Pi and Other Delights: The Mathematical Art of David A. Reimann
Composite Gallery
National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath)
New York, New York
20 May 2023 – 19 August 2023
Statement
Ponder the concept of number. What images did your mind just create? Was it an integer? A real quantity? An equation? Pi and Other Mathematical Delights is an exhibition which encourages the viewer to see many different ways to ponder numbers—some are in relation to equations, some are portraits made of symbols and shapes, some are expansions of the creative and intellectual process or a combination of all these things.
The works in this exhibition span the creative output of the past 20 years for artist and mathematician David Reimann. His work Pi has been used in many forms and in this space has been enlarged to a wall-sized version so that you can see over one thousand, until the spiral becomes too small for the eye to distinguish separate digits. Originally designed on a whim for a middle-school girls program held at Albion College for a Pi Day celebration, pi remains an accessible way to engage the public in mathematics.
Another genre that Reimann has developed over the past 20 years is the portraiture of individuals he finds interesting and/or influential to mathematics. These portraits use variations of symbols and patterns to create recognizable likenesses.
Also among these works are representations expressing numbers as a geometric arrangement of identical simple visual elements. Two of these pieces, 2017 = 7³ + 7³ + 11³ and Ninety-One as sums of Four Squares, were created as cover art for Mathematics Magazine; the process included illustrating concepts that were being published in each issue.
One to One Hundred, the series of integers represented visually, was influenced by Reimann working with participants at the Number Line Tightrope exhibit during a MoMath Math Midway To Go event in Washington, DC.
Reimann is also constantly inspired by conference talks as well as making visually interesting responses to student questions in his classes. He asks himself How can I visualize that concept in an interesting way?
As you enjoy this gallery of work, take time to consider numbers and their many forms—perhaps even some that have not been thought of before.
Photos
Artworks
References
- Composite Gallery, National Museum of Mathematics New York, New York