Journal of Mathematics and the Arts最新文献

{"title":"Conversations in a foreign language","authors":"N. Hocking","doi":"10.1080/17513472.2020.1751564","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17513472.2020.1751564","url":null,"abstract":"Topology and art were firmly connected as I was growing up. My artist uncle’s painting of an Alexander horn sphere hung on the dining room wall. My topologist father would delight in showing my siblings and me the strange qualities of the Mobius strip and of, what was to us, the very bizarre Klein bottle and, of course, the famous doughnut-coffee mug. His enthusiasm for these surfaces found room inmy imagination and they have been nestled in there, embedded, ever since. So too the tantalizing and challenging mystery of 4-space, the mathematician’s fourth dimension. If ever I had any doubt that topology and art were natural bedfellows, over here in London, Britain’s flagship modern art gallery, Tate Modern, held a symposium called simply; ‘Topology’. (November 2011 – June 2011). For themost part I work in 2-D and use traditional materials. I draw on fine papers with pencil, charcoal and pastel. I have several rules I impose on myself as I work. I set out a composition using the renaissance practice of rebatement. This is the geometric division of the canvas used to steer the viewer’s eye to all areas of the image and to direct the main focus on the critical parts of the narrative (Bouleu, 1963). I remain faithful to the topological rules of no tearing, cutting or intersecting of the surfaces and no puncturing either, however representing surfaces that intersect in 3-space but do not intersect in 4-space in a 2-dimensional image is a challenge to say the least. Some topological surfaces can engender so many ideas that I have to be firm and temper the wanderings of my imagination. The constraints of the topological surface in the question, the medium in use and staying true to my original inspiration present exactly the kind of challenges that I delight in. For many people even the mention of mathematics is off-putting and mathematical art can seem an oxymoron but there are ways to circumvent this reluctance. Beauty and grace are alluring and can be powerfully persuasive and with topologically derived art there is no need to apply these qualities superficially. They are built-in. As the coffee mug can morph into a doughnut, the Hopf link, two simple interlinked rings, can morph into multiple forms. In the drawing ‘Conversations in a Foreign Language; Three Solid Arguments’ (Figure 1) three solid forms bounded byHopf links are each presented from five different viewpoints. (The models for these forms are three small clay","PeriodicalId":42612,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mathematics and the Arts","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86629906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Colour modularity in mathematics and art","authors":"Jean Marie Constant","doi":"10.1080/17513472.2020.1732805","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17513472.2020.1732805","url":null,"abstract":"Scientific inquiry and art are not mutually exclusive. Science is built on facts and based on knowledge, observation, and experiment. Art originates in imagination, experience, and feeling. Both tap distinct sources of information and creativity. Nonetheless, art combined with science greatly enrich the public discourse and Society itself. At the time I entered art school, mathematics was not supported in the curriculum, which made it challenging for us to develop the cognitive skills necessary to understand complex mathematical problems or the nascent computer technology. My interest at the time was already leaning toward the communication component of visual art. Semiotics and visual communication principles base their findings on proven, repeatable facts. Looking for a productive alternative to developmy skills in that direction, I started exploring on my own various principles of Euclidian and non-Euclidian geometry from a perspective highlighted by the Bauhaus in the 1920’s (Bauhaus Verbund Office, 2019) promoting a closer relationship between art, science and technology. Later in my career, I fortuitously met two mathematicians who altered deeply my perception and comprehending of this field of scientific investigation. The first one, Alex Bogomolny (2018), introduced me to the dynamic of mathematical reasoning, describing and solving in simple and clear terms a series of Sangaku Japanese problems from the Edo period I was studying for a design class. He encouraged me to explore the tablets’ unique geometry with my own vocabulary and colour cues to solve the problem. An approach that was so rewarding that I put it into practice in my design classes to enrich students’ appreciation of the connections between science and visual communication. Similarly, in the early aughts, Dr Richard Palais (2004) developed amathematical visualization program that introduced me to the notion of space curves, polyhedra, and surfaces in simple but striking visualizations. He encouraged me to share my results in privileged forums such as ISAMA and Bridges. Inspired by the work of Sequin, Fathauer, Kaplan among many, I started to convert abstract mathematical concepts into meaningful art statements, and doing so, expanded substantially the scope and depth of my research. The example below demonstrates how an inspirational series of lectures by Dr Sarhangi, Jablan, and Sazdanovic (2005) on colour-contrast modularity presented at several Bridges","PeriodicalId":42612,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mathematics and the Arts","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83494902","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Visualizing mathematics with quilts","authors":"E. Ellison","doi":"10.1080/17513472.2020.1732803","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17513472.2020.1732803","url":null,"abstract":"I grew up with sewing machines and power tools. The basement of my family home in Michigan was full of all kinds of drills, saws, and a sewing machine. My mother and father taught me how to use these machines. I remember always doing things with my hands and wanting to be a visual artist. When it came time to attend a university, my practical-minded mother insisted that I study ‘something that would enable me to support myself’. I laugh, as I recall my youth. I took my mother’s advice and eventually earned a B.A. in Mathematics, an M.A. in Mathematics Education, and an Ed.S. in Educational Administration. Teaching at West Lafayette High School in West Lafayette, Indiana, along with a mathematical methods class to future teachers at Purdue University, I found a strong desire to include mathematically inspired art in my classrooms. At this point, I had been investigating various media including drawing, photography, bronze, painting, and stained glass. In 1980 I discovered a book that changed my life: Geometry and the Visual Arts, by British mathematician Daniel Pedoe. Each page of Daniel’s book spoke to me. I knew I was on to something as I completedmy reading. Themedium of fabric was interesting as it could combinemathematical ideas, colour, texture, shape, perspective, and is totally hands-on. Fabric would allowme to include mathematical ideas for teaching plus give me the ability to hang the mathematical quilts in my classroom. I began generatingmathematical quilts specifically for the classroom. I co-authoredwith Dr. Diana Venters, two books on using quilts as the springboard for explaining mathematical theorems and formulas in the classroom. As students investigated the mathematics in each quilt, lesson plans evolved that could be included in a book on mathematical quilts. Mathematical Quilts andMore Mathematical Quilts resulted. I continue to learn more mathematics and generate more mathematical quilts even though I am retired. To date, I have generated 67 mathematical quilts. The quilts encompass roughly 4,000 years of recordedmathematics. Beginning in 2,000 B.C.E. to the present, 67 quilts represent most of the significant time periods for mathematics. All of my quilts are needle-turned versus using a fused raw edge technique. Ninety percent of my quilts are hand-quilted and are made of 100% cotton. The London Science Museum owns 6 of my quilts in their permanent collection.","PeriodicalId":42612,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mathematics and the Arts","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82694786","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Physical sculptures as mental space for reflection: reflection-in-action","authors":"Gianluca Stasi","doi":"10.1080/17513472.2020.1734765","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17513472.2020.1734765","url":null,"abstract":"Architect by training, I have explored and expanded privately the fields of mathematic and geometry moved by personal fascination. Today they constitute a cornerstone of my architectural practice, ...","PeriodicalId":42612,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mathematics and the Arts","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90403374","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Minimalist art from cellular automata","authors":"G. Greenfield","doi":"10.1080/17513472.2020.1730547","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17513472.2020.1730547","url":null,"abstract":"My interest in algorithmic, generative and evolutionary art stems from my exposure to artists featured in the SIGGRAPH art exhibitions of the early 1980s such as Roman Verostko, Hans Dehlinger, Yoichiro Kawaguchi, Mark Wilson, Jean-Pierre Hébert, Karl Sims, andWilliam Latham to name just a few. My own computer generated artworks arise from visualizations of mathematical, physical or biological processes. My objective is to draw the viewer’s attention to the complexity and intricacy underlying such processes. Previously, in this journal, I have written about minimalist art derived from maximal planar graphs (Greenfield, 2008). Elsewhere, I have written about various generative art projects using cellular automata (Greenfield, 2016, 2018, 2019). Here, I will provide details about an artwork from a recent project onminimalist art derived from the so-called ‘rotor router’ model used for simulating deterministic random walks in the plane (Doerr & Friedrich, 2009; Holroyd & Propp, 2010). I first became aware of this model thanks to an archiv preprint of Neumann, Neumann, and Friedrich (2019). Consider a 200 × 300 toroidal grid such that each cell has four rotors that advance independently. Assume the rotors have 8, 5, 4 and 4 segments numbered 1–8, 1–5, 1–4 and 1–4, respectively. For each cell, randomly initialize its rotor settings and colour the cell grey. Next, select four cells to receive ‘painting objects’. The painting objects have finite tapes over the alphabet (R)ight, (D)own, (L)eft, (U)p. There are purple, blue, green and orange objects with tapes of length 8, 5, 4 and 4 respectively. At each time step, those cells with objects assume the colour of the object, use the value of the appropriate rotor as an index for decidingwhere to send the object, and then advance the appropriate rotor. For example, using the randomly chosen cell positions (52,68), (32,222), (65, 71) and (32,246) plus the randomly generated tapes DLULL, DUURLDDR, RUDL and DULU for the purple, blue, green and orange objects, respectively, after 15,000 time steps the random walk painting on the left of Figure 1 is obtained. At first glance, it may not be clear that I have specified a two-dimensional cellular automaton. Space prohibits providing the formal details, but if one thinks about what is happening from the point of view of the cells this claim should seem plausible. The random painting on the left in Figure 1 was selected from an initial randomly generated population","PeriodicalId":42612,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mathematics and the Arts","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87136491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Explorations in Rational Drawing","authors":"A. Araújo","doi":"10.1080/17513472.2020.1734437","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17513472.2020.1734437","url":null,"abstract":": We discuss the position of the author ’ s spherical perspective work within a tradition of Rational Drawing , a discipline at the interface of mathematics and the arts.","PeriodicalId":42612,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mathematics and the Arts","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86465231","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Thales series: all the rectangles of the world","authors":"M. Reynolds","doi":"10.1080/17513472.2020.1737897","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17513472.2020.1737897","url":null,"abstract":"In January 2019, I turnedmy interests in art and geometry frommy work with incommensurable ratios and the grids they make to a theorem by Thales of Miletus. Thales observed that in a semi-circle, as AC in Figure 1a, any point, B, on the circumference of that semicircle, AC, when drawn to the ends of the diameter, AC, will always make a ninety-degree angle at that point, B. Because there are an infinite number of points on the circumference of the semi-circle, an infinite number of right triangles can be generated, as in Figure 1b. In Figure 1c, it follows then that in a complete circle, any right triangle, AKM, by rotating it a half-turn about the centre, O, of this circle, will produce a rectangle, AKMZ. This diagram shows one easy way to achieve this rotation a halfturn: draw a line from point K through the centre of the circle, O, to R. Because of the infinite number of points on the circle, an infinite number of rectangles – all the rectangles of the world in fact – can be generated. The result of my studies is a new series of drawings and watercolours entitled, ‘Thales Series: All the Rectangles of the World’ (ATROTW for convenience). When I began my series, I realized that any and all rectangles I drew using thismethod have three common features: (a) They share a common diagonal; (b) This diagonal is equal to the diameter of the generating circle; and, (c) This diagonal is also the hypotenuse of a right triangle. While other construction methods can produce axially-aligned rectangles as well as radial, rotational, and reflection symmetries in the circle, my interests so far have centred on generating specific ratios and families of rectangles into the circle using these three features of Thales’ theorem. I continue to work with the diagonal/diameter/hypotenuse relationship because I like the dynamic and unique appearance of the artworks. I also like the challenges and aesthetic considerations presented in the Thales construction.","PeriodicalId":42612,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mathematics and the Arts","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91322613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interpreting natural structures and systems through visual traces","authors":"de-Wit Lee","doi":"10.1080/17513472.2020.1734766","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17513472.2020.1734766","url":null,"abstract":"I came to appreciate mathematics decades after my compulsory high-school math lessons were over. With a longer life experience, I came to see that math can be a fascinating and beautiful intellectual project and process for understanding the invisible foundations of everything in the universe. Aside from usingmath for practical daily applications, I understand the significance of mathematics on a purely intuitive level. Math is never the first thing that I think about when I make art, but it undergirds almost everything that I create. My work—in the form of paintings, drawings, site-specific installations, and public artworks—stems from patterns and traces of growth and transformation in the natural world and the built environment. As a child of a biologist, I grew up seeing electron micrographs and lab specimens, and much of my work refers obliquely to scientific images and ideas. It also reflectsmy long-term interest in the substance and subject of water and related themes, like fluid dynamics and features of watery environments. Through my art-making process, I interpret existing surfaces that record the effects of natural phenomena, employing photographs or drawn documents. From these sources, I develop works that aim to reveal and interpret the evidence of forces of nature on humanmade and natural structures. In my works, masses of lines evoke various influences: organic forms like plants, hair, muscles, and fungi; natural systems such as waves and wind currents; geological strata; topographical maps; and sound. These linear networks are often based on hand-drawn records of physical effects of nature in my immediate surroundings—like a bowed window frame, a sinking floor, or the decaying walls in my former studio. My process includes making tracings and rubbings of surfaces like wood grain, cracking plaster, corroding metal, and eroded stone. I think of these marks as the calligraphic signatures of quotidian natural effects and as interpretations of the material evidence of time. I also see structures and patterns of nature as very complex manifestations of mathematical formulae and processes, at scales both minute and vast. Throughmy work, I create intuitive interpretations of scientific data and evidence—and, by extension, of mathematical truths. By making works that respond to seemingly non-measurable phenomena like","PeriodicalId":42612,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mathematics and the Arts","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82182165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Two complementary ways of linking math and art","authors":"C. Séquin","doi":"10.1080/17513472.2020.1737899","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17513472.2020.1737899","url":null,"abstract":"I am a very visually oriented person. Geometry has been in my blood since high-school, when I was given a copy of Hermann Weyl’s book “Symmetry” [12]. Formal mathematical proofs do not appeal to me until I can get some visualization model that supports that proof on an intuitive level. This is why I have been captivated by topics such as regular maps, graph embeddings, and mathematical knots. Corresponding visualization models have led to geometrical sculptures that convey an aesthetic message even to people who do not know the underlying mathematics. Conversely, abstract geometrical artwork by artists such as Brent Collins and Charles O. Perry have prompted me to discover the underlying mathematical principles and capture them in computer programs, which then produce more sculptures of the same kind.","PeriodicalId":42612,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mathematics and the Arts","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78289580","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Generative Art","authors":"H. Dehlinger","doi":"10.1080/17513472.2020.1729058","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17513472.2020.1729058","url":null,"abstract":"As an artist, I have the freedom to subject myself to restrictive rules that may run close to what is understood by a ‘program’ in computer science. Sentences like: ‘use only vertical strokes of roughly the same length’, ‘go to and fro along a given contour’, ‘draw a tree with short, violent strokes’, etc., are examples for such ‘programs’. In Generative Art (for a definition see, for example, Galanter, 2003), explicit use is made of such rules. I describe my attempts as ‘an art practice where the artist follows a self-designed system of formal rules’ (Dehlinger, 2007). Working manually on a physical piece in statu nascendi, artists have an immediate feedback on the impact of any stroke or action they perform. Not so in Generative Art. Here an idea or a concept is in the focus for which a specific production system is designed that will turn out an aesthetic event. The artist, the inventor of the generative system, then judges it. The strictness of the rules and the precision in their execution performed by the computer are unparalleled. But, in my eyes the machine does not conceive the art. The artistic intelligence/creativity is seated facing the computer and not within it. Accepting the computer as part of the art making equation, artists are granted the privilege to explore totally new and hitherto unknown domains. Generative Art has a strong relation to design. But contrary to design proper, where usually one (in the eyes of the designer the optimal) instance for implementation is searched for, the emphasis in Generative Art is on the plural. The generating system – and this is a wanted effect – is in principle able to supply an endless sequence of differing results, all within the constraining rules set out – a fantastic playground for art. The problematic issues on programming for art related themes in architecture, design and art have engaged me since I started with programming with Algol 68 in the early 60ies as a student of architecture at the University of Stuttgart, Germany. As students of architecture we also were part of a multidisciplinary Studium generale listening to the lectures on aesthetics of the philosopher Max Bense. It was in this context where I first encountered the computer art pioneer Frieder Nake, working on a Zuse-Graphomat. In 1969, I entered the UC Berkeley as a graduate student thanks to a scholarship by DAAD. And, an unforgettable experience shortly after my arrival was an extensive visit of the Cybernetic Serendipidy exhibition at the San Francisco Exploratorium (Reichardt, 1968).","PeriodicalId":42612,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mathematics and the Arts","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78726484","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}