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 work shows the number 2023 as a collection of 2023 hexagons, representing the year of this exhibition. This is part of an ongoing series of artworks expressing the positive integers as a geometric arrangement of identical simple visual elements. This unary representation is naturally bijective and harkens back to the ancient counting technique where one would create a one-to-one correspondence between a set of objects of interest (such as sheep or goats) and a set of counters (such as pebbles or tally marks). The images in this series can be used in teaching counting and in associating visual patterns with mathematical patterns.
This work pays homage to Julia Robinson (1919–1985). Her work was a critical component in solving (negatively) Hilbert's tenth problem—seventy years after it was proposed. The image, based on a photograph, is made from 1919 stippled X's. The size, crossing angle, and arm dimensions of each X is related to the original photo’s brightness and local gradient. The use of the X symbol celebrates her work on Hilbert's tenth problem and the common use of the X symbol for an unknown variable.