Reykjavík Grapevine - sep. 2021, Blaðsíða 20

Brid#in#
Mathematics and Art
At ‘Slembilukka’, math is for everybody
Words: Hannah Jane Cohen Photo: Art Bicnick
Info:
The ‘Slembilukka’ workshop will be
Ásmundarsalur until September
23rd, when it will move into the main
exhibition hall. The exhibition will be
called ‘Fullkomi! Fir!rúm’ and will
last until October 3rd, 2021.
“There’s a lot of creative thinking
in math. It’s playful and explorato-
ry,” visual artist Jóhanna Ásgeirs-
dóttir explains, sitting in front of
a chalkboard covered with geomet-
ric shapes and equations. “Math
doesn’t need to be visual to have
a connection with how art works
or how artists think. They are the
same thing—both are having an
interest in the world, looking at
them closely, and trying to under-
stand them.”
Jóhanna is joined by fellow art-
ist Daníel Magnússon, who, along
with artist Anna Hrund Másdót-
tir, just opened up a workshop at
Ásmundarsalur entitled ‘Slembi-
lukka.’
Math is art
“We’re calling it a lab or workshop,
but we will be here thinking about
math. We’re all visual artists so
we will be thinking about math as
an art or philosophy,” she contin-
ues. “But it’s open—we don’t know
where it’s going to go.”
The trio will eventually move
their lab to the main exhibition
hall in Ásmundarsalur, present-
ing an exhibit entitled ‘Fullkomi!
Fir!rúm’. But for now, they spend
their days diving into all facets of
mathematics—from probability
to higher dimensions to discrete
structures—looking at them from
the perspective of fine artists.
Lessons from Euler
The group recently tackled math-
ematician Leonhard Euler and the
Seven Bridges of Königsberg, a
problem that laid the foundations
for graph theory.
The gist of the experiment is
whether it was possible for one
to cross all seven bridges in the
Prussian city of Königsberg in one
walk without double crossing one
bridge. This deceptively simple
problem had baffled many, until
Euler changed the game. Instead
of focusing on the location of each
bridge, he zeroed in on the num-
ber, creating a diagram of the city
that put a “point” on each area of
the tow n and
“ l i n e s ” c o n -
necting them.
Of course, you
m i g h t k n o w
these symbols
as other things:
v e r t i c e s a n d
edges. Yes, Euler
had made what
we now call a
graph, putting
into motion fu-
ture studies on
how spaces in-
teract with each
other.
“It seems like
a simple puzzle
that would have no consequences
for anything else, but it describes
how systems with multiple points
and connections work, which is
now used in transmitting infor-
mation on the internet or putting
pipes in a house,” Jóhanna ex-
plains.
The group also explored Eul-
er’s polyhedron formula, which
describes how, if you are in three
dimensions, you can take the ver-
tices of a polyhedron, subtract the
edges and add the faces, and you
will always get two.
“I thought these were discon-
nected ideas—the polyhedrons
and the bridges—but you can
transform a polyhedron into a two-
dimensional network and the rules
apply, so they are intimately con-
nected. This is simple math, addi-
tion and subtraction, but they have
large systematic consequences,”
she continues. “I’ve been thinking
about the geometry of that while
Daníel was thinking about the sys-
tems. But it’s the same thing.”
It’s the basis of shapes—the ba-
sis of art.
A place for experiments
The workshop aims to reach a
much broader audience than just
the three of them and their own
discoveries. The lab is for every-
one, so ‘Slembilukka’ is opened to
the masses on Thursdays. Students
can bring their math homework if
they need help,
or just come sit
and discuss any
special mathe-
matical interests
they have.
“It’s a place for
ex per i ments,”
Jóha n na says.
“ P e o p l e c a n
c o m e i n a n d
talk about these
connections be-
tween art and
m a t h .” S h e ’s
a l so qu ick to
note that while
the official of-
fice hours are
on Thursday, the group are there
nearly all the time, so feel free to
stop in any day, if your Thursdays
are already booked.
“We are all interested in chang-
ing the idea that math is only for
scholars and educated people,”
Daníel concludes. “Math is for ev-
erybody and everybody can learn
math.”
Arti8 Gallery
Tryggvagata 16
101 Reykjavík
info@i8.is
t: +354 551 3666
www.i8.is
@i8gallery
N. DASH
K.R.M. MOONEY
B. INGRID OLSON
Elisions
9 September - 30 October 2021
CARRIE YAMAOKA
Open daily
10h00–17h00
artmuseum.is
#reykjavikartmuseum
Ásmundarsafn
Sigtúni
105 Reykjavík
+354 411 6430
13.05.–03.10.2021
Sirra Sigrún Sigurðardóttir
Ásmundur Sveinsson
As If to
Demonstrate
an Eclipse
So get o! your ath, let's do some math, math math math math math
“[Art and math]
are the same
thing—both
are having an
interest in the
world, looking
at it closely,
and trying to
understand it."