2013 Bridges Conference

Nathan Wilson

Artists

Nathan Wilson

Sculptor

New York City, New York

nathan.wilson@ncf.edu

Statement

With the creation of each new piece I endevour to bring my Natural Science education to an applied level that can be physically presented. My Thesis is concerning the determination of core properties with which we conceive the world and I find a good audience provides the best data in this pursuit. Exposure to proportionality, symmetry groups and notions of inflation/deflation and partitioning can lay the groundwork for a comprehensively nourishing educational foundation. Although there is a fair amount of theory involved in the Sciences it need not be memorized. Introduction of principles using physical manipulatives sets the stage for the subsequent presentation of theory perfectly. My most recent pieces deal with applications of aperiodicity and 5-fold symmetry as I believe these and concepts of spatial growth are enticing to most human beings inherently.

Artworks

Image for entry 'Creeping Order'

Creeping Order

38 inches x 34 inches x 34 inches

Steel finished with paint

2013

Over the past year I have been privileged to work with Professors at my College on individualized programs regarding Crystallographic and Quasicrystalline modeling. In my studies I have considered aesthetic and mathematical elements of both planar and spatial aperiodic lattice structures and it is from this field of study that my submitted work arises. Both portions of my piece are partial constructions of vertex star aggregations, which due to common Icosahedral symmetry, nest in each other. The bottom portion is based on the Rhombic Hexecontahedron and is further deconstructed with black and white "projections", the maximums of which are influenced by the dihedral angles of Danzers K prototile. The nested portion above is a partial construction of a 120 faced vertex star composed of prolate rhombuses as seen in the planar Penrose Tiling. This is a construction that draws immediate attention to equivalence and interconnection adherent when examining data from multiple perspectives.