Dmitri Kozlov

architect, scientist, artist
Research Institute of the Theory and History of Architecture and Town-planning of Russian Academy of Architecture and Building Sciences
Moscow, Russian Federation

Knots have been the subject of traditional art since ancient time. My approach is based on the idea that cyclic periodic knots made of resilient filaments behave as kinetic structures. Knots tied with such materials must have a large number of contacting crossings namely the vertices of surfaces. The crossings slide along the resilient filaments which at the same time twist around their central axis. The waves on the filaments adapt to the current disposition of the contact crossings. Thanks to these properties the knots change their geometry and create surfaces with an arbitrary Gaussian curvature. I designated as NODUS-structures the complicated knots of this type.

Three Times Self Crossing Möebius Band
Three Times Self Crossing Möebius Band
35 x 40 x 40 cm
steel wire
2015

Knots are closely connected with one-side surfaces. The edge of a Möebius band made of a ribbon twisted through pi angle is a continuous curve namely a trivial knot. Then the same ribbon is twisted through 3pi angle its edge is the trefoil knot.
This idea is reflected in my present work. A cyclic knot made of a single piece of steel wire forms a NODUS-structure with three self-crossings and one edge.