Leonardo

Saddle Motifs Deployed in Indefinitely Extendible Helical ContinuitiesAuthor(s): Brent CollinsSource: Leonardo, Vol. 30, No. 1 (1997), p. 68Published by: The MIT PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1576382 .

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SADDLE MOTIFS DEPLOYED IN INDEFINITELY EXTENDIBLE HELICAL CONTINUITIES Brent Collins (sculptor), 90 Railroad Avenue, Gower, MO 64454, U.S.A.

Received 20January 1995. Acceptedfor publication by Roger F Malina.

In my series of saddle-motif sculptures (Figs 2 and 3), I deployed saddle-form modules in spiral progression around the longitudinal axis of each work. In

creating these sculptures I was guided by a visual and kinaesthetic sense of their innermost logic, and as I pro- ceeded with each I was surprised by the

emergence of a topological fecundity, the integral subtlety of which I had en-

tirely failed to perceive in its originating logic.

In Spiral Minimalization II (Fig. 3), for instance, the ribbon edges not only spi- ral around the sculpture's periphery, but they also epicyclically spiral around an imaginary line defining the mean surface curvature of its peripheral cir- cuits. I had foreseen the former effect in the germinal logic of the work, along with the "either/or" cheirality inherent in the progression of any spiral, but the

epicycloid spiral was an unanticipated

Fig. 2. Brent Collins, Spiral Minimalization I, wood, 12 x 12 x 72 in, 1994. Four spirals are synchronized to intersect at 90? angles in this sculpture's germinal logic. The sur- faces spanning them at their crossings are saddles articulated laterally in relation to the sculpture's longitudinal axis. (Photo: Phillip Geller)

SADDLE MOTIFS DEPLOYED IN INDEFINITELY EXTENDIBLE HELICAL CONTINUITIES Brent Collins (sculptor), 90 Railroad Avenue, Gower, MO 64454, U.S.A.

Received 20January 1995. Acceptedfor publication by Roger F Malina.

In my series of saddle-motif sculptures (Figs 2 and 3), I deployed saddle-form modules in spiral progression around the longitudinal axis of each work. In

creating these sculptures I was guided by a visual and kinaesthetic sense of their innermost logic, and as I pro- ceeded with each I was surprised by the

emergence of a topological fecundity, the integral subtlety of which I had en-

tirely failed to perceive in its originating logic.

In Spiral Minimalization II (Fig. 3), for instance, the ribbon edges not only spi- ral around the sculpture's periphery, but they also epicyclically spiral around an imaginary line defining the mean surface curvature of its peripheral cir- cuits. I had foreseen the former effect in the germinal logic of the work, along with the "either/or" cheirality inherent in the progression of any spiral, but the

epicycloid spiral was an unanticipated

Fig. 2. Brent Collins, Spiral Minimalization I, wood, 12 x 12 x 72 in, 1994. Four spirals are synchronized to intersect at 90? angles in this sculpture's germinal logic. The sur- faces spanning them at their crossings are saddles articulated laterally in relation to the sculpture's longitudinal axis. (Photo: Phillip Geller)

dimension I only became aware of as it

emerged during the creation of the work. Later study also revealed that the

cheirality of the ribbon edges as they spiral around the periphery-and that of their epicyclic spiral around their mean peripheral circuits-is always the same: in the sculpture, both ascend counterclockwise. Capping all this is a traceable contour line spiraling through the piece's interior that is con-

tinually equidistant from its longitudi- nal. The contour line has an integrally opposite cheirality to that of the exte- rior spiral of its ribbon edges. Again, I did not discover this aspect until I ex-

plored the nearly completed piece by threading two lengths of twine, one on each of its opposite sides.

Four spirals are synchronized to

quadrangularly intersect at 90? angles in the germinal logic of Spiral Minimalization I (see Fig. 2). Saddle cur- vatures span these intersections with

soap-film economy. As it happens, these

spirals ascend in a clockwise spiral, al-

though a counterclockwise cheirality could have been chosen. This piece's ribbon edges traverse its interior at suc- cessive levels, between which they heli-

cally skirt its exterior in clockwise ascension, creating the successive outer

spiral segments. Interestingly, as these

Fig. 3. Brent Collins, Spiral Minimalization II, wood, 12 x 12 x 56 in, 1994. The mini- mal surface modules in this sculpture merge saddles articulated both vertically and laterally in relation to its longitudinal axis and are serially woven around it in a continuous helical pattern. (Photo: Phillip Geller)

dimension I only became aware of as it

emerged during the creation of the work. Later study also revealed that the

cheirality of the ribbon edges as they spiral around the periphery-and that of their epicyclic spiral around their mean peripheral circuits-is always the same: in the sculpture, both ascend counterclockwise. Capping all this is a traceable contour line spiraling through the piece's interior that is con-

tinually equidistant from its longitudi- nal. The contour line has an integrally opposite cheirality to that of the exte- rior spiral of its ribbon edges. Again, I did not discover this aspect until I ex-

plored the nearly completed piece by threading two lengths of twine, one on each of its opposite sides.

Four spirals are synchronized to

quadrangularly intersect at 90? angles in the germinal logic of Spiral Minimalization I (see Fig. 2). Saddle cur- vatures span these intersections with

soap-film economy. As it happens, these

spirals ascend in a clockwise spiral, al-

though a counterclockwise cheirality could have been chosen. This piece's ribbon edges traverse its interior at suc- cessive levels, between which they heli-

cally skirt its exterior in clockwise ascension, creating the successive outer

spiral segments. Interestingly, as these

Fig. 3. Brent Collins, Spiral Minimalization II, wood, 12 x 12 x 56 in, 1994. The mini- mal surface modules in this sculpture merge saddles articulated both vertically and laterally in relation to its longitudinal axis and are serially woven around it in a continuous helical pattern. (Photo: Phillip Geller)

edges traverse the interior they face successive cardinal directions at each level, progressing from one to the next in opposite cheirality to that of the four

spirals. In each piece, the interior cheirality

runs counter to those of its exterior, demonstrating an affinity that underlies their obvious differences.

In my view the potential profundity of an aesthetic directly relates to its

analytic subtlety. The poetry of science can only be realized in an art no less subtle-then between art and science there can be a symbiosis of inspiration.

THE KINAESTHESIA OF SUN AND WIND Alex Nicoloff (artist), 1729 Virginia Street, Berkeley, CA 94703, U.S.A.

Manuscript received 14 November 1995.

Accepted for publication by Roger E Malina.

Watching sewer pipe being laid in the street one day, I wondered what it would look like if it were cut into pieces and

suspended as a sculpture. I asked for and was given a scrap that I then sliced

up into eight pieces. Using heavy nylon filament, I hung each one of them by its

edge and varied the length of the filament's intervals from top to bottom so they could rotate freely (Fig. 4).

After a few days, curious regularities began appearing in their otherwise ran- dom behavior. On cool summer morn-

ings in the San Francisco Bay Area when dense fog enshrouds everything, the

rings moved so imperceptibly as a group as to appear virtually still, locked in spi- ral symmetry. As the sun arose, burning off the fog, it generated gentle air cur- rents, causing each ring to move around the others in an undulating, graceful sweep. Spinning around a thin filament of dominating, centripetal power, the

rings would move towards or away from each other but would never touch.

Eventually, their acrobatic motions became quite turbulent, reaching a

peak when the entire suspension began swaying from side to side. All of the

rings jiggled up and down, each in their own counterpoint, in what came to be a fascinating display of orderly turbulence.

The weight of the ensemble pulling down caused the lower rings to gradu- ally assume horizontal positions as they neared the top. By placing a disk at the

edges traverse the interior they face successive cardinal directions at each level, progressing from one to the next in opposite cheirality to that of the four

spirals. In each piece, the interior cheirality

runs counter to those of its exterior, demonstrating an affinity that underlies their obvious differences.

In my view the potential profundity of an aesthetic directly relates to its

analytic subtlety. The poetry of science can only be realized in an art no less subtle-then between art and science there can be a symbiosis of inspiration.

THE KINAESTHESIA OF SUN AND WIND Alex Nicoloff (artist), 1729 Virginia Street, Berkeley, CA 94703, U.S.A.

Manuscript received 14 November 1995.

Accepted for publication by Roger E Malina.

Watching sewer pipe being laid in the street one day, I wondered what it would look like if it were cut into pieces and

suspended as a sculpture. I asked for and was given a scrap that I then sliced

up into eight pieces. Using heavy nylon filament, I hung each one of them by its

edge and varied the length of the filament's intervals from top to bottom so they could rotate freely (Fig. 4).

After a few days, curious regularities began appearing in their otherwise ran- dom behavior. On cool summer morn-

ings in the San Francisco Bay Area when dense fog enshrouds everything, the

rings moved so imperceptibly as a group as to appear virtually still, locked in spi- ral symmetry. As the sun arose, burning off the fog, it generated gentle air cur- rents, causing each ring to move around the others in an undulating, graceful sweep. Spinning around a thin filament of dominating, centripetal power, the

rings would move towards or away from each other but would never touch.

Eventually, their acrobatic motions became quite turbulent, reaching a

peak when the entire suspension began swaying from side to side. All of the

rings jiggled up and down, each in their own counterpoint, in what came to be a fascinating display of orderly turbulence.

The weight of the ensemble pulling down caused the lower rings to gradu- ally assume horizontal positions as they neared the top. By placing a disk at the bottom to serve as anchor and vane, I increased the tension in the filament between the rings, causing the rings to

bottom to serve as anchor and vane, I increased the tension in the filament between the rings, causing the rings to

68 Artists' Statements 68 Artists' Statements

This content downloaded from 185.44.78.144 on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 13:02:15 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions