Nelson Saiers 101: A Walk Through The Brilliant Artist's 10 Best Works

N. S.: The piece "Nothing" focuses on mathematical beauty through the lens of what's often cited as the most beautiful equation in mathematics, namely Euler's identity which is e^(π*i)+1=0. Now, black marks on a black background appears nothing. Now, to wrestle with why Euler's identity is so beautiful and what beauty is, I'm gonna give expression to two great geniuses. Namely, Albert Einstein, who once said, make everything as simple as possible and no simpler. And, Leonardo da Vinci, who said, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. 

Now, Euler's identity epitomizes this, incorporating the five most important numbers of mathematics, and the three operations of arithmetic, and nothing else. So the numbers e, π, i, 1 and 0 in operations addition, multiplication, and exponentiation. We're calling the division and subtraction inverses of addition and multiplication. So, e^(π*i)+1=0; it has those five numbers and three operations, and nothing else. Now, e^(π*i)+1=0, or it equals nothing. And so, to hint at nothing, I actually write e^(π*i)+1 in Braille-based abstraction. 

And so, in essence, I've represented nothing with profound mathematical beauty, and a profound mathematical statement.

[Photo courtesy of Nelson Saiers]