Neal Bushaw

Statement

I am a mathematician who is fascinated by exploring the boundary line between the rigor and precision of mathematical statements, and the aesthetic and flow of musical composition. In both contexts, I am interested by phenomena which are easy to see, but hard to explain -- for example the complicated structures of graph theoretic objects, or the consonance and dissonance of musical chords. When a pattern appears which is relevant and mysterious in both the mathematical and musical worlds, designing and building a set of models exploring such patterns and objects help me to gain insight to the mathematics, the relevant objects, and their subtleties via non-standard mathematical senses (by touching, creating, and feeling 3D objects).

Artworks

The black keys on a piano are arranged in a precise and somewhat unusual configuration -- groups of 2 or 3, with white keys interleaved in between. One can imagine the black keys as charged particles, repelling each other until reaching an equilibrium state where Electrostatic Potential is minimized. This configuration is deeply informed by western music; it yields the `major scale'. In this piece, we explore different keyboards, each determined mathematically; each keyboard gives a window into a different world of music composition not well explored by the diatonic scales which have dominated modern music. One can imagine composing or improvising on such keyboards, hearing and seeing sequences of musical notes from a new perspective.