The mathematical sequence called the Fibonacci numbers goes like this: You start with a one and a two, and then you add them together. You get three, and then you add the three to the two and you get five. You add the five to the three, and you get eight. It looks like this: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, and then on and on.

You’ll notice that the numbers seven, four and nine seem to have no relationship with the sequence. They didn’t, until B. John Kaufman got involved. The Maplewood artist has a deep interest in the Fibonacci numbers, and on July 4, 2009 will present a physical embodiment of the sequence to the township. Of course, there are already physical embodiments of the sequence all around us, if you know where to look.

“It’s very similar to the growth pattern of sunflower seeds and other naturally occurring things,” Kaufman said.

For two decades, Kaufman has celebrated July 4 by leading the creation of a team-built, interactive public art installation. This year, with the help of about 20 Maplewood residents, and the sponsorship of the VFW and the 1978 Art Gallery, he is creating (we’re putting this in present tense because when we visited him it was very much a work in progress) a series of interlocking cloth-covered cubes made out of bamboo, with each cube’s size corresponding with the Fibonacci numbers.

Much of the material used in the construction of the cubes has been salvaged from Kaufman’s past public installations, including a large-scale work he made for 2005’s Two Towns in Harmony event. Among those projects was a replica of Stonehenge constructed from cardboard boxes and built on the field of Columbia High School.

The final phase of construction on the cubes will take place on the Fourth in the natural amphitheater near the Maplewood train station. Kaufman will not be the only artist at work; children will be invited to splatter paint onto the cloth.

“The idea is to let kids do a little bit of a Jackson Pollack thing,” Kaufman said.