The purpose of this book is to analyze the interdisciplinary aspects of mathematics and geometry in reference to nature, art, and architecture.In Chapter 1, we introduce symmetry and its different meanings. Symmetry is a notion, which has been applied in the arts and architecture to find harmony and beauty. It joins aesthetics and practice, science and economy, mathematics and philosophy. In this chapter, we also analyze the influence of Vitruvius and the concept of old symmetry, received by the Renaissance. It is also interesting to note how in contemporary architecture there is often the presence of the "break" of symmetry (for example in the Frank O. Gehry's works).Chapter 2 explains how proportions, and in particular, the golden section, has introduced aesthetic canons that have strongly influenced many artists like Polycletus, and architects, from Ictinus to Le Corbusier.In Chapter 3, we discover how curves and spirals find their application in artistic works, for example in Mycenaean jewelry, and architectural works, from the Baroque of Francesco Borromini to the Land Art of Smithson.Chapter 4 presents the importance and influence that Platonic solids and polyhedrons have had on philosophy and art through different historical periods and different cultures. For instance, we look at how Platonic solids are connected to the theory of Empedocles' elements and Hippocrates' theory of humors.Chapter 5 describes surfaces, discovering how different cultures have used them in different manners, including Roman aqueducts, iron bridges, and finally arriving on modern structures that base their forms on hyperboloids and paraboloids.In Chapter 6, we introduce fractal geometry, as a geometry that tries to explain nature's irregular shapes, trying to overcome the limitations imposed by "old" Euclidean geometry. We also analyze how fractal geometry has influenced architecture in this century.

This is a cultural history of mathematics and art, from antiquity to the present. Mathematicians and artists have long been on a quest to understand the physical world they see before them and the abstract objects they know by thought alone. Taking readers on a tour of the practice of mathematics and the philosophical ideas that drive the discipline, Lynn Gamwell points out the important ways mathematical concepts have been expressed by artists. Sumptuous illustrations of artworks and cogent math diagrams are featured in Gamwell's comprehensive exploration. Gamwell begins by describing mathematics from antiquity to the Enlightenment, including Greek, Islamic, and Asian mathematics. Then focusing on modern culture, Gamwell traces mathematicians' search for the foundations of their science, such as David Hilbert's conception of mathematics as an arrangement of meaning-free signs, as well as artists' search for the essence of their craft, such as Aleksandr Rodchenko's monochrome paintings. She shows that self-reflection is inherent to the practice of both modern mathematics and art, and that this introspection points to a deep resonance between the two fields: Kurt Gödel posed questions about the nature of mathematics in the language of mathematics and Jasper Johns asked "What is art?" in the vocabulary of art. Throughout, Gamwell describes the personalities and cultural environments of a multitude of mathematicians and artists, from Gottlob Frege and Benoît Mandelbrot to Max Bill and Xu Bing. Mathematics and Art demonstrates how mathematical ideas are embodied in the visual arts and will enlighten all who are interested in the complex intellectual pursuits, personalities, and cultural settings that connect these vast disciplines.

This carefully researched survey examines how architects now use digital tools and physics to build spatial constructs that would have been inconceivable even ten years ago. Architecture has always relied on mathematics to achieve visual harmony, structural integrity, and logical construction. Now digital tools and an increasing interest in physics have given architects the means to describe and build spatial constructs that would have been inconceivable even ten years ago. This carefully researched survey of forty-six international projects offers an overview of how different strategies are being employed through accessible illustrations and clear text. Each section presents case studies of projects by globally recognized architects in diagrams, photographs, and texts.

Every age and every culture has relied on the incorporation of mathematics in their works of architecture to imbue the built environment with meaning and order. Mathematics is also central to the production of architecture, to its methods of measurement, fabrication and analysis. This two-volume edited collection presents a detailed portrait of the ways in which two seemingly different disciplines are interconnected. Over almost 100 chapters it illustrates and examines the relationship between architecture and mathematics. Contributors of these chapters come from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds: architects, mathematicians, historians, theoreticians, scientists and educators. Through this work, architecture may be seen and understood in a new light, by professionals as well as non-professionals. Volume II covers architecture from the Late Renaissance era, through Baroque, Ottoman, Enlightenment, Modern and contemporary styles and approaches. Key figures covered in this volume include Palladio, Michelangelo, Borromini, Sinan, Wren, Wright, Le Corbusier, Breuer, Niemeyer and Kahn. Mathematical themes which are considered include linear algebra, tiling and fractals and the geographic span of the volume’s content includes works in the United States of America and Australia, in addition to those in Europe and Asia.

Recent progress in research, teaching and communication has arisen from the use of new tools in visualization. To be fruitful, visualization needs precision and beauty. This book is a source of mathematical illustrations by mathematicians as well as artists. It offers examples in many basic mathematical fields including polyhedra theory, group theory, solving polynomial equations, dynamical systems and differential topology. For a long time, arts, architecture, music and painting have been the source of new developments in mathematics. And vice versa, artists have often found new techniques, themes and inspiration within mathematics. Here, while mathematicians provide mathematical tools for the analysis of musical creations, the contributions from sculptors emphasize the role of mathematics in their work.

To find "criteria of simplicity" was the goal of David Hilbert's recently discovered twenty-fourth problem on his renowned list of open problems given at the 1900 International Congress of Mathematicians in Paris. At the same time, simplicity and economy of means are powerful impulses in the creation of artworks. This was an inspiration for a conference, titled the same as this volume, that took place at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York in April of 2013. This volume includes selected lectures presented at the conference, and additional contributions offering diverse perspectives from art and architecture, the philosophy and history of mathematics, and current mathematical practice.

The author of What Is a Number? examines the relationship between mathematics and art and literature of the 20th century. During the twentieth century, many artists and writers turned to abstract mathematical ideas to help them realize their aesthetic ambitions. Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, and, perhaps most famously, Piet Mondrian used principles of mathematics in their work. Was it coincidence, or were these artists following their instincts, which were ruled by mathematical underpinnings, such as optimal solutions for filling a space? If math exists within visual art, can it be found within literary pursuits? In short, just what is the relationship between mathematics and the creative arts? In this exploration of mathematical ideas in art and literature, Robert Tubbs argues that the links are much stronger than previously imagined and exceed both coincidence and commonality of purpose. Not only does he argue that mathematical ideas guided the aesthetic visions of many twentieth-century artists and writers, Tubbs further asserts that artists and writers used math in their creative processes even though they seemed to have no affinity for mathematical thinking. In the end, Tubbs makes the case that art can be better appreciated when the math that inspired it is better understood. An insightful tour of the great masters of the last century and an argument that challenges long-held paradigms, this book will appeal to mathematicians, humanists, and artists, as well as instructors teaching the connections among math, literature, and art. “Though the content of Tubbs’s book is challenging, it is also accessible and should interest many on both sides of the perceived divide between mathematics and the arts.” —Choice

In this large-format book, lavishly illustrated in color throughout, Allan McRobie takes the reader on an alluring exploration of the beautiful curves that shape our world--from our bodies to Salvador Dalí's paintings and the space-time fabric of the universe itself. The book focuses on seven curves--the fold, cusp, swallowtail, and butterfly, plus the hyperbolic, elliptical, and parabolic "umbilics"--and describes the surprising origins of their taxonomy in the catastrophe theory of mathematician René Thom.

A fascinating and insightful collection of papers on the strong links between mathematics and culture. The contributions range from cinema and theatre directors to musicians, architects, historians, physicians, graphic designers and writers. The text highlights the cultural and formative character of mathematics, its educational value, and imaginative dimension. These articles are highly interesting, sometimes amusing, and make excellent starting points for researching the strong connection between scientific and literary culture.