Meditations
My facination with mathematics and my love of visual arts has led me on a journey to build a link between
mathematics and drawing. It has become my mission to express the intrinsic aesthetic value of Mathematics
in a purely visual language. I use a number of graphing and geometric plotting techniques to examine the aesthetic
characteristics of functions, sequences and series in a visual language. My drawings are an intense accumulation
of lines and mark making resulting from my predesposition to counting. These drawings have an inherent
repetitiveness similar to knitting, weaving and lace making. Through the years my drawing has become a type of
meditation.
One of my drawing methods involves the development of a hand made grids and a mapping process for each
drawing. I decide on the proportions of the grid and then make a plan for the number of markings or strokes
in each square.The inspiration for the actual markings came from ancient manuscripts written in the language
Kufic. I deconstructed the placement of the strokes, eliminating any literal meaning. It is the number of strokes
in each grid that holds significance. Another technique I use in my work is the repeittion of self-similar forms
through many interations. By doing everything by hand there are slight imperfections that amplify and overlap,
creating a sense of chaos.
Many of the mathematical sequences in my work involve growth patterns. One series of drawings is based on
the correlation between plant growth and the Fibonacci Sequence (1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,...). I have also incorporated
binary code, explored self-similarity and chaos theory. Through these drawings I hope to reveal the grace and
balance in the mathematics of nature and technology.
Susan Happersett