Tetrahedron Modeling: Art/Science Metaphors for Order in Space

The author describes aesthetic modeling experiments in “form generation according to nature’s rules”. These began with an organizing system for all phenomena and continued, using water and its tetrahedral molecular structure, as a constant metaphoric link to spatial order. The regular tetrahedron proved significant in modern art/science contexts and led to a first water study (Geometry) and visual experiments concerning art/science teaching and the increasingly complex natural and man-made geometries of spatial order. A second water study (Microstructure) explores dynamic crystallization processes and points out the visual and philosophic contrast with previous tetrahedron work.

The tetrahedron ultimately assumed mythological proportions for the artist. Biophysical networks and the geometric continuum are linked speculatively with internal and external responses to (tetrahedral) spatial ordering. The “unchanging form determining processes” therein suggest a possible unifying theme for a fragmented society and world.