elisesDESMA9

Elise_Schroeder_Desma9_Final.pdf

elisesDESMA9

Robert Gero’s exhibit called “Infinity Structures: Paradoxical Spaces,” incorporates math, philosophy, and art.  The exhibit was constructed with Styrofoam, and the structure was configured throughout the entire room with different pieces coming out of the ground and others going into the ceiling.  The purpose of this project was to build a seemingly impossible structure, where its internal dimensions exceeded its external dimensions.  The interior of the structure, which was made up of the Styrofoam beams, expanded infinitely within the constraints of the physical walls.

Robert Gero’s work is an empirical construction, in that it is a project that must be experienced rather than thought about logistically, in order to grasp the infinite structure.  Mathematically, Gero’s structure represents the concept of achieving infinity and philosophically, it represents the paradox of achieving the infinite structure.

His work is extremely creative and once again, exemplifies how art has no bounds when creativity is involved.  I find his exhibit unique because it not only demonstrates how art and mathematics are intertwined, but it also suggests the philosophical reasoning behind the concept.  The simplicity of the presentation itself, and the structure occupying the entire room, left space for the audience to use their own imagination in attempting to grasp the concept of infinity.

elisesDESMA9

Kathy High’s exhibition called “Waste Matters: You Are My Future,” was an exhibit that explored immune systems and showed research on how immune systems maintain themselves and how bacteria plays a role in our bodies. 

Kathy High’s inspiration for this project came from her own personal experience of having Crohn’s disease.  Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract.   Her work in this exhibit is very important to her because it speaks to the condition that she has and as a result, it is something that she is passionate about.

Within the presentation room, there were displays of waste, as well as artwork that portrayed creative pieces incorporating the body and her self-portraits.  Kathy’s work opened my eyes up to the endless possibilities that creativity offers.  I found her exhibit incredibly unique and out of the ordinary.  I love that she is able to use her disease as inspiration for her work because it reveals her determined and positive attitude toward her condition.

Some of the specific biological research that Kathy did as part of this exhibit was looking into gut biomes as well as fecal microbial transplants to explore how the bacteria functions in our body.  Overall, her work informed her audience on how immune systems and bacteria affect our bodies.

“Waste Matters: You Are My Future” was an exhibit that made me think outside of the box.  It was a wonderful example of how such a deep biological, scientific study can be presented in an artistic form.

elisesDESMA9

For my first event, I visited the Hammer Museum.  As I was walking through the museum one particular exhibit caught my eye.  It was Charles Gaines’ Gridwork.  This exhibit consisted of a collection of beautiful, vibrant trees that Charles Gaines had created through the integration of mathematics and art.

Each piece of art contained a painted tree on graph paper, overlaid with a piece of Plexiglas with another gridded painted tree.  One thing that struck me was that from afar, the paintings look like normal, colorful trees, however, if you examine the tree closely, you will see that each small square has a number in it.  Charles Gaines designed his work so that the tree was gridded and drawn out mathematically and symmetrically. 

As discussed in week two’s lecture on math and art, Charles Gaines’ display in the Hammer Museum serves as a wonderful example of how mathematics and art are intertwined.  I believe that the way he intentionally portrays the mathematical design behind his artwork is the one detail that makes his work so unique.  His collection of grid work is not only visually stunning, but also special because of its integration with graph paper.

I would highly recommend visiting this exhibit because of its incredible creativity.  Charles Gaines’ grid work would be beneficial to see because it opens up your eyes to a kind of artwork that is uncommon and extraordinary.  It is proof that mathematics and art are in fact related and used together to create masterpieces.