Archive for the ‘Chris Jordan’ Category

Because of the pressures of daily teaching and correcting papers, I made the decision on November 1 to THINK ART every day, so on those days/nights when I was busy with school work, I would still treat myself to viewing some art. Now, that said, most of the art I tend to look at has an interesting math connection. Herewith, some interesting things I’ve found on line.

Chris Jordan does some very interesting photography work. You really need to take the time and look through all his exhibits. I am particularly fond of his “Running the Numbers” series. Here’s what he says about his second series, Running the Numbers 2:

“This new series looks at mass phenomena that occur on a global scale. Similarly to the first Running the Numbers series, each image portrays a specific quantity of something: the number of tuna fished from the world’s oceans every fifteen minutes, for example. But this time the statistics are global in scale, rather than specifically American.”

2,300,000 number of adults incarcerated in US prisons.

A Seurat masterpiece (Sunday in the Park)done entirely in soda cans.

Depicts 2.4 million pieces of plastic, equal to the estimated number of pounds of plastic pollution that enter the world’s oceans every hour. All of the plastic in this image was collected from the Pacific Ocean. You have to check out the website to see the close-ups of this.

Fractals are a relatively recent development in mathematics and art, thanks to computer programs. Fractal eXtreme is available for purchase, but just check out their gallery to get an idea of how gorgeous these are! And now…I just discovered a web ring of infinite fractal loop – I know what I’ll be doing when I’m not grading graphs tonight….

This is from the Number Theory Room of Linas Art Gallery. I don’t even presume to understand the math involved….

Just enjoy!

So I forgot the camera again today. A picture of me ironing paper would have been a priceless record of this art year. I got a recipe on line for making “parchment” paper – crumple up construction paper, smooth it out, do a water-color wash, and then when dry, iron it between newsprint.

It worked. Took a while to get the iron hot enough – I kept inching up the heat, because I had visions of setting a fire in the classroom. Took my time, and it really made a difference in the paper – made it stronger with all the moisture gone, and really made the paper look aged.

Then the kids really got into making copies from online of a medieval alphabet – traced with pencil and then used a thin black pen to outline it. They will start with color on Wednesday. Most of my eighth graders were walking around quite proud of their work.

Fabulous art site to show the kids next week – Chris Jordan – some very interesting environmental messages to his work. Click on his “Running the Numbers” – great blend of math and art!

Camera tomorrow – get it now and put it by the lunch bucket….camera….camera….camera….