Bridges 2024 Exhibition of Mathematical Art, Craft, and Design

Brian Redmond, Laura Marotta

Artists

Laura Marotta

Artist and Visual Arts Instructor

School of Applied Science and Technology, Fine Arts, Northwestern Polytechnic

Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada

lmarotta@nwpolytech.ca

https://www.laura-marotta.com/

Brian Redmond

Mathematics Instructor

School of Applied Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnic

Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada

bredmond@nwpolytech.ca

Statement

Artist Laura Marotta and mathematician Brian Redmond share an interest in geometric constraint. In the fall of 2022, they began exploring how to translate theoretical forms into tangible objects through the materials and methods of contemporary sculpture. Their collaboration honours mathematical elegance and offers geometric inquiry as aesthetic, playful, and approachable for a wide audience.

Artworks

Image for entry 'Spiky Right'

Spiky Right

34.0 x 34.0 x 34.0 cm

Anodized aluminum and blind rivets

2024

This interdisciplinary project resides at the crossroads of art, mathematics, and technology. Our approach combines 3D digital prototyping, physical modeling, mathematical exploration, and computer simulations to produce a foldable net from precision-cut, anodized aluminum sheet material. This net incorporates machine-etched mountain and valley fold lines, which, when folded, create an undulating and spiky irregular polyhedron with 240 faces, 360 edges, and 122 vertices, representing the exterior of the Snub Cube-Pentagonal Icositetrahedron Compound. Meticulous manual folding transforms this net into its final three-dimensional form. The structure is secured using blind rivets, resulting in a sculpture 13.25 inches in diameter.