2025 Joint Mathematics Meetings
Ranger Liu
Artists
Ranger Liu
PhD Student
Astronomy Department, University of Washington
Seattle, Washington, USA
Statement
I am an artist and astrophysicist interested in using abstract structures to express lived experience through sound. My work uses theoretical frameworks including math, astronomy, physics, and linguistics to develop physical processes for sonic and sculptural composition. I frequently use my own lived experience as a queer & trans Chinese-American as "source material" for these compositions, producing autotheoretic works halfway between data sonification/visualization and traditional composition.
Artworks
Unvexed Conformal Bodies: Bilunabirotunda
52.5 x 62.5 x 55.0 cm
metal, hardware, guitar/bass strings
2023
This is a musical instrument inspired by the bilunabirotunda, one of the 92 Johnson Solids (convex polyhedra with regular polygon faces). It exists as part of a larger musical system, Unvexed Conformal Bodies (published in Bridges 2024), which consists of instruments, ensemble rules, and notation derived from geometric properties of the Johnson Solids. The instrument is plucked by the fingers, much like a guitar or bass, and the reverberations can be amplified through contact mics attached to the metal body.