Maurer Rose

Watch Maurer Rose live in the browser

A web of straight lines drawn over a softly glowing flower. The flower is the polar rose r = sin(nθ); the web joins 360 points taken along it in steps of d degrees, a construction Peter Maurer published in 1987.

When d is a whole number the walk closes into a symmetric pattern of chords crossing the petals; between whole numbers it unravels into a tangle. Here d rests on whole numbers such as 19, 29 or 71 and glides to the next while the music plays. The petal number n, between 2 and 7, changes every few kicks, and the old rose morphs into the new one.

What it reacts to

• Spectrum: each stretch of chords takes its brightness from one band, so the bass lights the first chords of the walk and the treble the last
• Kick drum: the rose swells slightly and glows brighter; every few kicks a new n is chosen
• Snare: brightens all the chords
• Overall loudness: makes d glide (it stops in silence) and brightens the rose

Tune

Kicks per change sets how many kicks pass before the petal count changes, Glide speed sets how fast d moves on, Rose glow sets the brightness of the underlying rose, and Tint picks its colour and that of the first chords.

Music that suits it

Music with a clear, regular kick and a full spectrum, from house to pop, lights the whole web and renews the rose at a steady pace.

How to play it

Install Deus, play music on Spotify, YouTube Music, Yandex Music or any other tab and click the Deus icon on that tab. Then pick Maurer Rose in the WebGL presets, or press ← → on the page until it comes up.