Carlo H. Séquin

“Figure_8 Knot”

Bronze, 9" tall, 2007.
Second prize

The Figure_8 Knot is the second simplest knot, which can be drawn in the plane with as few as four crossings. When embedded in 3D space it makes a nice constructivist sculpture. This particular realization has been modeled as a B-spline along which a crescent-shaped cross section has been swept. The orientation of the cross section has been chosen to form a continuous surface of negative Gaussian curvature.

“Chinese Button Knot”

Bronze, 8" tall, 2007.



The Chinese Button Knot is a nine-crossing knot, number 9_40 in the knot table. It actually has more symmetries than one would infer from the usual depiction in these tables. This has been brought out in this 3D sculpture, which has one 3-fold and three 2-fold rotational symmetry axes. It has been implemented as an alternating over-under path on the surface of a sphere, realized by a ribbon of continuous negative Gaussian curvature.



Carlo H. Séquin, Professor of Computer Science, EECS Computer Science Division, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

"My professional work in computer graphics and geometric design has also provided a bridge to the world of art. In 1994 I started to collaborate with Brent Collins, a wood sculptor, who has been creating abstract geometrical art since the early 1980s. Our teamwork has resulted in a program called “Sculpture Generator 1” which allows me to explore many more complex ideas inspired by Collins’ work, and to design and execute such geometries with higher precision. Since 1994, I have constructed several computer-aided tools that allow me to explore and expand upon many great inspirations that I have received from several other artists. It also has resulted in many beautiful mathematical models that I have built for my classes at UC Berkeley, often using the latest computer-driven, layered-manufacturing machines. My profession and my hobby interests merge seamlessly when I explore ever new realms of 'Artistic Geometry'."


sequin@cs,berkeley,edu
http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~sequin/