Anne Burns
“Summertime”
Digital print, 14" x 11", 2007.
I use mathematics to invent algorithms and recursive subroutines that model structures found in nature such as clouds, trees and flowers. The program that generated this picture was written in Visual Basic.
“Sierpinski Triangle Eroding”
Digital print, 12" x 11", 2007.
The parameters in an iterated function system are gradually changed. At one
extreme the limit set is the famous Sierpinski Triangle; as the parameters change
the triangle appears to erode into a new fractal.
Anne Burns, Professor of Mathematics, Long Island University.
"Just out of high school I entered Pratt Institute to major in art. For a number
of years I painted in oils and water colors. I returned to college in my thirties
and found that I loved mathematics. I never realized the connections between
math and art until I bought my first computer and began writing computer programs.
This enabled me to combine my love of art with my love of mathematics. Another
of my interests is identifying wildflowers; this led to writing programs trying
to imitate the structure of plants and other forms found in nature. I love programming
and I am fascinated by the process of recursion and how it can be used to create
pictures of astonishing complexity with very little code."