Artists
Lu Buller
Assistant Research Scientist
Michigan Tech Research Institute, Michigan Technological University
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Statement
In a middle school drawing class, I learned a method of drawing knots on graph paper. I liked how algorithmic it was, since I enjoyed drawing but had trouble coming up with ideas for things to draw. I became fascinated with it and I’ve been expanding and refining my knot-drawing strategies ever since. My adventures in knot-drawing have ranged from writing code for generating random knots to drawing circles with a compass to designing specialized grid patterns, my artistic use of mathematics and automation co-evolving along with my (lack of) spontaneous creativity.
Artworks
Imperfect Reflections
20.0 x 20.0 cm
pen on paper
2023
This drawing started with a randomly generated knot design (the center square). When I transfer code output to a physical drawing, there are little changes I like to make, such as straightening squiggly lines, Type I Reidemeister moves, and using the underlying grid lines in different ways than my code does. I got curious about what “rules” I might be following, and one approach I took to investigating that was drawing a not quite mirror image of a design right next to it with a few of the changes and then repeating that several times in different directions. This particular drawing shows a progression outward from the center, with different simplified, spikier, and more symmetrical versions of the design in the corners.