Mosaic panel with pattern of stars, squares, and other geometric shapes made from colored stones, Antioch, 3rd century A.D. Baltimore Museum of Art, 2012.
To explore the strikingly different appearance of a geometrical sculpture as its orientation changes, sculptor Arthur Silverman constructed small cardboard models; in this case, a pair of elongated tetrahedra stuck together to form a single unit.
Sliceform constructions (mathematical models from paper sections) by John Sharp. Second Annual Conference of the International Society of the Arts, Mathematics and Architecture (ISAMA 2000), University at Albany, Albany, New York, 2000.
In the computer-operated “Scrapple” system, an overhead
video camera registers the positions and shapes of the objects on the table. A
projector generates the sliding, glowing bar visible on the surface. Special
software links the moving bar with the objects. It also determines what sounds correspond
to each shape and runs the sound synthesizer.
Rugged coastlines, jagged rocks, billowy clouds, and crashing waves are examples of natural forms that resemble self-similar mathematical objects called fractals. Hawaii, 1983.
Ivars Peterson is a freelance writer and editor. He was Director of Publications at the Mathematical Association of America from 2007 to 2014. As an award-winning mathematics writer, he previously worked at Science News for more than 25 years and served as editor of Science News Online and Science News for Kids. His books include The Mathematical Tourist, Islands of Truth, Newton's Clock, and Fragments of Infinity: A Kaleidoscope of Math and Art.