Visionary applied geometer Ron Resch, who passed away in 2012, is the subject of the incredible documentary embedded above, that, while by no means new (it was produced back in the grainy days of 1970) seemed worth posting here. Over the course of its more than 40 minutes of mind-altering geometry and material experimentation, we watch Resch unfold, stretch, expand, and play with a mind-boggling wizardry of handmade models that seem to be blink in and out of the ordinary world.
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If you need something to roll smoothly along the ground, you better strap some of those circular things called wheels to it, right? Well, not quite—because there are actually other shapes that roll smoothly, too.
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Photographer Michael Shainblum shot video footage in a bunch of cities: Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. They’re all famous cities that people photograph and explore every day so he wanted to do something different. And kind of out there. He moves from simple reflections to crazy kaleidoscopic effects to create a completely trippy and amazing sequence. It took about four months to put this video together, and hopefully Shainblum thinks it was worth it. Because it was totally worth it. [Colossal]
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iOS has filters and drawing apps up the wazoo, so it can be hard to see the point of new ones. But Isometric allows you to create and manipulate designs and optical illusions that are weirdly compelling. It’s something about starting from a blank screen and building such a dimensional pattern.
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There’s hardly a better day for grilling than the 4th of July, and what better way to celebrate a nation’s independence than barbecuing with a charcoal grill that celebrates freedom from traditional geometry?
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If M.C. Escher were still alive today, I’m betting he’d redo all of the floors in his house with these wood tiles…
Madrid, Spain flooring contractor Arbore created these awesome hardwood pieces in the form of Escher’s famous interlocking geometric reptiles.
Though if Escher had these in his house, actual lizards would emerge from the edges of the floor when you step on it. He’d also have to cover the walls and the ceilings with these, since I bet there was no difference between those and the floor in his house.
[via Buzzfeed on Facebook]
Before there was Adobe Creative Suite, digital art degrees, and New Aesthetic, there was Manfred Mohr grappling with ideas of logic, programming, and what he could make computers do in the early 1970s. Now, you can watch some of Mohr’s beautiful experiments on YouTube. More »
Pool is simple if you know your geometry. And physics. And have good hand-eye coordination. And while none of those seem that hard on their own, they can be a little tough to put together. But with a little help from tech, it becomes as easy as just keeping your eyes open. More »
You’ve seen the pose. One or two phones or tablets standing straight up. Another leaning up against the first at an angle. And somehow, they’re all the exact same height. ARRRRGHHH. You learn this crap in middle school, right? Reddit pointed how absurd this seems earlier today. More »
I always loved playing with my Spirograph when I was a little kid. Of course, now with tablet and computer painting apps, it’s hard to imagine going back to such a simple creative plaything. But sometimes, simplicity is fun too. One graffiti artist still loves his Spirograph, and it inspired him to make a giant one.
Using the basic principles behind the original Spirograph, street artist Narcélio Grud bent a large metal rod into a circle, and then attached a rig which allows a set of smaller wheels (made from bicycles) to spin around on the inside and holds the spray can button down. As he turns the wheel, a rotating geometric pattern appears, just like with the original Spirograph toy. Adjusting a couple of bolts that hold the spray can let him create a virtually infinite number of patterns. Here, check it out in action:
While the effect isn’t as precise as using a pen and paper, it’s still a cool idea, and I’d love to see someone make a motorized version of this thing sometime.
[via Rebelart via Nerdcore (DE)]
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