2018 Joint Mathematics Meetings
Paul Sisson
Artists
Statement
As a working mathematician, I had often been struck by the unexpected and sometimes unintended beauty of mathematical creations, arising in objects across a wide swath of disciplines. As a semi-retired mathematician, I now have time to explore such beauty with greater focus and in a variety of media.
Artworks
Pi(e) Plates I and II
23 x 45 x 3 cm
Fused glass
2017
The Monte Carlo dartboard method and the Buffon Needle Problem method for estimating pi have always created images in my mind that begged for a more tangible representation. These fused glass plates are a corporeal version of the two thought experiments. Art should always ask questions of the viewer, and these two pieces are somewhat unusual in that the questions they ask have literally rational answers.