122 Incomplete Cubes, 2018
2 ft x 2 ft x 2 ft
Fluorescent light fixtures, electrical components
122 Incomplete Cubes is a sculpture composed of twelve fluorescent light fixtures. This work functions as a reinterpretation of Sol LeWitt’s Variations of Incomplete Open Cubes (1974) by aiming to visualize the 122 variations of an incomplete open cube in a singular object.
In Variations of Incomplete Open Cubes, LeWitt set out to find all the possible three-dimensional structures of a cube by systematically adding edges without repeating identical forms. Sol has famously been acknowledged as a conceptual artist, and has stated that “the idea becomes a machine that makes art.” In this way, his instructions and concepts becomes a core focal point of the work. By developing processes and rules for creating art, LeWitt closely associates his method of conceptual work with that of the mathematical definition of an algorithm. Variations of Incomplete Open Cubes then became the artistic product of the implementation of the algorithmic logic.
122 Incomplete Cubes in turn is also an artistic product of the algorithm. However different from LeWitt’s, this remixed version of an algorithm runs on a micro-controller that systematically turns on and off fluorescent lights to signify which edges of the cube ‘exists’ to form an incomplete open cube. The program displays each variation for half a second, allowing to run through all 122 variations in a minute before resetting.
This work was funded in part by the Greater Columbus Arts Council
