Ross J. Cocks

Statement

The movie 'Pleasantville' has a wonderful artistic technique to convey moments of enlightenment. Every time a character experiences enlightenment/betterment, their grayscale appearance is injected with the slightest bit of color. I can strongly relate to this! Each time I learn about mathematics, philosophy, and the Universe, I feel as though my grayscale self and surroundings are being injected with color. Coming from an absolute abyss in the earlier part of my life, I can say with a surety that life is meant to be seen in color! At this point, I can not hold in this truth any longer and I wish to share it with the world, via art and architecture. I really do believe that through these mediums we can get a glimpse of absolute beauty!

Artworks

Adapting the 2D Toothpick Sequence (Applegate, Pol, and Sloane, 2010) to 3D can cause a wonderful lattice work to unfold. If we then add a 3D Hilbert Curve to this lattice, we arrive at a beautiful piece of geometry that is easily transformed into an architectural framework that is akin to a 3D Maze. We can then take this “maze” and put it through a Mobius Transformation, arriving at a new “maze”, one that defies our experience of physical reality (if there is such a thing). While fascinating and beautiful in it’s own right, it is not the end story to our composition! Adding an anthropomorphic element to the work gives our whole creation/transformation process a sense of life and vitality, something that can lack in mathematical art.

The gyroid (Alan Schoen, 1970) has fascinated artists and mathematicians since its discovery. The range of uses for it in art and architecture are endless! Rhapsody No. 02 - Op. 2021 is the second architectural installment which I have created, which uses the gyroid as the main parameter for form finding. This particular pavilion seeks to harmonize with the nature around it and create a focal point for gatherings. So many people have such negative experiences with mathematics, however I believe with public structures, such as this, we can allow society to experience mathematics in a more positive and revitalizing way.