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_zur form (2007)

A collaboration with Thomas Kienzl and Gabriele Engelhardt. The project investigates the relationship between mathematical formulas and their representation as real 3D geometrical forms by taking up a tradition dating back to the 19th century, where concrete plaster models of mathematical formulas were used to facilitate the understanding of complex geometrical problems. These forms helped in a very literal way, to grasp the underlying mathematical ideas. At the beginning of the 20th century, artists got more and more interested in these forms and used them as models for theire photographs or as a source of inspiration for theire sculptures and paintings.
With the rise of computer graphics many new mathematical forms were visualized. Particularly in the fields of fractals and nonlinear dynamics, computers and their graphical output are considered to have been essential tools, to find and investigate new forms since the 80ies of the last century.
For _zur form we made use of the recently established technology of rapid prototyping in order to realize 3D models based on topologically interesting structures from the field of nonlinear dynamics. The presentation of the 3 dimensional forms is completed by an interactive installation consisting of a tangible user interface and a wall projection. Further the presentation is accompanied by photographs of the 3 dimensional negative casts of the forms.
_zur form has been presented for the first time at the art gallery of SIGGRAPH 2007 in San Diego.