PEMBROKE — The Museum of the Southeastern American Indian will feature the work of a Lumbee artist who puts his skills as a math teacher on the canvas.

“Order In Chaos” opens Thursday with a 7 p.m. public reception. Refreshments will be served. The Museum of the Southeastern American Indian is located on the campus of The University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Jordan McGirt, a UNCP graduate, earned a degree in math education. He works as a ninth-grade math teacher at Purnell Swett High School, where he attended high school. Although he does consider himself an American Indian artist, he wants to “show this area and this community something different” by using mathematics in his artwork.

The works featured in “Order In Chaos” were designed using only math equations to create fractals, which illustrate infinitely repeated mathematical processes.

“Art is a way for me to express who I am in the worst and best parts of my life. It is a way for me to unload my thoughts so that others can understand what is going on in my head,” McGirt said. “I am constantly looking at ways to integrate math into my artwork. The thrill of using an equation to create a highly detailed image both amazes and intrigues my curiosity. Using fractal geometry and analyzing the patterns that exist in the sets, is one of the most enjoyable things I can do.”

McGirt has been doing fractal art for about three years and has been teaching at Purnell Swett for two years, his first teaching job. In addition to teaching and coaching swimming, he sets aside time two days each week for his art. Although his has introduced the concept of fractals to his students, mostly via fractal art, the topic is typically reserved for graduate-level math courses.

“When you do something that you love it’s not really working,” he said.

McGirt has roots in the art world via a family picture framing business and was exposed to famous artists while working with his grandfather as a teen. Many great artists, he learned, were mathematicians themselves, like M.C. Escher, known for his perspective-bending drawings and engravings of staircases, reflections and animals.

“Over time I picked up some techniques and skills and I really fell in love with digital media,” he said.

McGirt uses about five computer programs to generate fractals, but most of the works in the exhibit were generated by one program in which he inputs equations and chooses a color scheme. The different colors in his kaleidoscopic images vary by how fast the numbers are approaching infinity. The largest of the images featured in the exhibit is about 20 inches by 30 inches and some feature well-known fractals widely cited by mathematicians.

McGirt hopes that attendees to his exhibit see that math can be beautiful.

“What I want them to do is just take a step back and stare in amazement,” he said. “This is math. This isn’t me drawing. This is an equation and the level of detail is astounding.”

“Order In Chaos” will be on display through the end of January. For information, contact the museum at 910-521-6282 or email [email protected].

Jordan McGirt, a Lumbee artist and Robeson teacher, uses math equations to create fractal art. An exhibit featuring his work opens at the Museum of the Southeastern American Indian Thursday.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_Jordan-McGirt-image.jpgJordan McGirt, a Lumbee artist and Robeson teacher, uses math equations to create fractal art. An exhibit featuring his work opens at the Museum of the Southeastern American Indian Thursday. Courtesy photo
Local teacher’s works on view

By Sarah Willets

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Sarah Willets can be reached at 910-816-1974 or on Twitter @Sarah_Willets.