The Parabolic Journey of Fred Eversley
A parabola is a U-shaped curve that is the graph of a quadratic function. The standard equation of a parabola is used to represent a parabola algebraically in the coordinate plane. The general equation of a parabola can be given as, y = a(x-h)2 + k or x = a(y-k)2 +h, where (h,k) denotes the vertex. The standard form of parabola is y2 = 4ax or x2 = 4ay. In the 12th grade my math teacher Ms. Sowers let me paint a mural on her classroom wall. Unfortunately, I did not photograph the finished work but Sowers did give me extra credit. This was my first experiencing merging math and art.
Years later, I discovered the work of Fred Eversley, who was associated with the Light and Space movement (ex. James Turrell), a loose group of sculptors who rose to fame in California during the 1970s. Like his colleagues, Eversley sculpted sleek abstractions from materials such as plastic or resin. Eversley became an artist after leaving his engineering job at Wyle Laboratories, which provided services to NASA. At the time I wondered why no one talked about his work and its connection to STEAM.
In 1977, Eversley became the first artist-in-residence at the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum. He abandoned a lucrative career as the youngest engineer on the Apollo space program in Houston to become an artist/sculptor… Eversley sought to express his concerns about energy, and the possibility of transforming solar energy into electrical power impelled him into an exploration of the parabola and parabolic shapes as energy trapping structures. In fact, all of the three-dimensional works operate according to the optical principles of physics that determine the properties of lenses and mirrors, as he uses a process that involves spinning liquid plastic around a vertical axis until the centrifugal forces create a concave surface. Even entirely solid forms appear to melt away either at the edges or through their centers. — Artweek.LA, 2011
Parabolas occur throughout nature and can parabolic equations can even be used in text-based prompts to generate images. The following image is based on the equation: x(t) = A * cos(a * t) * cos(t) y(t) = A * cos(a * t) * sin(t). By experimenting with different values for ‘A’ and ‘a’, I can generate a variety of intriguing and visually appealing patterns, and combine this with other artistic elements and styles to create a captivating abstract images. I can also use this parabolic equation in a prompt to generate portraits.
Fred Eversley died in New York on March 14 at age 83. A spokesperson for David Kordansky Gallery, which became the first gallery to represent him in 2018, confirmed his passing, saying that he died unexpectedly following a brief illness. It’s a shame that more people don’t know about his amazing life and career (outside of the art establishment).