Karl Kattchee
Artists
Karl Kattchee
Associate Professor of Mathematics
University of Wisconsin - La Crosse
Wisconsin, USA
Statement
I enjoy experimenting with different ways to combine mathematics and art. Sometimes I focus on using math as part of the process, and sometimes I focus on depicting particular mathematical things. Mathematical art can be conceptual, too. I use pencil, pen, pastel, paper, cardboard, scanner, camera, computer, printer, and metals to achieve my desired effects.
Artworks
45 Poppies
18 x 31 cm
digital print
2015
This image is a classification of all closed paths, on a 6x6 grid, with the following properties: First, each path must proceed around the center of the grid and be orthogonal in the sense that every turn is 90 degrees. Also, the path must use each row and column exactly once. Finally, we require that each path be asymmetrical, and we do not distinguish between paths which differ by a rotation or flip. Each center square is colored black, and the shades of red are dictated by the winding number of each region.
Acknowledgements: Craig Kaplan (Waterloo), for helpful notation and the coloring scheme idea, and artists Kate Hawkes and Misha Bolstad (UW-La Crosse) for the poppies idea.