E Pluribus Unum
Mixed Media (corrugated plastic, cable ties) Sculpture 2023This work is based on the 2,1-Goldberg polyhedron where the edges have been replaced with rhombic pieces of colored corrugated plastic.
Background and Inspiration
This was the result of a hands-on mathematical art sculpture construction I led July 15, 2023 at the New York City Math Festival organized by the National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath).
A total of 210 rhombic-shaped corrugated plastic pieces were used in the construction. Cable ties were used for connecting the pieces. In this expanded polyhedral structure, the vertices are transformed into open triangular spaces. Similarly, the pentagonal and hexagonal faces are transformed into pentagonal and hexagonal openings respectively.
The red, white, and blue pieces and the location of New York (the USA's first capital, 1785–1790)
were in my mind as I designed this piece.
The site of the first congressional meeting place is a block from the festival location.
The piece's title E Pluribus Unum, Latin for out of many, one
is the traditional motto of the United States.
In the case of this sculpture, many individual pieces (210) become one object
— E Pluribus Unum!
Acknowledgements
I am grateful for all the participants who helped assemble this piece!
