2017 Bridges Conference Nominees' Gallery
Francesco De Comité
Artists
Francesco De Comité
Associate Professor of Computer Science
University of Sciences Lille (France)
Mouscron (Belgium)
francesco.de-comite@univ-lille.fr
Statement
Manipulation of digital images, and use of ray-tracing software can help you to concretize mathematical concepts. Either for giving you an idea of how a real object will look or to represent imaginary landscapes only computers can handle. Things become yet more interesting, when you can transform your two-dimensional dream objects in real three dimensional sculptures. You can then handle your creations, and look at them from an infinity of view angles.
Artworks
![Image for entry 'Seashells from the virtual shore'](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsubmit.bridgesmathart.org%2Frails%2Factive_storage%2Fblobs%2Fproxy%2FeyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6NTYxMSwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ%3D%3D--a3fd86227def06431deaa0d574aabd3cfa6a021d%2Fsurvey1800.jpg&w=1536&q=75)
Seashells from the virtual shore
15 x 50 x 50 cm
3D print, full color sandstone
2017
D'Arcy Thompson gave a mathematical description of the seashells shape. Later on, Meinhardt formalized a explanation of their ornament, in terms of chemical reactions. Nowadays, we can join these two visions with the help of 3D printing. I am in the process of trying to recreate Meinhardt's seashell designs, as described in his book : "The Algorithmic Beauty of Seashells". I present here some first tries, and hope to be able to exhibit some others.