Course Policies

Syllabus

Homework:
Just a heads up! I've chosen the topics for this class based on their connection to art, rather than because the topics all flow together or are of the same complexity. Furthermore, I like to see what people can do, when given the chance. Hopefully, taking those two ideas into account will help you understand and accept that the problems on the homework vary quite a bit in their level of difficulty. Some weeks, the entire problem set will be fairly straightforward (which is not quite the same thing as being easy); other weeks may be a bit more mixed. When you encounter a problem or an entire concept that seems difficult to you, don't stress, but don't skip it, either. Take advantage of my office hours, and those of the tutors for this class, Annisha and Jess.

Also, since the problem sets will be based on what we've covered, some weeks the problem sets will be fairly long, while other weeks they'll be shorter.

• Guidelines for Homework Presentation
• Assignments:
  • Assignment 0: Introductory Letter
  • PS 1: Systems of Proportion
  • PS 2: More on Systems of Proportion
  • PS 3: The Golden Ratio
  • PS 4: More on The Golden Ratio
  • PS 5: Still More on the Golden Ratio
  • PS 6: Introduction to Perspective
  • PS 7: Vanishing Points and Finding the Correct Viewing Position.
    For this problem set, you will need print-outs of several paintings. Please print out a version of each for you to work on. (I have rotated a couple, to make them fit on the page better.
    • Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper
    • Raphael's School of Athens
    • Masaccio's Trinity
  • PS 8: Subdividing and Duplicating Rectangles
    For this problem set, you will need several print-outs of a section of roadside fence.
  • PS 9: More on Duplicating and Subdividing Rectangles; Anamorphic Art
    • Section of roadside fence
    • The drawing you need to convert to anamorphic art
    • A grid to draw it on.
  • PS 10: The 4th Dimension
  • PS 11: More on Higher Dimensions
  • PS 12: Recursive definitions of fractals; Similarity Dimension; Intro to complex numbers
    For this problem set, you will need graph paper. You are welcome to use your own, of course, but in case you don't have any, here is what I use for graph paper:
    • Graph Paper

• Study Guide to Exam 1
• Study Guide to Exam 2
  For this study guide, you will need to print out the following:
  • Piero della Francesca's Flagellation
• Study Guide to Exam 3
• Study Guide to Final Exam

Projects:

• General Description of How Projects Fit Into This Course
• Brief description of each project, along with due dates, and maximum points available. For a more complete description of the project, click on the project number.

  	Brief Description of project	Due date	Maximum points
  1	Read a book or article on math in art	4/17/09	50 (long book)
  			40 (Flatland or similar)
  			20 (10-20 page article)
  			5-10 (shorter article)
  2	Create work rigorously using proportion	2/6/09	35 (10-15 measurements)
  			15 (5-7 measurements)
  			5-10 (fewer measurements)
  3	Analyze Seurat's La Parade for evidence	2/27/09	20-25 (>= 16 good prospects)
  	of the Golden Ratio		10-20 (8-15 good prospects)
  			5-10 (3-7 good prospects)
  4	Create work incorporating Golden Ratio	3/6/09	50 (extensive/varied use and
  	and/or Fibonacci numbers		an analysis of the resulting
  			work)
  5	On a window, tape a building seen through	3/6/09	10 (per person)
  	the window (group project)		10 (per person)
  6	Draw house using 3D coordinates and	3/20/09	30 (if extensively)
  	perspective formulae		personalized)
  			15 (if no personalization)
  7	Create work using perspective techniques	4/3/09	35 (extensive/varied use and
  	developed in class		analysis of viewing position)
  8	Create work of anamorphic art	4/3/09	25 (create grid & find viewing distance)
  			15 (find viewing distance for given grid)
  			10 (art alone)
  9	Construct "unfolded" hypercube,	4/10/09	20 (3D & correctly colored)
  	identifying connecting faces
  10	Read Flatland; write a description of	4/17/09	20 (substantial and sound)
  	constraints on life in 2D
  11	Write a speculation on life in the 4th	4/17/09	25 (sound & creative)
  	dimension, based on sound math
  12	Create a model of the hyperbolic plane-	4/24/09	20-25 (crochet, bead, sew)
  	crochet, sew, beading, or taped pape		10-15 (taped paper)
  13	Create a fractal using the recursive	5/1/09	30 (if 3-4 steps & find dim.)
  	process		15 (if 3-4 steps)

Some selected fun, interesting & relevant articles from Ivars Peterson's weekly series Math Trek and other sources:

• Systems of Proportion
  • Medieval Harmony (music)
  • An adaptation of Stonehenge in New Zealand
• Golden Ratio and Fibonacci Numbers
  • Golden Blossoms, Pi Flowers(flowers)
  • A Fibonacci Fountain (sculpture)
• Perspective
  • Art of the Grid (anamorphic art -- missing most of the images, but has some links)
  • Sphere Worlds(painting; perspective)
• 4th Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry
  • A Stranger from Spaceland (discussing Flatland)
  • Immersed in Klein Bottles (glass-blowing)
  • Hyperbolic 5 (textiles, graphic design)
  • Anatomy of a Bead Creature(beading; non-Euclidean Geometry)
• Fractals
  • Math in Arcadia (theatre)
  • Pascal's Fractals (graphic design)

    To create some of these fun triangles yourself, go to this website

  • Visiting Artlandia (graphic design)
  • Dancing Chaos (music)
  • Jackson Pollock's fractals (painting)
  • Geometry Out of Africa (textiles, sand drawings -- and a link to Latvian needlework)
  • Fractured Granite and Fractal Prints (sculpture & prints; fractals)
• Symmetry
  • Geometry Out of Africa (textiles, sand drawings -- and a link to Latvian needlework)
  • Sand Drawings and Mirror Images (drawings)
  • Perception Psychology: Visual Structure of a Japanese Zen Garden
• Miscellaneous
  • Mathematical Art on Display (this discusses a long-gone exhibit, but has lots of links to mathematical art. Some links are also long-gone, but some are really cool.)
  • Fractal Roots and Artful Math(another long-gone exhibit, with more cool links to mathematical art of many different types)
  • Squaring Circles(not exactly art, but still cool)
  • Artful Routes(graphic design)
  • Art of Pursuit (graphic design)
  • Mozart's Melody Machine (music)
  • Sculpture Generator (scultpure, of course!)
  • Art of the Tetrahedron (sculpture)

    To see some of the sculptures described in this article, go to this website of Arthur Silverman's work

  • Sculpting with a Twist(sculpture)
  • A Minimal Winter's Tale (sculpture -- in the snow)
  • White Narcisssus (more snow sculpture)
  • A Snowy Twist(still more snow sculpture)
  • A Graceful Sculpture's Showy Snow Crash (and still more snow scultpure)
  • Art Tied Up(a variety of media; knot theory)