Boris Kishinevsky
Boris Kishinevsky is currently a sophomore Studio Arts and Pure Math major at Stony Brook University. He focuses on the intersection of mathematics and conceptual art, using both sculpture and digital media to create his pieces. Visually, he is interested in the investigation of the forms found in mathematics, such as low dimensional topology, non periodic tilings, and polyhedra. However, Kishinevsky places more emphasis on the conceptual nature of his work, where he often attempts to use mathematical modes of thought to create contemporary artworks.
“Taffy Machine” is inspired by a mural done by William Thurston and Dennis Sullivan at the University of California, Berkeley’s math department in the early 1970’s. This mural shows a simple curve that has been folded over itself with a braiding pattern repeatedly. In this piece, the first four iterations of a curve under this braiding pattern are stacked on top of each other and strung together, creating a 3-D structure that shows how the curve elongates and folds in on itself. These “taffy machine curves” are interesting because, when drawn on a thrice-punctured plane, all four curves are non-homotopic; there is no way to “stretch” one curve to into the other without tearing it.