N.G. (Dick) de Bruijn, Rob Wieringa

Statement

As a mathematics student at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the 1970s and 1980s, I developed an interest in computer graphics and repetitive patterns. During that period, Professor N.G. (Dick) de Bruijn was developing a theory on Penrose tilings and asked me to assist in the computational generation of tiling diagrams. ALGOL 60 and a line plotter were state-of-the-art in those days. In subsequent decades, I became interested in fractal geometries and ray tracing, specifically using POV-Ray to create recursive fractal-like patterns.

Artworks

The insight that a Penrose tiling could be generalized into a three-dimensional representation in which all rhombuses have the same dimensions came in a flash. Trigonometric analysis revealed that the resulting rhombuses have diagonals in the golden ratio, which seemed entirely "appropriate". The Eindhoven University of Technology kindly manufactured the aluminum components and brass connections.