2025 Joint Mathematics Meetings
Juliet Fiss
Artists
Juliet Fiss
Artist, Computer Scientist
Kirkland, WA
Statement
I am a computer scientist and artist who creates paintings about mathematics, computer science, and the physical sciences. I create large-scale, colorful, educational, and interesting paintings for people to spend time deciphering. My current art practice explores the fast Fourier transform (FFT) and prime numbers. I imagine mathematical symbols, reminiscent of hieroglyphics, to represent numbers and logical operations. By constructing my own mathematical language and painting symbols by hand, I channel my reverence for natural patterns and the beauty of mathematics onto the canvas.
Artworks
This painting is a mathematical visualization of an 8-point fast Fourier transform (FFT). The input signal, shown at the top of the painting, is a simple averaging filter [00011100]. The bottom of the painting shows the output of the FFT, the frequency spectrum of the input signal, as magnitude and phase. The middle section of the painting with the colorful X shapes shows the butterfly network structure of the FFT. The glyphs are a base-20 floating point numbering system that numerically represents the input, intermediate, and output signals of the FFT. The “pie slices” embedded in the butterfly network represent the roots of unity used to compute the FFT.
This painting is a visualization of the prime factorization of the integers from 1-100. The squares represent the numbers 1-100, with the first row being 1-10. Each symbol represents one prime number. For example, 2 is a blue dot, and 3 is a yellow triangle. Composite numbers are represented by a combination of symbols of their prime factors. For example, 4 is two blue dots. 6 is a blue dot and a yellow triangle. The painting can be used to visualize patterns, for example, all of the multiples of 11 falling along a diagonal. The painting was created for an educational video about how to create this type of artwork (see URL). 4th-6th graders in Rochester, MN, used this activity to create prime numbers artwork to hang in their school.