museum caliber exhibitions of historically significant art. The current show at the Dominique Lévy gallery “Drawing Then, Innovation and Influence in American drawings of the Sixties” is an excellent example. It features work by some of my favorite artists like Eva Hesse, Agnes Martin, and Cy Twombly. The list goes on and on, there is even a Sol Lewitt wall drawing.

There are two works on display that relate the most directly to Mathematics. Mel Bochner’s “3” from 1966, is an homage to a Sierpinski Triangle. An equilateral triangular grid formation has been strategically filled in with hand written number 3’s and words that begin with letters “Tri”. The positive and negative shapes created delineate the fractal construction of a Sierpinski Triangle.

The second drawing is Josef Albers’ “Reverse + Obverse” from 1962. This line drawing is a 2-D rendering of 3-D constructions.

Josef Albers -“Reverse+Obverse” – 1962
Picture courtesy of the gallery

Both the top and bottom pairs of the figures employ a 180 degree rotation, an order-2 rotational symmetry. This work is a geometric expression of a form turning through space.

This year is the 40th anniversary of the MOMA’s ground breaking 1976 exhibition, “Drawing Now”. The current show at Dominique Lévy gallery is true to this historical reference, focusing on work from the turbulent years from 1960-1969. There is a wide range of work on display from drawings with social commentary, to drawings exploring the aesthetics of minimalism and conceptual rule-based art.

Susan Happersett

Concrete Cuba at David Zwirner

Posted by Susan Happersett

The Group Show Concrete Cuba at the David Zwirner Gallery in Chelsea is an exhibition of historical importance and has been the subject of numerous reviews and editorials. So far I have not read a direct discussion of the Mathematical connections to the art, so here it goes… This exhibition displays the work of a group of Cuban abstract artists who are referred to as Los Diez Pintores Concretos (Ten Concrete Painters). This group was active fro 1959 to 1961, but the show also includes earlier work to explore the development of Concretism, introducing the viewer to art work created at a pivotal and complex time in recent Cuban history. Pure hard edge abstraction was counterintuitively a political statement by striving for a visual utopia instead of expressive political themes.

I have selected two works from the extensive exhibition with interesting mathematical subjects.

Sandú Darié – “Untitled, Transformable” – 1950 – oil on wood with hinges

This sculpture “Untitled, Transformable” by Sandú Darié consists of six hinged triangles. Depending on your vantage point in the gallery the structure takes on many different forms. Two hinged vertical rectangle have been split and hinged along parallel diagonals. Then, the two outer right triangles have been split and hinged to form equilateral and isosceles triangles. By using different colors for the elements in each half it is not obvious that each side is the same construction with a 180 degree rotation. The sculpture can take on a multitude of shapes through the use of hinges. The artist has used a fairly direct study of triangles to create a work with about how geometry can be visualized with the viewer moving through space.

Sandú Darié – “Untitled ” – 1950 – collage on paper

The next example is also by Sandú Darié. It is a collage work on paper. This 1950 work is all about circles. It features a column of overlapping circles. Some of the circles have been divided into red, black and white parallel stripes using vertical chords and some horizontal chords. This makes the circles appear to be twisting 90 degrees back and forth as they tumble down the page. It is the juxtaposition of the linear qualities of the parallel bands of color and the circular cut outs that provide a sense of movement in this dynamic collage.

Much of the work on display at this memorable exhibition employed mathematical themes. These were just my favorite pieces.

Susan Happersett

Chelsea Hrynick Browne installation at Sprint Flatiron Prow Art Space

Posted by Susan Happersett

The iconic Flatiron building on 23rd street in Manhattan is home to the Sprint Flatiron Prow Art Space, a bright triangular room of windows, that can be viewed from the sidewalks of both Fifth avenue and Broadway. In coordination with Cheryl McGinnis Gallery, artists fill the space with interesting, temporary projects. This winter, Chelsea Hrynick Browne’s exhibition “Flakes” consists of vertical strings suspended with a multitude paper shapes.

Each two-sided shape is created by cutting and layering pieces origami paper. Browne’s intricate paper cutting relies on Mathematics to create the symmetrical patterns. These two examples each feature order-4 rotational symmetry. The use of contrasting colored papers affords an interesting expression of positive and negative space.

Each of the flakes is two-sided. Some flakes are circular and others are square, but my favorite flakes have 16 sides. These extra special flakes are formed by two back-to-back square paper cuts with a 45 degree rotation.

“Flakes” is a terrific installation for Winter in NYC. Each of the paper cut outs is different and they colorfully beckon to pedestrians navigating the snow and grey slush. I stumbled across this display and it made my whole day better. I am always amazed and happy to be able to find so many great examples of Mathematical art as I go about town.

Susan Happersett