Event 1 - Gerald De Jong (Math + Art)

Event Post - Guest Lecture: Gerald De Jong 4/7

Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting Gerald De Jong’s lecture on Math + Art. 

Gerald De Jong is a software developer who has used and created software to create his own sculptures and forms of art. During his lecture, he presented a couple of his sculptures such as the “Headless Hug,” “Halo by Crane,” and “Convergence". These sculptures are created through mathematics and science while also focusing on concepts such as the use of integrity, tension, and compression. More specifically, De Jong discussed the principle of "tensegrity" which creates integrity through tension. He uses cables and rods to create a structure, but they are held together only by tension and never touch one another (De Jong). 

Example of rods and cables used to create tension from Pretenst "Brass and Tulips" (https://pretenst.com/construction/2020/10/12/brass-and-tulips). 

De Jong’s work correlates with our class material on math and art perfectly. We have discussed how math can be used in art through various means such as the Golden Ratio, perspective, vanishing points, etc. (Vesna). De Jong’s work uses math through the concepts of symmetry, geometry, measurement, and angles. De Jong emphasized how his material had to be “cut to millimeter accuracy” and some required bilateral symmetry. His piece, “Headless Hug” showcases this use of symmetry and he describes the difficulty creating a symmetrical piece when through tensegrity, the rods are not meant to touch (De Jong). Kenneth Snelson, constructivist artist who discovered tensegrity, also describes his use of mathematics such as geometry within his process. "...I began constructing study models to explore ways of extending the conventional kite frame, the proto-tensegrity structure—a two-strut figure held together by a girth of string (Snelson 72)." Much of this artistry requires the use of math through these concepts of geometry and angles. 

Gerald De Jong's "Headless Hug" during Guest Lecture. 

While viewing De Jong’s work, it reminded me of another artist in our class resources, Charles Csuri. Although not having made sculptures, Csuri developed and used software for digital art and 3D computer graphics (Csuri). When comparing Csuri’s art to De Jong’s software, I can see some similarities with how the computer generates the output. Although different, I believe both artists do well of combining the disciplines of art, science, and math together. They pave the path for contemporary art and help bridge digital technology to art. Where art and technology were once considered separate entities, we now see a convergence. 

"All Colors 2020" by Charles Csuri (https://www.charlescsuri.com/)

Video of "Headless Hug" from Pretenst (https://pretenst.com/construction/2021/12/02/headless-hug).

Event Confirmation (4/7/2022)

Resources:

“Biography.” Charles Csuri, https://www.charlescsuri.com/bio.

De Jong, Gerald. “Headless Hug.” Pretenst, 2 Dec. 2021, https://pretenst.com/construction/2021/12/02/headless-hug.

De Jong, Gerald. “Welcome!” Pretenst, https://pretenst.com/.

Snelson, Kenneth. “The Art of Tensegrity.” INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SPACE STRUCTURES, vol. 27, no. 2 & 3, 2012, pp. 71–80.

Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics-pt1-Zeroperspectivegoldenmean.mov - YouTube.” Youtube, UC Online, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmq5B1LKDg.