Umut Isik

Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA

I have built a software infrastructure for producing artworks from simple mathematical functions. This creates a new medium for artistic and mathematical expression; one where it more natural to work with simple mathematical descriptions rather than imperative/iterative processes. I follow where this medium takes me; producing works that can be described by few lines of additional code.

Interested individuals can use the web application on mathvas.com to make their own works. Tutorials are included to get anyone started. At UC Irvine, we use this web application for math circle and undergraduate workshops.

Two Distributions
Two Distributions
29 x 39 cm
Print
2016

Instead of painting with colors, why not paint with probability distributions? This work has only two such colors. Outside the circle, the color is 'snow'; the bimodal distribution of black and white. Inside the circle, it is 'graysnow', the uniform distribution between black and white. As the sampling rate goes to infinity at the top and bottom edges, these two distributions become indistinguishable.

The Fish
The Fish
28 x 43 cm
Print
2016

These algebraic curves divide the plane into many regions. I colored these regions using a probability distribution that produces a mixture of strong and light colors.