Zachary Norman

These images may look like 3D objects but Zachary Norman, a MFA Candidate in Photography at Indiana University, creates these illusionistic geometric forms through his use of photography. As Norman describes his process,

Each image was constructed using only two anamorphic sheets of (flat) inkjet paper, a roll of green seamless paper, a set of lights and a camera. The apparent three-dimensionality of each form is an illusion achieved through anamorphism and multiple strobes flashes (exposures) all executed “in-camera”. The colors of the forms are the result of middle mixtures achieved through multiple exposures. The colors were determined by a strict formula- the color spectrum was quantified, using the hexadecimal format, and then divided by the number of faces of a given Platonic Solid, each face was then assigned a fraction of the color spectrum. For example, an octahedron has eight sides so the spectrum was divided into eight equal fractions and each face of the octahedron was assigned one of these colors.

Leo de Freyne

These geometric, stylized iceberg paintings by Dublin artist and writer Leo de Freyne capture the architecture of these natural structures and the poetry of their colossal presence. But the iceberg is of course more than an aesthetic object; this pristine, natural sculpture has also become a symbol for those other losses incurred due to climate change. And at a time when climate change threatens the environment perhaps more than ever, one worries that the inspiration for such paintings will soon become mere memory. 

Kyuha Shim’s Isomorphic Geometry in Geo Maps

(i·so·mor·phism n.(mathematics):  one-to-one correspondence between the elements of two sets such that the result of an operation on elements of one set corresponds to the result of the analogous operation on their images in the other set.)

Artist and designer Kyuha Shim’s Geo Maps project explores the mathematical principles at work in the art of paper folding. Visitors to the installation are invited to interact with a small, folded paper sculpture; as he or she rotates the object, an interactive projection plays over a larger, corresponding sculpture of the same shape according to the movements of its “partner.” Geo Map is in this way a study of mathematical complexity through simple forms. But while the projections recall the cool, clean aesthetic of minimalism, the project is in part a response to the losses incurred by the increasing dominance of digital design programs. The artist writes:

“Computer graphics enable designers to generate fascinating outcomes in a very short period, but we are losing the specificity and precision of older generation designers working in traditional media. Through this experience, I learned how to merge traditional and digital mediums using projection mapping, which connected users’ behaviors with the paper installation.”