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A large grid made from very small components is how
I visualized the articulation of this sequence of pi. I created
a system: I defined a specific method for directly articulating
the digits; I defined colors and a sequence for the colors; chose
a number sequence; and followed the plan to create the work. I was
thinking about: identity codes, internal patterns that code the
individual, DNA, external codes, population, individuals and masses.
I wanted to use a pi sequence large enough that a pattern would
be revealed, a pattern that read as some sort of code, a blueprint
that described something specific. Even if it was not clear what
that thing was, I wanted the pattern to resonate a purpose.
Seminal process decisions made for “Identity
Sequence RW pi” began to create, early on, a more architectural
form which later influenced the method by which the individual panels
were joined to create the larger sections. This grid is constructed
from 429 panels in 11 rows and 19 columns. 11 and 19 are prime numbers.
This articulation is a little more complex. Of the two sizes of
panels, the 5”x 7” units are perpendicular to the wall
and the 5”x 5” units are installed parallel to the wall,
joining the perpendicular columns together. Thinking about a medical
lab, specifically glass tiles and blood samples, I settled on two
colors, white and red. The white is really a translucent colorless
resin and the red is expressed in multiple shades of red. The two
colors are alternated to articulate the digits, for example, the
sequence 31415 looks like: 3 red, 1 white, 4 red, 1 white, 5 red.
A second pass over the grid articulates the same digits with the
5”x5” wall-parallel panels, alternating floating and
recessed, so that 3 panels float, 1 is recessed, 4 float, 1 is recessed,
5 float, and so on. The purpose of the dual method was to obscure
an obvious read while revealing a pattern that reads like a code.
The small panels are joined together to form 4 somewhat equally
sized vertical sections. Can be shown as one solid grid or sections
can be separated to accommodate limited linear footage and entry
ways.
Also, focusing on how the material process parallels
identity construction, I crocheted all the units in this group to
be the same. Each single unit used the same stitch and the same
number of stitches to produce a mass of individuals who began exactly
the same but by enduring the steps within this material process,
the cookie cutter units took baby steps towards individuation. There
are many opportunities within each process step to lose control
of the form and distort each unit in its own unique way. Upon first
look, the small units that assemble to create the one large body
seem the same, but in actuality, no two units are.
A prime number is a positive integer
that can only be divided by 1 and itself. Prime numbers stand out
from a sea of other numbers as they are the multiplicative root
of all other numbers. They are the beginning, yet there are an infinite
number of them, they cannot be contained. Often, nature grows in
primes.
Pi by definition is the ratio of the circumference
of a circle to its diameter. Pi is an infinite decimal, it has infinitely
many numbers to the right of the decimal point. These numbers never
repeat in a pattern. Pi is irrational meaning it cannot be written
as a fraction. The first few digits of pi are 3.1415926535897....
Pi is a transcendental number. Transcendental number is not expressible
as an integer or as the root or quotient of integers.
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