2018 Bridges Conference Nominees' Gallery
Christopher Carlson
Artists
Christopher Carlson
Software Developer
Wolfram Research
Champaign, Illinois, USA
Statement
Modular, "minimum-inventory, maximum-diversity" systems are a focus of my explorations, both graphical and sculptural. I typically design a modular system rather than a particular object, and then let the system generate the object.
Artworks
Doubly-Modular Totem (3 views)
25 x 7 x 7 cm
cast concrete
2017
This sculpture is an exploration of modular combinatorics on two levels. It begins with 3D-printed octants of a cube, each octant having the same stair-step motif subtracted from it. Eight octants assemble to create a cube with a negative space into which concrete is cast to create modular units. The shapes of the units can be varied by choosing various combinations of positions of the octants, each of which can be rotated to one of three positions about the three-fold, corner-to-corner axis. The cast units are themselves modules that assemble corner-to-corner to form totem-like structures.