Robert Krawczyk

Professor of Architecture and Associate Dean
College of Architecture, Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, Illinois, USA

These pieces were inspired by the wall drawings of Sol LeWitt and the findings of Father Sebastien Truchet (1657-1729). In 1704, Truchet considered all possible patterns formed by the tiling of right triangles oriented at the four corners of a square. Each tile was identical but could be placed rotated and tiled to form interesting random non-repeating patterns. Since every edge is connected to every other edge, paths are generated. LeWitt on his wall drawings used drawn arcs producing similar patterns. LeWitt instructed his crew to draw the arc in any orientation they wanted. The viewer then finds the paths. The ones included here randomly use two different tiles. Usually these patterns are rendered black and white, these are not.

More Paths 06_0313_1
More Paths 06_0313_1
50 x 50 x 4 cm
framed canvas print
2015

The paths are just like life itself; many choices, many branches, some return to where you started, and some coming to a dead end; and many that lead you onto other new paths to take. The pieces also form some very interesting labyrinths which show how complex and rich life really is. They also show me that the path of the path, transitions from one point to another, are truly the hidden meaning and joy in life. It’s not the destination as much as the times spend on the path itself, said by many.

A more complete description of Truchet Tilings and the more recent work of Clifford Pickover and Cameron Browne can be found within the ISAMA paper titled "Truchet Tilings Revisited" at http://mypages.iit.edu/~krawczyk/rjkisama11.pdf

More Paths 06_0313_1
More Paths 06_0313_1
50 x 50 x 4 cm
framed canvas print
2015