My works are based on investigations into structures concerning the arrangement of particular units in space. Cubic packing, fractals,
tessellations, symmetry and growth patterns are some of the ideas I have been working with. They are based on such rigid systems it often feels
as if they are creating themselves as natural phenomena.
Kenneth Snelson, Ruth Vollmer and Tony Smith come readily to mind as artists who have dealt with similar concerns. This approach in art is difficult in that there are other concerns than primarily math ones. There is a need in my work to have many units in order to convey the correct
experience. An example in math is the number sequence 1,1,2,3,5......play, plasticity, light and error have a part.
Artworks
Cubic Tetrahedron ( 3rd iteration )
30 x 35 x 31 cm
Wood Automotive Lacquer glue
1982
I first began using sugar cubes, a readily available resource, to construct models and pursue ideas. The first was the Sierpinsky Sponge
that i had first come across in Benoit Mandelbrot’s first book, Fractals Form Chance and Dimension which had been recently published. The next was the reverse, the inner dimension. Later i used wooden blocks as I needed to form clusters of four cubes joined on edge and to make a fractal by using clusters of four of these four; hence the Cubic Tetrahedron.
An interesting aspect of this is Pascal’s triangle on each face and with all its mathematical content. Later i was even able to construct a 3D Cantor set. “Cantor Dust” and many others.
Cubic Tetrahedron ( 3rd iteration )
30 x 35 x 31 cm
Wood Automotive Lacquer glue
1982
I first began using sugar cubes, a readily available resource, to construct models and pursue ideas. The first was the Sierpinsky Sponge
that i had first come across in Benoit Mandelbrot’s first book, Fractals Form Chance and Dimension which had been recently published. The next was the reverse, the inner dimension. Later i used wooden blocks as I needed to form clusters of four cubes joined on edge and to make a fractal by using clusters of four of these four; hence the Cubic Tetrahedron.
An interesting aspect of this is Pascal’s triangle on each face and with all its mathematical content. Later i was even able to construct a 3D Cantor set. “Cantor Dust” and many others.
