The Notion of Infinity

“Sugimoto’s sculptures in particular are a testimony of the intricate relationship between art and mathematics,” says Klaus Ottmann, curator of Hiroshi Sugimoto: Conceptual Forms and Mathematical Models. “Both art and mathematics deal with the unimaginable, the non-represent-able; in this case the notion of infinity.”

Man Ray’s Shakespearean Equations: Merry Wives of Windsor

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(left) Man Ray, Shakespearean Equation, Merry Wives of Windsor, 1948. Oil on canvas, 24 x 18 1/8 in. Private Collection, Courtesy Fondazione Marconi, Milan. © Man Ray Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY / ADAGP, Paris 2015 (right) Mathematical Object: Imaginary and Real Part of the Derivative of the Weierstrass ℘–Function, c. 1900. Plaster, 6 1/2 × 8 × 5 7/8 in. Brill-Schilling Collection. Institut Henri Poincaré, Paris. Photo: Elie Posner

Man Ray explained that the mathematical model of an elliptical function in this Shakespearean Equation reminded him of “the group of merry wives of Windsor getting together to gossip and laugh.” A former Phillips intern remarked that the artist’s dash of color in his interpretation of this mathematical model really does make it merrier.

I Spy with My Little Eye…

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We’ve been loving all of the incredible submissions to our InstaManRay in-gallery experience inspired by Man Ray’s photos of mathematical equations. Visitors to Man Ray–Human Equations can snap photos of 3D printed mathematical models and share them via Instagram (see a previous roundup here).

Some of our favorites have been photos that use the mathematical objects as frames. What do you spy in these photos? See more by following the projects Instagram account @InstaManRay2015 or #InstaManRay.

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