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Charles Alberti: Fibonacci Sequence and the Golden Ratio

Exploring Mathematical Concepts thru Art

I had never heard of the Fibonacci sequence in high school, but I can remember it being on the SAT test and didn't know what the next number would be… So I thought, I'm going to attack this in a different way…I'm going to attack this from the visual arts perspective, because literally every artwork is consisting of variations of geometry... – Charles Alberti

After high school and that SAT exam in the early 1960s, Charles Alberti studied art at University of Chicago, and Art Institute of Chicago. Over the decades, he’s taught in a wide range of capacities including at universities, museum education programs, and in art therapy.   A prolific creator thru it all, his latest collection, on show at the MacRostie Art Center thru February, Fibanocci Sequence and the Golden Ratio depicts complex mathematical concepts thru art. In this Area Voices, we learn how art helped Alberti better understand math, how his first solo exhibit was pivotal to his career trajectory, his perpetual passion for painting, and more.

…we all have our own frustrations. You hear about writer's block and all this and sometimes people need to take a vacation or to clear their mind or whatever. I think there's creative juice in everyone, that you just need to start doing it. Because when you do it and you don't have to share it with anyone, you've created something that didn't really exist yesterday...you could do a notebook of just thoughts that you had...stories, whatever. Regardless of what occupation that you're doing 40 hours a week, I know people who are in medical fields who are musicians and artists, and they do a lot of this stuff. I think it helps...in a lot of positions. - Charles Alberti

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Katie Carter started at Northern Community Radio in 2008 as Managing Editor of the station's grant-funded, online news experiment Northern Community Internet. She returned for a second stint in 2016-23. She produced Area Voices showcasing the arts, culture, and history stories of northern Minnesota.