Art and Math

  I want to thank O'Reilly for today's entry.  They featured an article which was fantastic where the author admitted to wondering why a person needed to learn mathematics when they have so many more fun things to do.

It wasn't until she started college when she discovered you needed math to create beautiful interactive art she stumbled upon in college.

Through out the article she shows how learning trig opened a whole new world of creation using circles and moving objects.  Even learning about simple triangles sparked multiple layered creations filled with beauty.  The author shows us how triangles can be combined for art.

The most beautiful statement for me as a math teacher was the one in which she connects triangles to polygons.  Made my heart explode in joy.  I admit she describes all of the math learning in association with certain specific graphic programs but she needed the math to create each and every piece of art.

I love the way she connects her art work with various aspects of geometry and trig.  In addition, she ends the article by sharing that math is also used in the development of apps.  I plan to share this article with my students tomorrow at the beginning of each period.

So many of my students are artists who would rather draw than do math so this is perhaps a way of igniting their enthusiasm to continue in art while finding an enjoyable way for them to want to learn math. 

Check out Jinju Jang's article. Share it with your friends and with your students when they ask "When am I ever going to use this?"  I'd love to hear your thoughts.