Reza Sarhangi

Professor of Mathematics, Towson University

Reza Sarhangi is interested in Persian geometric art and its historical methods of construction, which he explores using the computer software Geometer's Sketchpad.

Robert Fathauer

Small business owner, puzzle designer, and artist, Tessellations Company

Robert Fathauer creates digital artworks on a Macintosh computer, primarily using the commercial programs FreeHand and Photoshop.

 

“From Buzjani to Perigal ”

2008, Digital print, 18" x 14"



This print features several related geometric dissections. The image at upper left, which demonstrates the dissection of a square to form two smaller squares, is from a tretise by Abul-Wefa Buzjani (940-998). The image at upper right, which demonstrates the dissection of a square to form an 8-pointed star, is from an seven-century-old anonymous Persian manuscript. This is closely related to a nineteenth-century swing-hinged dissection by Henry Perigal in which a square is rearranged to form a larger square with a square hole. Perigal's dissection is illustrated as a puzzle in the lower center and lower right figures in the print. The lower left figure is a modification of Buzjani's dissection that can form the same central figure using a swing-hinged motion.