Our books use the connection between the arts and mathematics in many ways. The resources below can guide you towards particular investigations in our books, based on your interest in a particular art form, type of student engagement, or mathematical content topic.
We often use art as an entryway into a larger mathematical question, for example, using string art to motivate an investigation into tangent lines in "Ideas of Calculus." Sometimes the mathematical question arises in the structure of an art form, as in the ribbon patterns created in maypole dancing in the "Dance" book. At other times, students create a piece of their own mathematical art work as a culminating activity in the course, be it a piece of string art, a dance choreography, a poem, or a piece of fractal music.
Please share your ideas and experiences with us.
Larger Art Projects
Students create a piece of art using mathematics.
- String art (tangent lines, calculus ideas), Calculus book, Content: CALCULUS
- Slice forms (3 dimensional geometry), Geometry book, GEOMETRY
- Symmetry movement, Dance book, GEOMETRY
- Google Sketchup, Geometry book, GEOMETRY
- Hexaflexagons, Patterns book
- Fractal Music, Music book, GEOMETRY
- Tessellation – Escher – Iran Mosque
Art Connections/ Analyzing Art
Students use art to dive into a mathematical question.
- Photography (geometry of a sphere and maps) GEOMETRY
- Maypole dancing (patterns), Dance book, GEOMETRY
- Origami (2 dim geometry), Art and Sculpture book, GEOMETRY
- Perspective Drawings, Projections of the cube, Geometry book, GEOMETRY
- 4th dimension: Hypercube + art, Geometry book,
- Clapping Game (gcf lcm), Music book, ALGEBRA
- Rhythms (Pascal’s triangle), Music book, ALGEBRA
- Chord geometry – Moebius strip – Escher, Music book,
- Golden Ratio – Art (GEOMETRY) Fibonacci
- Contra dancing – Permutations, Dance book, (ALGEBRA)
- Salsa Rueda – Star Polygons - Spirographs, Dance book, (lcm, gcd) {ALGEBRA)
- Braiding – contra dancing – maypole dancing, Dance book,
- Frieze patterns (frieze feet), Dance book,