Computer generation of ribbed sculptures

Abstract

Charles Perry's monumental sculpture Solstice is analyzed and its generative geometrical logic based on a twisted toroidal sweep is captured in a computer program with interactively adjustable control parameters. This program is then used to generate other models of ribbed sculptures based on one or more interlinked torus knots. From this family of sculptures related to Perry's Solstice we derive a broader paradigm for the generation of "ribbed" sculptures. It is based on one or two simple, mathematically defined "guide rails," which are then populated with a dense set of thinner "ribs" to create lightweight, transparent surfaces. With this broadened concept and a few suitably modified and parameterized programs we can emulate many other ribbed sculptures by Charles Perry and also create new sculpture designs and mathematical visualization models that profit from the semi-transparent look of these structures.