WHAT DO YOU LEARN IN THIS COURSE?

We look at several topics in Mathematics as motivated by art.

Here are some examples:

We cover several topics, one of which is tessellations. We will discover how the two pictures on the left were constructed.

What would you need to know to construct the ball covered by fish on the right? (You need to think about geometry on a sphere instead of a flat plane.)

We will look at the fourth dimension. (This is what Picasso was thinking about when he made some of his paintings!)

We will also look at some mathematically constructed strange objects. For instance the band on the left is called a Mobius Band. (See picture on other side.) Most objects we know have two sides (inside and out, or top and bottom), but this one is one-sided!

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All M.C. Escher works (c) 2001 Cordon Art - Baarn —

the Netherlands. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Official website : www.mcescher.com

The figure on the right is a so called "Impossible (Penrose) Triangle".

And there is much more!

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES IN THIS COURSE?

You will construct your own tessellation and write a paper about it.

You will go to the art museum and write a paper about geometry and art.

We will read books and short stories related to the mathematics we are studying.

WHO SHOULD TAKE THIS COURSE?

Someone who has mastered high-school algebra.

Someone who is curious about math and art.

Someone who would like to know how math applies to our everyday world.

WARNING: This class is not intended to prepare you for courses that you are not already prepared for!

COMMENTS FROM STUDENTS WHO TOOK THIS CLASS PREVIOUSLY:

"I loved the course — SLU should offer more courses like this!"

"She was an awesome teacher, and this was an awesome class!"

"It was fun!"

"I would recommend this course to anyone and everyone!"