1. Exploring the science of visual engagement

On April 10, 2024, a post by Ghee Beom Kim on the Facebook group Mathematical Tiling and Tessellation left me utterly captivated. It depicted a non-repetitive pattern, something I had been striving to achieve for years.

To fully understand what I was looking at, I delved deeper and discovered a recent finding known as an “aperiodic” mono-tile, affectionately nicknamed “The Hat”. For a better understanding of “The Hat” and its profound significance in science, mathematics, art, and design, I recommend watching the accompanying YouTube video posted by Oxford Mathematics.

By late February 2024, after a three-week trip through southern Spain, I was eager to return to the studio.

The task at hand was clear: find solutions that contribute to sustaining visual engagement. And develop specific patterns that can be used in the same way compositional arrangements are used to sustain viewer interest.

It was hoped that I could find patterns with similar properties as something like an engaging game. A pattern that could evoke the type of engagement a teenager might experience while trying to solve a Rubik’s cube riddle. In other words, I believed (and still do believe) that engagement is better sustained when the riddle (the pattern) is difficult to fully understand.

To achieve this, I had been experimenting with some relatively complex patterns. One idea was to “lock” the viewer in a cognitive no-man’s land between sensing that a pattern exists while (simultaneously) not being able to fully comprehend exactly what the pattern is.

In April 2024, unexpectedly I found what I believe to be the ideal solution. Below are examples of (my interpretation) how “aperiodic mono-tiles”can be used to create patterns that accentuate viewer engagement.

Visual engagement is important because it has ramifications applicable to almost every aspect of visual thinking. If artists can contribute to the science of visual perception while also producing aesthetically engaging artwork, their role and purpose become more meaningful.