"Although a fascination with the fourth dimension and the search for ways of depicting it have engaged artists for more than a century, only the computer makes such depiction truly possible. Using the computer as a tool, painter and sculptor Tony Robbin has devoted his life as an artist to this quest. Fourfield is both a record of that quest and an eloquent testament to the value of its fulfillment." "The understanding and appreciation of space as presented in works of art have changed over the centuries, and Robbin suggests that the time is ripe for our perception of space to undergo another radical shift. He makes clear that "seeing" space in three dimensions is merely a culturally based assumption, no more and no less valid than apprehending space in any other way. This realization frees us to understand space much as a computer might--as fluid, ever changing, and dynamic. It has also freed Robbin to create exhilarating and amazing works, derived from his original blending of art, science, and mathematics." "Fourfield is a firsthand account of the artist's visual, intellectual, and philosophical evolution, which has taken him from paintings in a traditional two-dimensional format to those in which rods extending from the canvas and the shadows they produce present a visual experience of four dimensions. Most recently, Robbin has created sculpture that incorporates quasicrystals ("crystals" made up of nonrepeating patterns) and whose appearance varies with the viewer's position and the orientation of light. This experimentation is suggesting startling new directions in architecture as well." "To assist the reader in comprehending this seemingly magical world, Fourfield comes with an image of a pattern of four-dimensional cubes, known as hypercubes, and special glasses through which to view it. Also included is an order form for a diskette containing a number of the computer programs developed by Robbin as he explored the world of computers and art." "Written with a voice of eloquence and clarity for anyone interested in art, science, mathematics, computers, or philosophy, Fourfield is, however, not for the timid. Just as Douglas Hofstadter's Godel, Escher, Bach and Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance altered their readers' perceptions, readers of Fourfield will find their way of seeing the world changed forever."--BOOK JACKET

Fourfield : computers, art, & the fourth dimension

Fourfield : computers, art and the 4th dimension

Robbin, Tony; Rucker, Rudy v. B. (Rudy von Bitter), 1946-; Henderson, Linda Dalrymple, 1948-

Tony Robbin; Rudy v B Rucker; Linda Dalrymple Henderson

Little Brown & Company

Boston: Little, Brown

Springboard Press

Bulfinch Pr

United States, United States of America

A Bullfinch Press book, Boston, 1992

1st, First Edition, PS, 1992

Text cut off.
Text cut off in gutter.
The papers of this book made it reflective when scanned.
Page 148-151 are physically missing.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 188-191) and index.
"A Bulfinch Press book".
Accompanied by 3D hypercube drawing and stereo red and blue cardboard glasses.

199 pages : 26 cm
Although a fascination with the fourth dimension and the search for ways of depicting it have engaged artists for more than a century, only the computer makes such depiction truly possible. Using the computer as a tool, painter and sculptor Tony Robbin has devoted his life as an artist to this quest. Fourfield is both a record of that quest and an eloquent testament to the value of its fulfillment. The understanding and appreciation of space as presented in works of art have changed over the centuries, and Robbin suggests that the time is ripe for our perception of space to undergo another radical shift. He makes clear that "seeing" space in three dimensions is merely a culturally based assumption, no more and no less valid than apprehending space in any other way. This realization frees us to understand space much as a computer might--as fluid, ever changing, and dynamic. It has also freed Robbin to create exhilarating and amazing works, derived from his original blending of art, science, and mathematics. Fourfield is a firsthand account of the artist's visual, intellectual, and philosophical evolution, which has taken him from paintings in a traditional two-dimensional format to those in which rods extending from the canvas and the shadows they produce present a visual experience of four dimensions. Most recently, Robbin has created sculpture that incorporates quasicrystals ("crystals" made up of nonrepeating patterns) and whose appearance varies with the viewer's position and the orientation of light. This experimentation is suggesting startling new directions in architecture as well. To assist the reader in comprehending this seemingly magical world, Fourfield comes with an image of a pattern of four-dimensional cubes, known as hypercubes, and special glasses through which to view it. Also included is an order form for a diskette containing a number of the computer programs developed by Robbin as he explored the world of computers and art. Written with a voice of eloquence and clarity for anyone interested in art, science, mathematics, computers, or philosophy, Fourfield is, however, not for the timid. Just as Douglas Hofstadter's Godel, Escher, Bach and Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance altered their readers' perceptions, readers of Fourfield will find their way of seeing the world changed forever
"A Bulfinch Press book."
Accompanied by 3D hypercube drawing and stereo red and blue cardboard glasses
Includes bibliographical references (pages 188-191) and index
Foreword / Rudy Rucker -- Introduction / Linda Dalrymple Henderson -- 1. Einstein's Cave -- 2. Emotional Equations: Space in Mathematics and Art -- 3. Chinese Boxes and Shadows from Heaven -- 4. Patterns in the Ether -- 5. Curvature: Lobofour and Nonclid -- 6. Time in Space: Three Enigmas of Space -- 7. Exebar Speaks! -- Appendix 1: Vincent Van Gogh's Letter -- Appendix 2: Hardware and Software Notes

Probing terrain from which most artists run - relativity, non-euclidean geometry, hypercubes and quasicrystals, this book assists the reader in seeing 4D imagery, packaged with "Fourfield" 3D glasses, which are also effective with the computer software available by mail to the book's buyers.

An artist blurs the boundaries between art and science and probes into the realms of relativity, non-Euclidean geometry, hypercubes, and quasicrystals in an effort to depict a fourth dimension.

2023-06-28