Stage Sets Series (1990-1995)
In his series Buehnenbilder (Stage Sets), a special part of the Math Art series, Herbert W. Franke utilized various mathematical art aesthetics for free, purely artistic creations. These works were characterized by distinct vertical structures. This verticality evoked associations with theater stage designs in Franke’s mind, which ultimately gave the series its title.
The Math Art series (1980–1995)was a pioneering, 15-year collaboration between Herbert W. Franke and the physicist and programmer Horst Helbig. The core of the project involved using mathematical methods—ranging from algebraic formulas to stochastic processes—strictly for aesthetic rather than scientific purposes.
These mathematical experiments were executed using the DIBIAS (Digital Image Evaluation System) software and a Comtal Image Processing System. For its time, the hardware offered an impressive resolution of up to 2048 x 2048 pixels and around 16 million colors. Throughout their work, Franke and Helbig not only explored the aesthetic dimensions of formulas and functions but also developed entirely new graphic routines for 2D and 3D renderings, as well as digital image transformation (picture processing) methods that became a permanent part of the DIBIAS system.