Is objectivity in art ever really possible? (The answer, I discovered, is unequivocally ‘no.’)
Because Math is based on inspiration from a video titled “The Difficult Task of Erasing Oneself” in which Eve Elaine DuBois discusses the eradication of subjectivity. He analyzes the minimal steps involved in creating Morellet's 16 squares painting (11 steps), and how such a minimal process makes the piece more objective. He also discusses reducing the process down to pure mathematics, which DuBois didn't necessarily agree with, but resonated with me.
Focusing on the ideas of pure process and grid, I split the frame into 25 equal squares. How many different sized squares exist within this grid? Unsurprisingly as it turns out, a simple mathematical equation can answer that question:
n(2n+1)(n+1)/6 ... where n is the number of squares in the grid.
One equation, one process, could control the entire video, and I appreciated the simplicity and rationality of that. So I covered every possible sized square within the grid, from large to small, and decided on a clockwise order from top left. I also reduced the time by half for each sized square. Each instance of the video is in sync with the others.
While absolute objectivity is impossible in my opinion, I got closer to it than I thought I would.