“Organic Geometry” (Modular Structure in Nature)

 

           I’ve become interested in exploring the presence of geometry in natural form. Exponential, mathematical pattern development seems to be common to the way structure appears in nature. The systems of regeneration and change over time are engaging, occasionally witnessed with the naked eye or with a microscope. The visual form these take, and the modular, interconnectedness of so much natural structure have influenced my approach.

           The way in which “parts” fit into a “whole” has always interested me. Factors of sociology, cultural familiarity, genetics, geography and geology all influence the outcome of forces set in motion. Language forms like chemical symbols have their own interesting visual organization.

           In nature we see the “systems” and modular structure in cellular membrane, molecules, and honeycomb, with a certain amount of standardization employed in tissue structure. The open mesh skeletal remains of a plant’s capillary system is an illustration of the shape, the function, the interrelatedness of parts and pattern in nature.

           A modular format seems to express this notion of inter-relatedness. The combinations of pentagons and hexagons can begin to shape a space into a concave/convex volume (polyhedron section). That  becomes useful to me for creating screens of  structure that are dynamic as one moves around them. I am hopeful that the forms and spaces evoke an experience that is provocative, pleasant, and one of discovery, without catering to preconceptions about art, beauty, or even craft standards.