100 Variations

December 3, 2018 9:06 AM

100 Variations presents a collection of 100 grey-scaled Rubik's Cubes arranged in 100 different symmetrical configurations within a 6x6x? cube volume. Click through the individual photos for explanatory captions. More from artist Roula Partheniou.
posted by cortex (9 comments total)

Someone is going to lose their shit when they discover Minecraft.
posted by Keith Talent at 9:18 AM on December 3, 2018 [2 favorites]

GD it Keith Talent - you stole my thunder! This is like color-blind Minecraft.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 9:56 AM on December 3, 2018

100 different symmetrical configurations within a 6x6x? cube volume

It's 6x6x4 high.
posted by w0mbat at 11:49 AM on December 3, 2018

Except that in some cases it reaches 5 levels, and in some is constrained only to 3! Originally I had meant to write 6x6x6 before realizing that was just me putting a nice round number on the implied space, when really there's nothing there to assert the volume is cubical or really anything other than what is actually filled by each design.
posted by cortex at 11:53 AM on December 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

(Although now I have to back off on the 6x6x5 claim, because (a) I was misreading the geometry of one of the photographed designs, and (b) it dang well says "limited to a 6 x 6 x 4 cube base" in one of the slides, so, heh. Damn my eyes!)
posted by cortex at 11:57 AM on December 3, 2018

Is this what they mean by threadsitting?

I did not know there was such a thing as a grey-scaled cube. Now of course I want one.
I don't think it would be that difficult using my old-style algorithms, but it would really mess up my current speed method. (Roux)
posted by MtDewd at 12:36 PM on December 3, 2018

There's no twisting at all, is there? These are just stacked cubes?

I guess it's more impressive than Duchamp's Fountain.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 1:38 PM on December 3, 2018

Or rather von Freytag-Loringhoven's. But I do like the idea of a further take on the greyscale cubes that incorporates unsolved cubes to produce more complex dithering and shading of the surfaces of the constructions. (Though n.b. Rubik's cube mosaics are aren't unprecedented.)

Is this what they mean by threadsitting?

Oh *rolling sleeves up* you ain't seen nothin' yet
posted by cortex at 2:47 PM on December 3, 2018

Nice, nice, but it's not exactly The Rock, now, is it?
posted by rokusan at 6:15 PM on December 3, 2018 [1 favorite]