Here's one of the pieces that were in a recent show at Space Gallery in Denver. It's an image based upon how the fabled 'golden rectangle' is constructed, with multiple golden rectangles superimposed to add visual interest.
The golden rectangle is special because its sides are in the proportion of 'Phi' to each other. This proportion, symbolized by the Greek letter Phi (φ) is an irrational number similar to the more well known Pi. The Phi ratio (approximated by 1.6180339 to 1) is special because it is not only a mathematical and geometric ideal possessing some unique and remarkable properties within the realm of numbers but it recurs throughout the physical structures in nature and is found in virtually all living creatures on earth. The human body has many components (including aspects of the DNA molecule) that exhibit the Phi proportion. The ratio of the lengths of the bones in the palm of your hand to the lengths of the first joints of your fingers is the Phi ratio. This is true of each succeeding joint of the fingers to the next adjacent ones as well. It's all very cool and almost spooky.
This piece is all composed of recycled metals glued to a backing - soft drink can aluminum, brass from old bullet casings, lead foil from the necks of wine bottles and even foil from the lids they give you at Chipotle for your 'burrito bowl to go' (this is nice aluminum to work with because it is of wonderful softness, cuts easily and takes on a nice luster when polished). I brought out spectral colors in the can aluminum with careful application of a propane torch and also used muriatic acid on some of it to bring out a different color/texture - all to add variety and visual interest. The pieces are much better when viewed in person because the digital image doesn't convey the spectral colors very well.
3 comments:
you forgot to say, "this is hanging in a private gallery in denver aka rachel's apartment."
definitely one of my favorites. i think every day you should stop by my pod and tell me something random about pi. deal?
You meant Phi did you not? Here is something cool about the Phi ratio:
A peaceful human heartbeat reflects a Phi ratio in its rhythm. While electrocardiograms (EKGs) of human heartbeats vary considerably depending on a variety of factors, the typical pulse of the heart ventricals (lower chambers) in relation to the atriums (upper chambers) seems to follow the Phi ratio.
The prominent parts of an electrocardiogram are the P wave (a deflection caused by the electrical current originating in the atrium); the QRS complex (showing the passage of the electrical activity into the ventricles) and the T wave (as the ventricles reset themselves). The electrocardiograms of human heartbeats often graph these waves values in magnitudes that reflect the Phi ratio.
Cool huh?
harv, i bask in your great knowledge about everything i know nothing about..
i've always been intrigued by mathematical connections we have embedded in our own biology...
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