Review: Anne Tyng: Inhabiting Geometry; by Graham Foundation

Abstract

Anne Tyng: Inhabiting Geometry. Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, 13 January–20 March 2011. Graham Foundation, Chicago 15 April–18 June 2011 “The life cycle of the butterfly is clearly defined in four phases: the rotational symmetry of its eggs, the helical symmetry in its form as a caterpillar or larva, the spiral symmetry of the pupa of chrysalis form and its dramatic rebirth in a magnificent form of bilateral symmetry… . Bilateral man evolved from numberless hierarchies of cycles of form … goes through the cycle again.”1 Such statements about the cycle of rotational, helical, spiral and bilateral symmetry abound in Anne Tyng's 1969 article “Geometric Extensions of Consciousness,” in which she attempted to reveal the geometric order she believed to be fundamental to the evolution of everything from plants, animals, and even the psyche, to history, architecture, and matter itself. Published in Zodiac 's “Geometry” issue, which was edited by Maria Bottero, Tyng's article accompanied contributions by Buckminster Fuller, Alfred Neumann, Virgil Thomson, John McHale, Walter Kuhn, and Moshe Safdie. The exhibition Anne Tyng: Inhabiting Geometry was powered by a gratifying representation of Tyng's progress toward this article. Simultaneously, an episode in the institutional history of its Chicago venue was also displayed (Figures 1, 2). Since Tyng wrote this text as the outcome of a fellowship that she received in 1965 from the Graham Foundation, twenty-two illustrated pages of Tyng's fellowship application constituted the first section of the exhibit on display. They provide clear evidence of her curiosity and the conceptual rigor in her treatment of advanced geometry. Figure 1 Icosahedron with nested cube, Anne Tyng: Inhabiting Geometry , Dining Room, Madlener House, Chicago, 2011 (© Graham Foundation, photo: James Prinz Photography) Figure 2 View of Anne Tyng: Inhabiting Geometry , East Gallery, Madlener House, Chicago, 2011 (© Graham Foundation, photo: James Prinz Photography) Anne Tyng: Inhabiting Geometry testifies to the Graham Foundation's …