I need the name of  a German painter and mathematician from the 20th
century.  He made sculptures of moebius strips (spelling! sorry).  His
paintings were usually square containing a series of, say 9 squares
(not Josef Albers, please), using three colors. The point of the
paintings was the relationship of the colored squares ( e.g. the pink
square occurred every third square except when you count them
backwards, then they related in another more mathematical way. Can you
tell I'm not a math major?)  He had a show at the LA County Museum of
Art sometime between 1973 and 1975. His first name might have been Max.

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Request for Question Clarification by rainbow-ga on 04 Jan 2005 23:48 PST

Hi penni,

Could you be thinking of Max Bill?

From the LA County Museum of Art website:

Max Bill 
Switzerland, 1908-1994

"After training at the Bauhaus with Josef Albers, Max Bill adopted
Dutch modernist Theo van Doesburg's theory of concrete art based on
mathematics, which Bill believed "enable[d] certain problems to be
solved without compromise, in a world which is full of compromises and
failed speculations." Bill was highly successful in proselytizing his
theories in the decades following World War II. His work's underlying
implication that the rigor of scientific thinking could ensure moral
and intellectual authority for art in the face of social and political
instability was both compelling and deeply troubling for artists."

http://www.lacma.org/beyondgeometry/


"Max Bill (1908-1994) Max Bill was a graphic artist, sculptor, and
painter who studied at the Bauhaus. He made a number of sculptures
based Moebius strips, many of which are displayed in public places.
"I am convinced it is possible to evolve a new form of art in which
the artist's work could be founded to quite a substantial degree on a
mathematical line of approach to its content.""

http://www.mathartfun.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/Profiles.html


"These checkerboard images, compositions of squares, are a long-time
discipline of Max Bill's. In 1983, the color lithograph, Komposition
83 (Composition 83), was printed by Erker Presse, St. Gallen. The
white background becomes a fixed form, and two overlapping rectangles
are linked in a prismatic color gradation. Bill knew how to crown
contemporary functional ideas of this bright serenity. Four equally
bright, either cold or warm colors alternate in ever new combinations.
In his later work, he creates related compositions on canvas. This is
perfection based on geometric order."
 
http://www.grafos-verlag.com/artists/english/BILLg.htm

Waiting to hear your views.

Best wishes,
Rainbow

---

Clarification of Question by penni-ga on 06 Jan 2005 23:10 PST

Yup!  Great work.  Thank you very much for finding this.

Hi penni,

I'm pleased the artist I found is the one you are asking about. I am
re-posting the information in my clarification here for your
convenience.


Max Bill 
Switzerland, 1908-1994

"After training at the Bauhaus with Josef Albers, Max Bill adopted
Dutch modernist Theo van Doesburg's theory of concrete art based on
mathematics, which Bill believed "enable[d] certain problems to be
solved without compromise, in a world which is full of compromises and
failed speculations." Bill was highly successful in proselytizing his
theories in the decades following World War II. His work's underlying
implication that the rigor of scientific thinking could ensure moral
and intellectual authority for art in the face of social and political
instability was both compelling and deeply troubling for artists."

LA County Museum of Art
http://www.lacma.org/beyondgeometry/


"Max Bill (1908-1994) Max Bill was a graphic artist, sculptor, and
painter who studied at the Bauhaus. He made a number of sculptures
based Moebius strips, many of which are displayed in public places.
"I am convinced it is possible to evolve a new form of art in which
the artist's work could be founded to quite a substantial degree on a
mathematical line of approach to its content.""

Math Art Fun: Profiles in math & art
http://www.mathartfun.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/Profiles.html


"These checkerboard images, compositions of squares, are a long-time
discipline of Max Bill's. In 1983, the color lithograph, Komposition
83 (Composition 83), was printed by Erker Presse, St. Gallen. The
white background becomes a fixed form, and two overlapping rectangles
are linked in a prismatic color gradation. Bill knew how to crown
contemporary functional ideas of this bright serenity. Four equally
bright, either cold or warm colors alternate in ever new combinations.
In his later work, he creates related compositions on canvas. This is
perfection based on geometric order."

Grafos Verlag 
http://www.grafos-verlag.com/artists/english/BILLg.htm


Search criteria:
German painter OR artist mathematician 
artist mathematician colors squares
artist "Moebius strips" sculptor
"Max *" "Moebius strips" 


Best wishes,
Rainbow