Mathematical art: Making the ordinary chaotic
Kristen DePalma
Issue date: 10/19/04 Section: Arts & Entertainment
The Brock professor's creations are receiving recognition and will essentially change the way that people view art and math, which is as one entity. Ralph's work has been displayed at the New York Art Exhibition and he recently received the Ontario Office for the Partnerships of Advanced Skills (OPAS) award for the development of educational technologies at universities.
"Originally, I created images to help me understand mathematics, but as I've grown as an artist, I think that the images are now more about me understanding myself," said Ralph. "Mathematics is now playing the role of the technique and the medium, but the substance of the art has become something about my personal sense of mathematics and my relationship to it."
Ralph carries a great enthusiasm about his work, as he inspires himself with his own interests in the mathematical field. What begins as an equation becomes an abstract masterpiece through a series of techniques which demand a nearly flawless understanding of the subject.
"Each piece is a representation of a single mathematical system," said Ralph. "I find it fascinating, philosophically, that such enormous visual complexity and unity can arise out of a single nonrandom mathematical system. We seem to be living in such a system right now."
If this is the first time that you have heard of Bill Ralph's mathematical art, it certainly won't be the last. The Brock professor stresses that art is a part of his life which comes natural to him and he will continue to create meaningful works which will surely have their impacts on the art world.
"I would probably go on making images regardless of whether people liked them or understood them," said Ralph. "I make art because I feel compelled to."
You can view Bill Ralph's exhibit at Rodman Hall until Nov. 21.
"Originally, I created images to help me understand mathematics, but as I've grown as an artist, I think that the images are now more about me understanding myself," said Ralph. "Mathematics is now playing the role of the technique and the medium, but the substance of the art has become something about my personal sense of mathematics and my relationship to it."
Ralph carries a great enthusiasm about his work, as he inspires himself with his own interests in the mathematical field. What begins as an equation becomes an abstract masterpiece through a series of techniques which demand a nearly flawless understanding of the subject.
"Each piece is a representation of a single mathematical system," said Ralph. "I find it fascinating, philosophically, that such enormous visual complexity and unity can arise out of a single nonrandom mathematical system. We seem to be living in such a system right now."
If this is the first time that you have heard of Bill Ralph's mathematical art, it certainly won't be the last. The Brock professor stresses that art is a part of his life which comes natural to him and he will continue to create meaningful works which will surely have their impacts on the art world.
"I would probably go on making images regardless of whether people liked them or understood them," said Ralph. "I make art because I feel compelled to."
You can view Bill Ralph's exhibit at Rodman Hall until Nov. 21.
