
Contemporary American artist James Siena is widely recognized for his exuberantly patterned abstract paintings, drawings, and editioned prints. The somewhat cryptic title Double Recursive Combs, Boustrophedon, makes reference to a form of mathematical logic frequently used in computer science called recursion theory, and to a bi-directional mirror image writing style found in some ancient manuscripts. Though knowing this helps understand Siena's concept, it may not help the casual observer who is unfamiliar with such esoteric sources. That said, a general understanding of mathematical logic would pay dividends when confronted with Siena's works.