Horst Schaefer

Statement

I am trying to apply formal concepts from mathematics, logic or science in my work. One of my goals is to reach a balance between the formal aspects, artistic freedom and the resulting aesthetic appearance. For me it is important, that the viewer can be aware of these aspects. In short, I am exploring how formal concepts generate a visual form. The name ‘Rule and Form’ of my cycle describes this relationship. My previous submissions to Bridges consisted of classical copperplate prints. I used a unique set of 7 copper plates which were cut from one square plate of copper. The plates represented the tangram puzzle. A Tangram consists of a square, a parallelogram and 5 rectangular, isosceles triangles. All of these figures can be constructed with the tangram pieces. Applying a recursive process one gets a recursive tangram.

Artworks

A Tangram consists of a square, a parallelogram and 5 rectangular, isosceles triangles. Each figure can be constructed with the tangram pieces. So one gets a square (the original square), a parallelogram and a rectangular, and 5 isosceles triangles. This process is repeated two times, giving a recursive tangram with 3 levels.

Each piece of the tangram (the square, the parallelogram and 5 rectangular, isosceles triangles) gets a unique color. Each of these figures can be constructed again with the tangram pieces (recursion level 2) and gets again a unique color. The process is is repeated again (recursion level 3). All three levels a laid over each other and the colors are blended together. As a result, each piece receives a distinct color.