Tavola pitagoricaAlighiero E Boetti · 1990

Like Alternandosi e dividendosi (1989)—also included in this exhibition—Alighiero Boetti’s Tavola pitagorica is part of the artist’s Arazzi (Tapestries) series. These embroidery works are known for their play on order and disorder, and, in this way, directly recall Bochner’s mathematical as well as text- based artworks, which continually juxtapose the rational with the irrational. This piece, in particular, additionally conjures Bochner’s Meditation on the Theorem of Pythagoras through its title, which translates to “Pythagorean Table.” Boetti’s decision to evoke the name of the famous philosopher— whose renowned theorem, which bears his name, centers on the relations between the three sides of a right triangle—may seem puzzling when looking at this perfectly square work. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that this embroidery on fabric embodies the artist’s desire to encourage avoiding the obvious, taking a longer look, and shifting our perspective. While the right triangle is the main event of the Pythagorean theorem, the square is the less obvious element that does, in fact, play a key role. As the squares of each side of the triangle give truth to the famous equation a2 + b2 = c2, they become equally as important as the triangle itself. Boetti further nods towards the significance of this exponential function by repeating certain letters in patterns of two throughout the grid. His decision to use black-and-white—unlike in Alternandosi e dividendosi, which features vibrant colors—aligns with the work’s mathematical roots; numerical language has always been associated with logic and reason as opposed to emotion, which is typically represented by a variety of shades and hues. Within the work, Boetti includes the name “Anne,” a detail that may refer to his wife, the famous writer and critic, Annemarie Sauzeau Boetti.