Round Things
If we construct a material circle, measure its radius and circumference, and see if the ratio of these two lengths is equal to π , what shall we have done? We shall have made an experiment on the properties of the matter with which we constructed this round thing, and of that which the measure used was made. (Henri Poincaré, Science and Hypothesis, 1902)
The circle is perhaps one of the most iconic geometric figures in the history of drawing. Its prominent position in Euclid’s Elements ensured its appearance in treatise on drawing and geometry. And yet the circle, like all geometry, cannot be realized in material form. We can describe it as, Henri Poincaré points out, by the ratio of its radius and its circumference. We can also make a rough material approximation, a “round thing”, with a compass, a string, a computer or a numerically controlled cutting device. Regardless of the relative precision or sophistication of a digital or analog device, a true circle cannot be visualized or fabricated. Instead, we are left with “round things” that have the appearance of circles but are in fact not. roundThings() is a custom interactive software that uses the approximation of circular geometry and lighting to generate an endless configuration of round objects.
The project consists of a projected real-time interactive software written in javascript and glsl, The light influences the rendering of the surface in both hatching and contouring, but also changes the shape of the round thing. Every round thing within the software is constantly approximating another more precise geometry that can never described in material form. The projected imagery are precise miscalculations of ideal geometries. The images are then translated into instruction for a numerically controlled pen plotter and plotted in blue and black ink. There are no spheres or circles, only round things rendered in the material of which “the measure was made”—pixels.