An Artist’s Apology: “I contain multitudes”
Chawne Kimber

Proceedings of Bridges 2024: Mathematics, Art, Music, Architecture, Culture
Pages 1–1
Invited Papers

Abstract

When one is a Professor of Mathematics and later unintentionally becomes an Artist too, these planes of existence can feel independent of each other while they are also quite intimately connected. Despite open acknowledgement of the intertwining of these identities, one can feel caught off-guard by frequently asked questions that are technical: “How does math influence one’s artwork? And vice versa?” The invitation for this presentation became the impetus finally to frame some coherent responses. The answers in this case are not easily explained since, by design, they are rarely directly represented by typical math-inspired visual elements in the art. Yet, the answers become manifestly clear once the viewer is willing to give credence to all the dimensions of one’s identity and the intersectional outcomes in social contexts. In this journey-based talk we will reflect on this internal and external identity conflict, the context of the Mathematics community, (mathematics and) social justice, and manifestations of these three things in textile art.

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