Fibonacci 5

Billie Ruth Sudduth, Fibonacci 5, 1996, reed splints, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Kay Sekimachi and Bob Stocksdale and Susan Stewart, 1996.28
Copied Billie Ruth Sudduth, Fibonacci 5, 1996, reed splints, 1316 12 in. (33.041.9 cm) diam., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Kay Sekimachi and Bob Stocksdale and Susan Stewart, 1996.28

Artwork Details

Title
Fibonacci 5
Date
1996
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
1316 12 in. (33.041.9 cm) diam.
Credit Line
Gift of Kay Sekimachi and Bob Stocksdale and Susan Stewart
Mediums
Mediums Description
reed splints
Classifications
Object Number
1996.28

Artwork Description

The ratios I use for my overs and unders . . . are the same ones found in the spacing of the spirals on seashells, pineapples, in the arrangements of a daisy or sunflower, even in the spirals that form the curve of an elephant's tusk. Best of all, Fibonacci goes to infinity, so I'm good for at least another century. -- Billie Ruth Sudduth

Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery, 2019

Luce Center Label

Billie Ruth Sudduth avoided studying math during college and also stayed away from art classes, preferring to play sports. Once she began weaving her baskets she saw the connection that her patterns had with Fibonacci's ratios, a sequence of naturally occurring proportions discovered in the thirteenth century by Leonardo Fibonacci. This in turn led the artist to look elsewhere in nature for her models. To achieve the black color of the reeds in this basket, the artist immersed them in a homemade dye produced by soaking rusty nails in water for over a month.

Exhibitions

Media - 2016.11 - SAAM-2016.11_6 - 124929
Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery
November 13, 2015March 6, 2022
Connections is the Renwick Gallery’s dynamic ongoing permanent collection presentation, featuring more than 80 objects celebrating craft as a discipline and an approach to living differently in the modern world.