IIT College of Architecture faculty member to present at SIGGRAPH 2001 conference
Robert Krawczyk, a senior lecturer in IIT’s College of Architecture, will be showing several of his computer-generated abstract artworks at the SIGGRAPH 2001 conference to be held in Los Angeles, August 12 - 17. SIGGRAPH 2001 brings together thousands of professionals in the digital arts to share information on the latest hardware and software and to display their creations during the week-long conference. ACM SIGGRAPH, the leading professional society for computer graphics and interactive techniques, sponsors SIGGRAPH 2001.
A growing fraction of the attendants to the annual SIGGRAPH conference are scientists and mathematicians who have discovered that elements of their research can be turned into art. Many mathematicians use complex formulas to generate art or ideas for artistic creations. Biologists often find beauty in the cellular structures of the organisms they study.
Krawczyk uses an algorithmic generator to develop designs. When the formula is tweaked, the lines created by it shift, curve or thicken. His designs resemble other-worldly emblems or symbols. Says Krawczyk, “These images were developed while investigating geometries for three-dimensional architectural forms. The artwork will now become the basis for architectural designs, as well as fabric patterns, jewelry designs, furniture, and sculpture.”
Krawczyk’s art is based on a mathematical figure called a “spirolateral.” The most basic spirolateral goes right one unit, down two units, left three units, up four units, etc. By modifying the formula, Krawczyk came up with curves and inversions that make each permutation of his designs unique and surprising.
To see hundreds of Krawczyk’s spirolateral designs, go to http://home.netcom.com/~bitart/spexh00.htm.
Krawczyk also showed his spirolateral artwork at the Fourth Annual BRIDGES Conference entitled “Mathematical Creations in Art, Music & Science,” held at Southwestern College, Kansas as well as at the Mathematics & Design Conference at Deakin University in Australia, and at the Information Visualization Conference Art Gallery at the University of London.
Krawczyk hopes to open an exhibit space on campus to show faculty and student artwork based on math or science.
Founded in 1890, IIT is a Ph.D.-granting technological university awarding degrees in the sciences, mathematics and engineering, as well as architecture, psychology, design, business and law. IIT’s interprofessional, technology-focused curriculum prepares the university’s 6,200 students for leadership roles in an increasingly complex and culturally diverse global workplace.
