Margaret Kepner

Statement

I enjoy exploring the possibilities for conveying ideas in new ways, primarily visually. I have a background in mathematics, which provides me with a never-ending supply of subject matter. My lifelong interest in art gives me a vocabulary and references to utilize in my work. I particularly like to combine ideas from seemingly different areas. I coined the term “visysuals” to describe what I do, meaning the “visual expression of systems” through attributes such as color, geometric forms, and patterns. My creative process involves moving back and forth between a math concept that intrigues me, and the creation of visual images that interpret that concept in interesting ways. I work in a range of media including prints, books, and textiles.

Artworks

A multiplicative partition of a number is an expression consisting of integer factors that produce the number when multiplied together. An unordered multiplicative partition is usually called a factorization. This work presents each of the factorizations of the integers from 1 to 28 in a symbolic representation based on subdividing a square. For example, “7 x 3” is a factorization of 21. It is represented by a square divided into a grid of 7 rows and 3 columns – see the symbol in the lower-left corner. The uniform grids corresponding to square numbers are highlighted in red. This piece is formatted so it can be cut in a spiral fashion and folded to create a 64-page accordion book of factorization diagrams.

An additive partition of a number is an expression consisting of integer terms that yield that number when added together. This piece presents each of the partitions of the integers from 1 to 8 in a symbolic representation based on subdividing a circle. For example, “3 + 2 + 1” is one of the 11 partitions of 6. It is represented by a circle divided into 3 sectors (the number of terms in the sum) with the sectors having 3, 2, and 1 rings, respectively - see the rightmost symbol in row three. This work is formatted to reveal various properties of partitions, for example, conjugate pairs, with self-conjugate partitions highlighted in red. The overall layout can be cut and assembled to make a 66-page accordion book of partition diagrams.