2013 Joint Mathematics Meetings
Harry Benke
Artists
Harry Benke
Artist / Mathematician
Visual Impact Analysis LLC
Novato, California
Statement
I'm an artist and mathematician. My art attempts to produce a nexus between abstract mathematical beauty and the natural world to produce a satisfying aesthetic experience.
Artworks
![Image for entry 'Cardinal'](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsubmit.bridgesmathart.org%2Frails%2Factive_storage%2Fblobs%2Fproxy%2FeyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6NzQ2NCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ%3D%3D--64e12be8c6578851c3537f2419ded2ed90020622%2Fkuen_top_down.jpg&w=1536&q=75)
Cardinal
20" x 26.6"
Giclee (pigmented archival print)
2012. Studies for this work started in 2003
I've been examining Kuen's surface for a very long time.The red shape is Kuen's surface as seen from above, looking down the z axis. Kuen's surface is well known since it has constant negative Gaussian curvature except on sets of measure 0. This surface is virtually never seen from above, which is intriguing and beautiful.
![Image for entry 'Geese'](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsubmit.bridgesmathart.org%2Frails%2Factive_storage%2Fblobs%2Fproxy%2FeyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6NzQ2NSwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ%3D%3D--3147f07f436cd5dda20e175bf509d7f38d9dd48e%2Ftorus_knot_twisted.jpg&w=1536&q=75)
Geese
20" x 30"
Giclee (pigmented archival print)
2012. Studies for this work started in 2004
The shapes are are nodes of a twisted torus knot. In producing the model, surface normals were reversed to maintain color interest and mathematical harmony. A torus knot is a knot that lies on the surface of an unknotted torus in R3. A long period of tinkering led to this final image.