ARTIST BIO

Frank A. Farris is a mathematical artist, working in digital art since the late '90s. His work has been seen in solo exhibitions at such places as Cornell University, Temple University, Pacific University, Pomona College, and Carleton College. The thing that makes Farris's art different is the way he uses continuous mathematics, especially the smooth waves of Fouier theory, to create patterns; this is quite a contrast from artists who draw on discrete geometry or fractals.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Angel Clouds from a Lone Tree (2016)

In his book, Creating Symmetry, the Artful Mathematics of Wallpaper Patterns (Princeton, 2015), Farris explains how to use wave functions to produce wallpaper patterns from photographs. In this pattern, we see a pattern where angels seem to arise from a photograph of a lone tree over a lake in the Sierra Nevada. Look for 4-fold rotational symmetry in this pattern, with a combination of mirror symmetry in some places and pinwheel symmetries in others. The work is meant to balance the rigidity of symmetry with the organic flow of nature.