Round Things
This set of digital objects was created in parallel to “Drawing with Spheres”. It began with the equation of the unit sphere and applied simple kinematics to a set of rotating and interrelated spherical objects. During the course of rotation, each spherical object is subject to simplification, shifting from the curvature of a sphere to the faceted form of an inscribed polyhedron. The entire figure is composed of two polylines connected by planar surfaces. Color is applied using a linear interpolation so that each shift in color corresponds to a change in rotation. The project was generated in python inside of the modeling application of Rhinoceros 3D. This project considers the potential of simple mathematics and geometry (the unit sphere) to propel investigations into new media. The source of this project is a reading of Henri Poincare:
If we construct a material circle, measure its radius and circumference, and see if the ratio of these two lengths is equal to π , what shall we have done? We shall have made an experiment on the properties of the matter with which we constructed this round thing, and of that which the measure used was made. (Henri Poincare, Science and Hypothesis, 1902)