2018 Bridges Conference

Ryan Webb

Artists

Ryan Webb

Math and Computer Science Teacher

Maggie L. Walker Governor's School

Richmond, Virginia, USA

rwebb@gsgis.k12.va.us

Statement

I am a math teacher at a school for gifted students. As such I am constantly answering two incredible questions: "Why?" and "What if...?" I encourage my students to always seek out answers to these questions. It is when we keep asking why and keep tinkering with the what if's that we stumble upon the most interesting things. These two questions influence my art immensely. Though I have dabbled in many different art mediums, I am most fond of digital generative design, and other code based works. Digital Art allows me to produce an image, say "What if I changed this part?", tweak a few numbers in my program, and within a few minutes have answers to my curiosities.

Artworks

Image for entry 'Genetic Modular Coloring on Phyllotactic Blooms'

Genetic Modular Coloring on Phyllotactic Blooms

45 x 45 cm

Digital (Coded in Processing)

2018

Phyllotaxis is a very specific pattern found repeatedly in nature. Every bloom in this image is identical in shape, but by defining unique coloring rules the blooms take on different looks. This image shows 25 Phyllotactic Blooms that only differ in their color pallet. For example, on the bloom with 3 colors (White, Red, and Green) the nth dot is colored by determining n mod 3 (0=white, 1=red, 2=green). Once a color was defined, it's definition didn't change (if n mod m = 2 on any bloom, that dot was green). All prime mod color blooms have their own uniqueness. As if by genetics (hence the name) the Composite mod color spirals inherit pieces of the patterns of their prime factors (i.e. mod15 gets patterns from mod3 and mod5)
Image for entry '14 Color Phyllotactic Bloom (Genetic Modular Coloring)'

14 Color Phyllotactic Bloom (Genetic Modular Coloring)

45 x 45 cm

Digital (Coded in Processing)

2018

A large closeup of the 14 color "Genetic Modularly Colored Phyllotactic Bloom". This Bloom inherits unique characteristics from both the 2 color bloom and the 7 color bloom. The tightness of the center spiral mirrors the 2 color bloom, yet the outer arms mirror the 7 color bloom directly.