Elizabeth Whiteley

Elizabeth Whiteley is an American fine artist and designer. She was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA, in 1945. Whiteley earned a B.A. degree from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), and a M.S. in Library Science from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). She received a B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). She is included in Who’s Who in American Art.Who’s Who in America Art. Marquis Who’s Who. Uniondale, New York. From 21st Edition (1995-1996) to date.
== Artistic activities == 
Whiteley concentrates on the connections between mathematics and art, with an emphasis on seeking geometric principles related to rectangles, triangles, and squares. They form the basis for her work with several genres in the visual arts. As part of a critic’s residency essay, David Carrier wrote about her work “I understood better how her images were produced by seeing the grid she used to compose. This apparent way of restricting her composition actually gave her the freedom to choose where to set her patterns.” Carrier, David. Essay. Maryland Art Place Critics in Residency Program. p. 7. October 1991. 
=== Paintings, drawings, and sculpture ===
Since 1988, she has used the geometric design elements of dynamic symmetryR. Fathauer, N. Selikoff, editors. 2019 Joint Mathematics Meetings. Exhibition of Mathematical Art. p.116. 2019. Tessellations Publishing, Phoenix AZ. as presented by Jay Hambidge,J. Hambidge, Dynamic Symmetry in Composition, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1923.
 for paintings,New American Paintings. No. 15. Open Studios Press, Wellesley Massachusetts. 1998
 works on paper,Miller, Nicole. “Here and Now”, The Washington Post. October 27, 2002.
 and sculpture.400 Wood Boxes, The Fine Art of Containment & Concealment. pp. 74-75. Lark Books, New York, 2004.
 Crowe, D., “The 2013 Joint Mathematics Meetings Exhibition of Mathematical Art”. Journal of Mathematics and the Arts, Vol. 7, Issue 3. 2009 She also uses the geometric construction of the sacred cut, named by a Danish engineer, Tons Brunes.T. Brunes, The Secrets of Ancient Geometry and Its Use, RHODOS, Copenhagen, 1967.
 She is influenced by the research on the sacred cut done by Kim WilliamsWilliams, Kim. Italian Pavements Patterns in Space. Anchorage Press, Houston, TX. 1997. and by Jay Kappraff.Kappraff, Jay. Connections, the Geometric Bridge Between Art and Science. McGraw-Hill. New York, NY. 1991. She applies the sacred cut line drawing as subject matter and a compositional structure for her ink drawings and metalpoint drawings. R. Fathauer, N. Selikoff, editors. 2020 Joint Mathematics Meetings. Exhibition of Mathematical Art. pp.118-119. 2020. Tessellations Publishing, Phoenix AZ. 
She has been inspired by Propositions in Euclid’s Elements when creating sculptureBodner, L., “The 2009 Joint Mathematics Meetings Exhibition of Mathematical Art”, Washington DC, Journal of Mathematics and the Arts, Vol. 3, Issue 2. 2009 R. Fathauer, N. Selikoff, editors. 2013 Joint Mathematics Meetings. Exhibition of Mathematical Art. p.84. 2013. Tessellations Publishing, Phoenix AZ.and drawings.R. Fathauer, N. Selikoff, editors. 2018 Joint Mathematics Meetings. Exhibition of Mathematical Art. pp. 116-117. 2018. Tessellations Publishing, Phoenix AZ. 
An attraction to pattern design led to independent study of the techniques and writings of British designers such as Lewis Foreman Day. She used his techniques for disguising the generator to create contemporary patterns.R. Fathauer, N. Selikoff, editors. 2014 Joint Mathematics Meetings. Exhibition of Mathematical Art. pp. 122-123. 2014. Tessellations Publishing, Phoenix AZ. R. Fathauer, N. Selikoff, editors. 2015 Joint Mathematics Meetings. Exhibition of Mathematical Art. pp.126-127. 2015. Tessellations Publishing, Phoenix AZ.
=== Artists’ books ===
Whiteley has explored various printed and handmade processes for creating artist's books. She learned about artists’ books when she was a photography student of Keith A. Smith at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1989, she was the artist’s book designer and co-illustrator for a shuffle book, Deck of Cards, by Peter H. Beaman. She oversaw the offset lithography production of the edition at Pyramid Atlantic, where Helen C. Frederick was the director. Johanna Drucker included an analysis of the book in her textbook on artists’ books.Drucker, J., The Century of Artists’ Books. Granary Books, New York City, 1995. pp. 278-279.(Whiteley’s surname is misspelled as Whitely)
Whiteley created the edition of Welcoming Beauty 1 in her Washington DC studio in 2018. It is composed of hand painted folders containing elaborately folded papers based on the two-dimensional principles of dynamic symmetry transposed to three-dimensions. As the reader unfolds the papers, Whiteley’s original writings about beauty as a spiritual theme are revealed. The book may be viewed in museum libraries such as the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York. and the Whitney Museum of American ArtWhitney Museum of American Art, New York..
She added digital media to her artistic activity. She expanded the content of Welcoming Beauty 1 in order to create, fabricate, and publish a digital, or electronic, artist's book. Titled Welcoming Beauty 2, it contains her paintings and writings, as well as drawings based on the sacred cut. The e-book was published in 2019.Whiteley, E. Welcoming Beauty 2. Spring Light Books, 2019.
=== Metalpoint drawings ===
Whiteley uses silverpoint as a drawing medium. The technique was widely used during the Italian Renaissance. She became fascinated by drawing with metal while an art student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her anatomy teacher, Paula Gerard, was a master of the technique of using a sterling silver stylus on a prepared ground. Whiteley draws with silver or gold styluses to represent botanical themes,American Society of Botanical Artists. Celebrating Silver. Bronx, NY. 2019.
R. Fathauer, N. Selikoff, editors. 2017 Joint Mathematics Meetings. Exhibition of Mathematical Art. pp. 118-119. 2017. Tessellations Publishing, Phoenix AZ. geometric forms, frieze groups, Kattchee, Karl, The 2017 “Joint Mathematics Meetings Exhibition of Mathematical Art”. Journal of Mathematics and the Arts, Vol. 12, Issue 1 2007. and the sacred cut. For an essay about her solo exhibition of silverpoint drawing over color washes at the McLean Center for the Arts, curator Nancy Sausser wrote “As an artist, Whiteley shows us her respect for the past, pays homage to it in these works, yet remains firmly rooted in the present as well.”Sausser, Nancy. “Imaginary Botanicals: Drawings by Elizabeth Whiteley”. Exhibition essay. McLean Project for the Arts. December 2011. Her work with metalpoint drawing over inkjet printed images is discussed in a metalpoint textbook by Susan Schwalb and Tom Mazzullo.Schwalb, S. and Mazzullo, T., Silverpoint and Metalpoint Drawing: A Complete Guide to the Medium. pp. 90-91. Routledge, New York and London, 2019. (Whiteley’s surname is misspelled as Whitely)
== Professional activities ==
Along with Sheila Rotner and Zinnia, she was a founder and editor of EyeWash, a monthly tabloid of visual arts peer reviews for the Washington DC area. It was published from 1989 to 1993. In addition to editing, she contributed editorial page articles and reviews of exhibits. Issues and administrative records for EyeWash are available in the Archives of American Art.Archives of American Art. Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
Whiteley has published articles in professional journals and she has presented talks at conferences on mathematics and art, such as the annual international Joint Mathematics Meetings(JMM). She has presented papers on historical approaches to contemporary pattern design,Joint Mathematics Meetings 2014. Abstracts. using basic geometric shapes to create surface patterns,Joint Mathematics Meetings 2015. Abstracts.and frieze groups.Joint Mathematics Meetings 2017. Abstracts.
From 2006-2011, she served on the editorial board of the Journal of Mathematics and the Arts (JMA) and was a peer reviewer. From 2010-2011 she served as an associate editor and co-editor for book and exhibition reviews.Journal of Mathematics and the Arts. Taylor & Francis, London. From 2006 to 2011, She served as an associate editor of Hyperseeing, the journal of the International Society of Art, Mathematics, and Architecture (ISAMA).Journal of the International Society of Art, Mathematics, and Architecture (ISAMA).
== Exhibitions ==
She has shown her artworks in juried and invitational fine art exhibits from regionalCapps, Kriston. "Remix: East-West Currents in Contemporary Art". Review. The Washington City Paper. August 25-31, 2006. to international levels.R. Fathauer, N. Selikoff, editors. 2016 Joint Mathematics Meetings. Exhibition of Mathematical Art. pp. 114-115. 2016. Tessellations Publishing, Phoenix AZ. In 1979, she won a museum purchase award from the Carnegie Museum of Art at the 70th Annual Exhibit of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh. Flaherty, Mary Pat. "An Art Valentine", Associated Artists Opening 70th Annual Exhibit. Pittsburgh Press, February 8, 1980. In 1985, she had a solo exhibition of paintings and hand colored monoprints at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts as a member of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh.May, Mike. “Admirable Nelson: Victory at PPA”. Market Square, p. 8. April 4, 1984.
The Bridges Organization has included Whiteley’s mathematical art in juried exhibitions at their international conferences. Her sculptures based on the dynamic symmetry of the square root of two were exhibited in 2006 Bridges Organization. 2006 Bridges Exhibition of Mathematical Art. Institute for Education. University of London UK. and bas-relief sculptures with flexible planar surfaces were exhibited in 2012.Bridges Organization. Bridges Towson Art Exhibition Catalog. pp. 166-167. 2012. Tessellations Publishing, Phoenix, AZ.
== Selected collections ==
Whiteley’s works on paper, metalpoint drawings, and artist’s books are in international museum collections. They include the Art Gallery of OntarioArt Gallery of Ontario. Toronto, ON.; the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC)Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago, IL.; the Brooklyn Museum of ArtBrooklyn Museum of Art.Brooklyn, NY; the Carnegie Museum of ArtCarnegie Museum of Art.Pittsburgh, PA.; the Clark Art InstituteClark Art Institute.Williamstown, MA.
; the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)Museum of Modern Art.New York, NY; the Museum of Fine Arts, BostonMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston.Boston, MA.; the National Gallery of Art (Washington DC)National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.; the National Museum of Women in the ArtsNational Museum of Women in the Arts.Washington, DC.; the Spencer Museum of Art,Spencer Museum of Art.Lawrence, KS. and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)Victoria & Albert Museum.London, GB..
		
Among the academic institutions that have collected her artworks are: Brown UniversityBrown University.Providence, RI., Dartmouth CollegeDartmouth College.Hanover, NH, Harvard UniversityHarvard University.Boston, MA., Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)Maryland Institute College of Art.Baltimore, MD., Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)Rhode Island School of Design. Providence, NJ., Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)Savannah College of Art and Design.Savannah, GA., and Yale UniversityYale University.New Haven, CT..
== Publications ==
* Whiteley, E. ”Visually Transforming Square Root Rectangles," Symmetry: Culture and Science. vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 535-538 (l995).
* Whiteley, E. "Visual Transformation of Square Root Rectangles," Symmetry: Culture and Science. vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 639-640 (1995).
* Whiteley, E. “Lines and Spaces: Dynamic Symmetry in 2-D Art," ISAMA/CTI (2004). Proceedings, p. 45. Stephen Luecking, editor.
* Whiteley, E. "Folding Screens: An Interaction of Sculpture and Geometry," ISAMA 2007. Proceedings, p. 131. Ergun Akleman, editor.
* Whiteley, E. "Hyperseeing on a Two-Dimensional Plane," Hyperseeing, the Journal of the International Society of Art, Mathematics, and Architecture, September 2007. 
* Whiteley, E. “Curved Plane Sculpture: Triangles," Hyperseeing Special Issue on ISAMA(International Society of Art, Mathematics, and Architecture) 2010. Proceedings. Ergun Akleman and Nathaniel Friedman, editors.
* Whiteley, E. “Curved Plane Sculpture: Squares," Hyperseeing Special Issue on ISAMA (International Society of Art, Mathematics, and Architecture) 2012.	Proceedings. Ergun Akleman and Nathaniel Friedman, editors.
* Whiteley, E. “The 2019 Joint Mathematics Meetings Exhibition of Mathematical Art.” Review. Journal of Mathematics and the Arts, Vol. 13 no. 4, 2019.					
* Whiteley, E. Welcoming Beauty 2, Spring Light Books, 2019. Apple Books app, Cupertino CA.
* Whiteley, E. A Loose Leaf Sketchbook. Sketchbook Project, Volume 15, call no. 377.1-6. Brooklyn Art Library. Brooklyn, New York, 2019.
* Whiteley, E. “Contemporary Art Inspired by Geometry,” Journal of Mathematics and the Arts, v. 14:1-2, pp. 164-166. March-June 2020.
== References ==
== External links ==
* Elizabeth Whiteley | Mathematical Art Galleries
* Elizabeth Whiteley | fibonaccisusan
* art4business: Artist Detail - art4business corporate art consultants
* Elizabeth Whiteley - Printed Matter
* elizabeth j Whiteley - Art Gallery
Category:1945 births
Category:Carnegie Mellon University alumni
Category:Master's degrees
Category:Library science
Category:Case Western Reserve University alumni
Category:20th-century American painters
Category:21st-century American painters
Category:20th-century American women artists
Category:Bachelor's degrees
Category:21st-century American women artists
Category:American women printmakers
Category:Abstract artists
Category:Book artists
Category:School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni
Category:People from Erie, Pennsylvania