Group Theory

PROJECTS 2008

Group Theory describes the mathematical discipline concerned with algebraic structures that assemble in various ways, according to basic axioms. Group Theory maintains that a simple set of rules, executed across generations of trials may produce many complex and distinct outcomes. Modules, male at one end and female at the other (like a button and a buttonhole), can join to a part identical to itself in four distinct ways. By scaling the part to include two male and two female ends, the possibilities for connection – also called "symmetries" – increase to sixteen. I produced these forms by creating a given number of parts and "playing out" a set of choices for their interconnection.

This is a reconfigurable sculpture made of 256 identical modules. Each module is handcrafted from birch plywood. The sculpture assembles without glue or fasteners.

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This reconfigurable sculpture is made of 192 identical, lacquered, plywood modules. Each module joins to the next without glue or fasteners.

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This project started as a large poplar beam, which I cut into 24 slabs. I then cored out each slab, lacquered the inside and reassembled the pieces according to their original orientation. Each of the resulting, hollow pieces fits together to resemble the original beam.

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This pair is made from 24 identical wool hats I found in an abandoned hat factory in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where I had a studio. I sewed the brims to form two identical dodecahedra: one has the crowns extended (like an “outie”), and the other has them retracted (like an “innie”.)

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This sculpture is an exemplar of a ‘false-endless’ system of modular construction. Unlike many of the other projects from Group Theory, which assemble harmoniously, this module generates multiple symmetry “errors” as it grows.

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DAN PRICE

PROJECTS 2008

Group Theory

Torus

Torus

Four-Eight

Four-Eight

Four-Eight

Stack

Meteor and Youteor

Meteor and Youteor

Hex Tree

Hex Tree