2023 Bridges Conference Art Exhibition

Martin Levin

Artists

Statement

I received a Ph.D. in mathematics from Johns Hopkins. For most of my career I taught high school math in Waldorf schools, where the pedagogy encourages the bridging of mathematics and art. I'm now retired. The Platonic solids are quite simple geometric forms, and yet, as one contemplates them and builds up and holds the forms in one’s imagination, they become quite captivating. The center point has a polar plane (in the sense of projective geometry), which is the plane at infinity. One can imagine the form carved out by planes and lines coming in from the infinitely distant periphery. The model shown here is designed to suggest shapes that are not solid blocks, but rather created by lines and planes coming from the periphery.

Artworks

Image for entry 'Platonic Tensegrity'

Platonic Tensegrity

93.0 x 93.0 x 93.0 cm

stainless steel

2023

Additional info

The compound of five tetrahedra has long fascinated me. Here, the stainless steel tubes form five tetrahedra. They are suspended from one another by wires, which themselves form a stellated icosahedron. Black tubes suspended on the wires form an icosahedron which is the intersection of the five tetrahedra. The wires pass through holes in the tubes without touching, thereby making it a true tensegrity figure. Thanks to careful mathematical calculations, I was able to precision machine this piece entirely in stainless steel, allowing it to maintain its beauty in an outdoor setting. This piece is similar to one I exhibited at Bridges 2022 Aalto, but the suspending wires are located differently and the joints have a different design.