Earth Day

On the day created to celebrate this remarkable planet and to serve as encouragement to come together and take action for a healthier planet and brighter future, I thought it might also be a good time to celebrate the amazing amount of mathematics that exist in nature.

Many of the links below can be found on the Math in Nature Pintrest page but I thought I would directly share some of my favorites:

Spectacular Geometric Forms Find Balance in Nature
Ultra-macro of corals (particularly pertinent given the global coral bleaching event currently occuring)
Beauty and Brains: Award-Winning Medical Images

And one for fun:
Furbonacci Sequence Proves That Cats Are Purrfect

Happy Earth Day

Pi

Photo by Chaitanya Tvs on Unsplash

Per Wikipedia, “pi is a mathematical constant that is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, approximately equal to 3.14159. The number pi appears in many formulae across mathematics and physics.” Sorry, but that’s just boring — true but boring. Rather than read about it, visualize it.

Specifically, check out some of the art that has been created using pi.

10 stunning images show the beauty hidden in pi

Life of pi – a visual story

It’s Been a While

Life happens. It keeps moving whether your creations do or not. Regardless, time always allows you to return, revisit and reconnect. So, I should start posting again. There’s still a plethora of subjects to explore in the intersection of mathematics and art.

What better place to begin again is with the mention of a colleague from years gone by. I knew Mark when I was in graduate school and knew him to be creative then. Amazing how that creativity has grown over the years.

Take a look at some of his creations: https://www.deviantart.com/boygnius

For more information on Modular Origami, check out the links below.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modular_origami
https://www.katebuckley.co.uk/news-from-the-studio/top-ten-origami-artists

Emmanuelle Moureaux

Born in 1971, France. Emmanuelle Moureaux is a French architect living in Tokyo since 1996 and established an architect and design studio in 2003. While living in Tokyo Emmanuelle created a design concept which she called “shikiri” meaning “dividing space with colors”. It was through the exploration of color that she created some amazing art installations which have been shown throughout the world.

Though all of her creations are awe inspiring, it was these particular installations that drew my eye.

Check out her mirai, slices of time and her forest of numbers (also shown below)

forest of numbers – Emmanuelle Moreaux

The Droste Effect

If you’ve done any kind of deep dive into some of Escher’s work (see 4/3/2021), you may have come across a reference to The Droste Effect. Venturing into this recursive art form is both mesmerizing and, unfortunately, sometimes disturbing.

By the way, this should not be confused with the somewhat similar, Infinite Cat Project which has its 1856 cats lacking recursion.

David C. Roy

I’ve always been interested in kinetic sculptures and happened upon the wooden pieces created by David C. Roy. Though a bit of a departure from a direct mathematical connection, the curves used in many of his pieces track back to trigonometric graphs or, in the very least, Fibonacci spirals. Check out all of his creations (apparently he’s been creating since 1975) and his progression of designs.

Temari

As you explore the connections of art and mathematics, the rabbit holes can lead to some amazing finds. Consider Temari — an ancient folk art form originating from China during the Asuka period (538 – 710) and evolved into what is known today as Temari, during the Edo period (1603 – 1867). The intricate patterns are not only amazing but also deep in examples of symmetry and spherical geometry.

Jared Tarbell

The best way to discover?… Explore.

Check out the works of Jared S. Tarbell. I discovered his works through his website Complexification. It’s somewhat inactive now but still contains quite a bit of his creations and, for some, the code he used to create them. His works can also be found at Levitated, at the website for the Kate Vass galerie (no idea how this differs from a gallery) or, likely in person, at The Levitated Toy Factory in Albuquerque, NM.

M. C. Escher

The things I want to express are so beautiful and pure.

M. C. Escher

In my opinion, this attempt would be useless without mention of Maurits Cornelis Escher. His work is fairly ubiquitous with exhibits at the National Gallery of Art, and National Galleries Scotland, as well as puzzles, or posters.

Clark Richert

For some local influence, check out the work of Clark Richert. Richert was a professor at the Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design (located just down the road) 1998 – 2018, and was featured in a number of exhibits at Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, and Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art among many others.