2023 Joint Mathematics Meetings
Phil Webster
Artists
Phil Webster
Artist
Phil Webster Design
Chandler, Arizona, USA
Statement
I’ve had a life long love affair with geometry, and my sweet spot is taking ancient geometric traditions – particularly, in recent years, Islamic geometric patterns – and combining them with modern mathematical concepts like fractals and polyhedra to create unique, modern art and décor pieces for the modern home. I love making art that captures ancient traditions with a modern twist, and that brings order, beauty, and peace into peoples’ private spaces.
Artworks
Jaali Fellow 3
17 x 23 x 18 cm
Walnut, cherry, maple, basswood
2022
"Jaali Fellow 3" is part of my Jaalihedra™ sculpture series. Jaalihedra™ = jaali (Hindu for "net", used as a name for carved sandstone screens found in NW India) + polyhedra.
At Bridges 2022 I described how to apply Islamic geometric patterns (IGP) to polar zonohedra (PZ). The rhombic dodecahedron (RD) is a 4-fold PZ with pitch angle of arctan(1/sqrt(2)) or ~35.26 degrees. Its faces are rhombi with angles of ~70.53 degrees. This 10-fold IGP repeats on rhombi with angles of 72 degrees. Thus by adjusting the IGP by ~1.47 degrees, ! can apply it to the faces of the PZ without noticeable distortion.
The RD lends itself naturally to a 3-color scheme for its 12 faces, and the central rosettes are cycled by one color for a pleasing contrast.