Richard Kallweit
I read a description of the art process the other day that I rather liked. I found it in Hyperallergic, a Brooklyn based online art magazine. The writer observed that, perhaps, artists might work in two ways. One in which there was a need to constantly create and another to present some sort of artistic vision to the world. As I was trained as an artist, I use artistic methods to invent and discover in extra-artistic areas that interest me, (math/science/architecture). These include close observation, the use of diverse materials, long periods of meditation, playfulness and mucking around in the dark. John Horton Conway, Martin Gardner, Benoit Mandelbrot, Arthur C. Clarke and H.S.M.Coxeter, among others, are of great influence.
This piece was a collaboration for a mural. Sometimes Clark and I
would work on projects as a team. Other times we would collaborate
in a verbal or philosophical level. Who came up with an idea might
be debatable: at this particular time, as always, there was a
cross-current of ideas. Interestingly, this work was created in
Albuquerque, NM. where Microsoft had headquartered.This was after
the early disbanding of Drop City, an artists community.
There I was fortunate to meet Bill Hayes, a Microsoft
mathematician still in the area. We spent some time together
listening to Bach and having long conversations mostly in silence.
He said what I needed to consider was the way things are joined.
He helped me purchase the adobe house he rented.