How to Construct an Orange?

Within a square-shaped area, white solids of paper float above “paper turbines”.
When creating these solids, I began with forms which can be inscribed within a sphere, such as regular and semi-regular geometrical solids. At the same time, I used some entirely different constructional concepts — such as approaching the sphere from the point of view of a spiral, as if peeling an orange (quasitransformation from childhood).
When I began working on this, I was interested in the a priori incompatibility between two seemingly related systems: plane geometry and solid geometry. While certain forms may be conveniently created from a plane — for instance, the creation of a cube suggests a compatibility between plane and space — attempts to “flatten” a sphere reveal the ultimate contradiction between the two systems. Although the problem is an abstract one, it frequently arises in everyday life. In an atlas, for example, distortions resulting from the projection mean that the area of Greenland may appear equivalent to that of Africa.
While the cartographer attempts to flatten the globe, my aim was different, in that I was attempting to create spheres by gluing together sheets of paper.
I was working on the hypothesis that a sphere will float motionlessly above an electric fan. My efforts to construct a sphere from a plane could only result in a variety of imperfect approximations. When placed in the air stream, these “aberrations” are set in motion as the air catches their facets and vertices. This results in various forms of motion — the solids rotate, float and bounce in the air stream, sometimes capriciously, sometimes more evenly, depending on their structure.

How to Construct an Orange?
9 electric fans, 9 paper solids (diameter approximately 12 cm), area variable. 1993-4.






		How to Construct an Orange? Within a square-shaped area, white solids of paper float above “paper turbines”. When creating these solids, I began with forms which can be inscribed within a sphere, such as regular and semi-regular geometrical solids. At the same time, I used some entirely different constructional concepts — such as approaching the sphere from the point of view of a spiral, as if peeling an orange (quasitransformation from childhood). When I began working on this, I was interested in the a priori incompatibility between two seemingly related systems: plane geometry and solid geometry. While certain forms may be conveniently created from a plane — for instance, the creation of a cube suggests a compatibility between plane and space — attempts to “flatten” a sphere reveal the ultimate contradiction between the two systems. Although the problem is an abstract one, it frequently arises in everyday life. In an atlas, for example, distortions resulting from the projection mean that the area of Greenland may appear equivalent to that of Africa. While the cartographer attempts to flatten the globe, my aim was different, in that I was attempting to create spheres by gluing together sheets of paper. I was working on the hypothesis that a sphere will float motionlessly above an electric fan. My efforts to construct a sphere from a plane could only result in a variety of imperfect approximations. When placed in the air stream, these “aberrations” are set in motion as the air catches their facets and vertices. This results in various forms of motion — the solids rotate, float and bounce in the air stream, sometimes capriciously, sometimes more evenly, depending on their structure. How to Construct an Orange? 9 electric fans, 9 paper solids (diameter approximately 12 cm), area variable. 1993-4.