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Positive Parity

A work made of cotton, plain weave; inkjet printed.

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  • A work made of cotton, plain weave; inkjet printed.

Date:

1981

Artist:

Joan Truckenbrod (American, born 1945)

About this artwork

Stylized and pixelated leaf forms dance in fields of blue, yellow, and green in Joan Truckenbrod’s Positive Parity. The title refers to Truckenbrod’s representational system in which she translates her observations of the natural world into a mathematical system that produces a digitized image. For this work, Truckenbrod digitized and then rematerialized her experience of watching falling leaves. The artist notes that she was “inspired by the undulation of light and shadow” which she then represented through an algorithm. Her digital image, inkjet printed on a cotton fabric captures and rematerializes a fleeting ecological moment.

A professor emeritus of the School of the Art Institute, Truckenbrod taught in the Department of Art and Technology Studies for over twenty-five years. Truckenbrod’s early experimentation and engagement with digital media places Positive Parity in conversation with other contemporary works in the Art Institute’s collection, including Sonia Sheridan’s photographic images that examine the implication of information age technology for the arts and Lia Cook’s Facing Touch, which represents the human neurological response to visually tactile experiences.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Textiles

Artist

Joan Truckenbrod

Title

Positive Parity

Place

United States (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1981

Medium

Cotton, plain weave; inkjet printed

Dimensions

325.1 × 217.2 cm (128 × 85 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of the artist

Reference Number

2019.1303

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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