Joshua Steigerwald

joshua.steigerwald@stonybrook.edu

Title: “Rene’s Rubik’s Cube”

Synopsis: 

The Rubik’s Cube is a 3-D combination puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. Each of its 6 faces features 9 colored stickers, all of which revolve around a central axis. The goal of the puzzle is to align all of the stickers so that all 6 faces are solid in color.

René Magritte, born in 1898, was a famous Belgian surrealist artist. Some of his most famous pieces include ‘The Son of Man,’ ‘Golconda,’ ‘The False Mirror,’ and ‘The Lovers II.’

Objective:

Show how a Rubik’s Cube works and can be solved. Then, treat the Rubik’s cube as a collection of 9 pixels. Using a number of Rubik’s Cubes, ‘paint’ one of René Magritte’s paintings using the 6 different colored ‘pixels’ on the Rubik’s Cube.

Audience:

The audience for this project would be anybody interested in Rubik’s Cubes or art, specifically, surreal art.

Sources:

Rubik’s Cube Technical Paper:

https://homes.luddy.indiana.edu/stsher/files/Rubiks_Cube.pdf

Rubik’s Cube Pixel Art Mosaics:

https://ruwix.com/the-rubiks-cube/popular-culture/rubikubism-pixel-art-mosaic/

Illustrations: