Mathematics in Science and Art
Keywords |
Classification |
Keyword |
OFICIAL |
Mathematics |
Instance: 2016/2017 - 2S 
Cycles of Study/Courses
Teaching language
Portuguese
Objectives
To explore the use of mathematics in art (painting, sculpture, architecture, tapestry, music, dance, literature, theater, cinema, comics, photography, etc), either as a theme in the works or through concepts, theorems and methods that support the artistic creation. To verify how this mathematical content can also solve relevant problems of other scientific areas (Physics, Chemistry, Geography, Biology, Medicine, etc.), thus combining aesthetic aspects with the experimental benefits of mathematics. The criteria for choosing such a list of topics for this curricular unit aim to gather an interesting syllabus which also composes a useful complement to the training of mathematicians and communicators of culture and science.
Learning outcomes and competences
The goal of the particular selection of examples for the program of this curricular unit is to encourage the student/teacher to appreciate the use of mathematics in other contexts, and their visualization through art. Meanwhile, the students/teachers learn attractive and potentially more efficient interdisciplinary means of teaching and promoting mathematics, in order to raise the awariness into science and art in general. Students should acquire autonomy and critical sense in the use of these mathematical means and applications.
Working method
Presencial
Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)
The students are expected to master the mathematical subjects studied in a first degree in Mathematics.
Program
1. Tilings of the plane and the sphere. Platonic solids. Visualization of the notions of symmetry, curvature and dimension through works by Escher, van Gogh, Buckminster Fuller, Italo Calvino and Lewis Carrol. Symmetry in Chemistry: the intervention of mathematics in the discovery of the molecule with 60 carbon atoms.
2. The third and fourth dimensions: analysis of this concept in the works of Picasso, Escher and Dalí.
3. The isoperimetric problem. Discussion about the narrative Flatland, by E. Abbott. Properties that characterize or not the circles, and their use in paintings of Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso and in Sports Sciences. Constant-width curves and superelipses of Piet Hein in urban architecture.
4. Construction of maps. Central, Archimedean, Mercator and stereographic projections. Importance of the properties of these functions in various works of classical architecture and modern sculpture. The non-Euclidean distances and the role of axioms in Mathematics. Infinity in the perception of reality: comments about O livro de areia, by Jorge Luis Borges.
5. The art made by computers. Iteration of functions. Newton's method and a problem in Physics concerning nuclear residues. Fractals. The comic strip as a privileged means of promoting mathematics. Details of fractal nature in Pollock's paintings and in the structure of some narratives by James Joyce. The golden ratio and Fibonacci sequence: artistic manifestations of rational approximations of this number in Mondrian's work.
6. The mathematical origin of the pacemaker. Jordan Curve Theorem intervention in the work of the artist Fiona Ross.
7. Use of encryption methods in Edgar Allan Poe's The Golden Bug. Modular arithmetic, the vocabulary in George Perec's La disparition, and the alphabet (color and form) in Miró's surrealist work. The enigmas in Albrecht Durer's etchings.
8. Dating art using the radioactive decay of some atoms. Examples of forgeries of famous paintings by Vermeer, Modigliani and Andrea Mantegna.
9. Algebra in musical composition.
10. A few dialogues of the book Godel, Escher, Bach: An eternal golden braid, of Douglas Hofstadter. Discussion about what is true and what is provable in Mathematics: the contributions in this context of Poincaré, Proust, Magritte and Escher. The paradox of Bertand-Russel in O aleph, by Jorge Luis Borges.
11. Geometric constructions with rule and compass, or with origami.
12. Isometrics of the plane. Group of symmetries of a flat figure: digital visit to the Alhambra Palace. Linear and rider perspective. Essays of Brunelleschi, Masaccio, Piero della Francesca, Alberti, Pélerin and Monge. Anamorphoses. Impact of the use of perspective on works by Tintoretto, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Holbein the Younger and William Hogarth.
Mandatory literature
Veloso Eduardo;
Geometria. ISBN: 972-8353-26-X
Araújo Paulo Ventura;
Curso de geometria. ISBN: 972-662-591-2
Sá Carlos Correia de 340;
Treze viagens pelo mundo da matemática. ISBN: 978-989-8265-34-0
Field J. V.;
The invention of infinity. ISBN: 0-19-852394-7
Hofstadter Douglas R.;
Godel, Escher, Bach. ISBN: 0-1400-5579-7
Abbott Edwin Abbott 1838-1926;
Flatland. ISBN: 978-972-0-42506-5
Jennings George A.;
Modern geometry with applications. ISBN: 0-387-94222-X
Petit Jean-Pierre;
Le geometricon
Stewart Ian;
Les fractals. ISBN: 2-7011-0446-7
Complementary Bibliography
Andersen Kirsti;
The geometry of an art. ISBN: 0-387-25961-9
Grunbaum Branko;
Tilings and patterns. ISBN: 0-7167-1193-1
Machiavelo António 070 340;
43 miniaturas matemáticas. ISBN: 978-989-616-541-3
Field Michael;
Symmetry in chaos. ISBN: 0-19-853689-5
Moise Edwin E.;
Elementary geometry from an advanced standpoint. ISBN: 0-201-50867-2
Gardner Martin;
The night is large. ISBN: 0-14-026372-1
Niven Ivan;
Maxima and minima without calculus. ISBN: 0-88385-306-X
Rademacher Hans;
The enjoyment of mathematics. ISBN: 0-486-26242-1
Teaching methods and learning activities
Lectures accompanied by audiovisual material and guided worksheets.
keywords
Social sciences > Geography
Health sciences
Technological sciences > Architecture
Humanities > Arts
Humanities > Literature
Physical sciences > Mathematics
Evaluation Type
Distributed evaluation without final exam
Assessment Components
designation |
Weight (%) |
Prova oral |
50,00 |
Trabalho escrito |
50,00 |
Total: |
100,00 |
Calculation formula of final grade
Seminar: 50%
Portfolio: 50%
Examinations or Special Assignments
No special assessment works.
Classification improvement
An improvement of the marks may be obtained through a written exam.