2019 Bridges Conference

David Reimann

Artists

Statement

I enjoy giving visual representations to abstract mathematical concepts such as number, form, and process. I often use patterns that convey messages at multiple levels and scales using a wide variety of mathematical elements and media. Some of my work contains fine detail that allows the art to be viewed differently depending on the distance between the viewer and the art. Another prevalent theme in my work is symmetry, where the overall pattern is created by repeated rotation or translation of a smaller very similar units. My overall goal in creating art is to share the beauty and wonder I see in mathematics.

Artworks

Image for entry 'Computus'

Computus

50 x 50 cm

Digital Print

2019

The image contains a grid of possible Easter dates in the Gregorian calendar (March 22 - April 25) during the years when Carl Friedrich Gauss was alive (1777-1855). Interestingly, Gauss had to determine his own date of birth (April 30), knowing he was born in 1777 on a Wednesday eight days before Ascension (the 40th day of Easter). In the year 1800, he published a simple algorithm for computing the date of Easter in the Gregorian calendar. This artwork represents each year by a row of five dots, with Easters (computed using his formula) represented by large dots and the remaining Sundays represented by small dots. Gauss was alive to see Easter on all but 5 of the 35 possible Easter dates, including the earliest possible, March 22, in 1818.