Anonymous Artist

Richmond, Virginia, USA

I am a high school student currently enrolled in a math art seminar. So far I've enjoyed exploring the connections between those two things that I used to think were separate.

Farmed Four
Farmed Four
34 x 28 cm
woodcut print, hand-pulled
2019

This piece depicts simplified renderings of two types of farmlands still in use today. The first kind can be found in the Great Plains of the United States. Plots are arranged in a regular grid with each rectangle containing various agricultural elements, such as center-pivot irrigation. The second kind can be found in the rural hamlets of northern Scotland. Plots follow the natural irregularities of the land and form around major throughways. The math lies in the patterns of the plots which derive from the four color theorem. No two farm plots of the same pattern share an edge, using a minimum of four pattern types.