Paul Kennedy
I’ve always been fascinated by Darren Aronofsky’s film, Pi. The idea that bigger concepts could be explained through numbers intrigued me. Inspired and envious of the genius minds of mathematicians, I wondered if assigning colours to numbers might allow me to see mathematical patterns while also appreciating the randomness.
Motivated by my initial inspiration, I focused on the first 100 digits of pi and chose colours to represent 0 through 9, assigning 10 common colors. I wanted blue to appear most often so selected it to represent 9, which appears 13 times in the first 100 digits of pi. Red, green and yellow would each appear 12 times and represent 2, 3 and 8 respectively. 4 is deputised by orange 10 times, and purple steps in for 6 on 9 occasions. 0, 1, 5 and 7 each arise 8 times and are fronted by white, grey, pink and black. 10 digits, 10 colours.
Brush in hand, Pi was born as a 10 x 10 grid, painted in heavy body acrylic on canvas and entitled Original Pi. Other pieces emanated in succession. Changes to shapes and shades. Plays on words and phrases. Themes for images. But one constant would remain:
3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592307816406286208998628034825342117067∞
I was born in Northern England and now reside in Northern California.
About the Art
Original Pi
This was the first painting of the Pi series. My vision was clear that this piece would be on a rectangular canvas rather than a square. From a blank canvas to the finished piece, I enjoyed the process. Measuring and accurately drawing the grid, double and triple checking the order and marking the colors. Painting the first coat and then a second coat of heavy body acrylic and reviewing until it looked crisp and clean. Pleased with the finished product and patterns that arose when colors replaced numbers, I wondered if changing the shapes would allow different patterns to emerge, producing a slight variation to the visual while maintaining a consistent conceptual basis.
PiAngles
In the second piece I wanted to explore dividing the canvas into 100 triangles. I found the triangles and consequent larger triangles and diamonds that formed to be oddly satisfying. Same 100 cells, same 10 rows, same 10 colors as Original Pi but with a very different visual outcome. I began playing around with the title, looking for a pun or rhyme to incorporate Pi, and PiAngles was born. Thus began my creative endeavor to entitle each piece with a unique twist or pun.
SPider’s Web
Following PiAngles, I was compelled to consider other shapes. I felt a decagon would offer perfect symmetry starting from the center of the canvas. The first two pieces in the series start with 3.14159653 from the top left of the canvas, reading left to right, from top to bottom. On this piece, I sought to start the number sequence in the center of the painting and build out. The spider’s web effect revealed itself through this process and thus became the ideal name for the third painting.
Shattered Pi
I enjoy the clean, crisp lines and shapes of the paintings; while maintaining this style, I sought to find an concept that would create more random shapes within a single piece. A shattered mirror produces random, unpredictable pieces which I found to be a striking contrast from the predictability of the previous pieces. To mimic this effect, I started at the top left corner with 10 layers and attempted to create a shattered glass effect building towards the bottom right. The right side of this painting is one of my favorite sections of all the pieces.
PiFocal
For the first time with this piece, the title came before the painting. As part of my creative process, I began looking for conceptual inspiration by playing with words in which pi-sounding syllables could be replaced with pi. Ironically, I have poor eyesight and can imagine bifocals will play a part in my future. I sought to create a painting that was both in and out of focus, depending on where one looks; a blurred outside becoming crisp. This piece is the only one in the series where brush strokes are visible, a significant shift from my desire to create images with sharp geometrical edges.
The Speed of Pi
Rays of light start in the middle of the canvas and become wider to provide visual depth. 100 lines merge into the center point, which is in contrast to the other paintings made up of rows and columns of color. For this reason, the patterns aren’t as clear but the artwork begins the same before finding its own visual path. This piece is usually a favorite among friends.