David Reimann
Through my art I make visible the beauty and wonder I see in the often
abstract world of mathematics. I enjoy giving visual representations
to mathematical concepts such as number, form, and process. I often
use patterns that convey messages at multiple levels and scales using
a wide variety of mathematical elements and media. Some of my work
contains fine detail that allows the art to be viewed differently
depending on the distance between the viewer and the art. Another
prevalent theme in my work is symmetry, where the overall pattern is
created by repeated rotation or translation of similar units.
This artwork depicts the number eight using the set based
construction of the non-negative integers described by John von
Neumann around 1923. Juxtaposition of the symbols \(\{\) and
\(\}\), rather than a comma, is used between set elements. The
thickness of the symbols are varied to depict the numeral 8. The
background texture is made from randomly sized, colored, and
placed 8s. In this construction, zero is represented by the empty
set: \(\{\}\). Starting with \(0 = \{\}\), we can define the
integers recursively with the use of a successor function,
\(s(n)\), defined as follows: \[s(n) = n + 1 = n \cup \{n\}.\] In
general, the number \(n\) is the set containing the numbers \(0\)
through \(n-1\).