scimath
The Triumvirate
I have a healthy fascination with the Precession of the Equinoxes; specifically the manifestation of this celestial phenomenon as the definitive marker of Time for ancients across the globe. Precession is a modern astronomical term that describes the profoundly slow wobble of the Earth on its axis as it moves through the sphere of fixed stars. One of the basic indications of ancient precessional thinking is the appearance of specific numbers in a cultureʼs mythology. The quintessential precessional number is 72: the number of years required for the Earth to precess through one degree of the 360 circle. Ancient Priest-Astronomers extrapolate many iterations from the number 72; by halving it to 36, then adding 36 to arrive at 108. These three initial permutations are first among thousands of mathematical calculations applied to this critical number. As an astronomical metalanguage, these ideas have found their way into the very fabric of cultures; embedded in buildings, myths, and religions. Focusing solely on the first three precessional numbers, I select my own artistic unit of measure, the 1/4” square, and utilize it as a counting device. In this artwork, three continuous 1/4” squares equal the cardinal number 3. By placing the “number” 3 next to the “number” 6, I create the “number” 36. Next, the 3 unites with the 6 (via needle and thread) furthering the effort to merge them into a single entity. Applying the same logic to the numbers 72 and 108, I organize the squares in succession and watch the pattern emerge! Like countless mathematicians before me, The Triumvirate allows a platform from which to observe the interaction of precessional numbers and gain a deeper understanding of their potential.
Artist: Stacy Searcy
The Triumvirate
I have a healthy fascination with the Precession of the Equinoxes; specifically the manifestation of this celestial phenomenon as the definitive marker of Time for ancients across the globe. Precession is a modern astronomical term that describes the profoundly slow wobble of the Earth on its axis as it moves through the sphere of fixed stars. One of the basic indications of ancient precessional thinking is the appearance of specific numbers in a cultureʼs mythology. The quintessential precessional number is 72: the number of years required for the Earth to precess through one degree of the 360 circle. Ancient Priest-Astronomers extrapolate many iterations from the number 72; by halving it to 36, then adding 36 to arrive at 108. These three initial permutations are first among thousands of mathematical calculations applied to this critical number. As an astronomical metalanguage, these ideas have found their way into the very fabric of cultures; embedded in buildings, myths, and religions. Focusing solely on the first three precessional numbers, I select my own artistic unit of measure, the 1/4” square, and utilize it as a counting device. In this artwork, three continuous 1/4” squares equal the cardinal number 3. By placing the “number” 3 next to the “number” 6, I create the “number” 36. Next, the 3 unites with the 6 (via needle and thread) furthering the effort to merge them into a single entity. Applying the same logic to the numbers 72 and 108, I organize the squares in succession and watch the pattern emerge! Like countless mathematicians before me, The Triumvirate allows a platform from which to observe the interaction of precessional numbers and gain a deeper understanding of their potential.
Artist: Stacy Searcy