Thinking Artistically and Mathematically

Professors Skillin-Brauchle and Laison see many exciting overlaps as well as compelling deviation in artistic and mathematical thinking. Together they would like to work with students to investigate concepts central to both fine art and mathematics, and develop projects which draw on both disciplines. Possible topics include patterns, abstraction, and the use of rule systems.

In my research, my co-authors and I create and solve abstract geometric and spatial puzzles. For example, how many translated copies of a polygon can intersect a central one but not each other? How closely can you pack a collection of rectangles that see each other in a proscribed pattern? These puzzles are fun and engaging for us, but because our published papers are technical and specialized, it's challenging to communicate their beauty to our readers. In this project, I would like to learn and apply methods from the art world to bring the experience of mathematical problem solving to a larger community audience.

Willamette University

Liberal Arts Research Collaborative

Address
900 State Street
Salem Oregon 97301 U.S.A.
Phone
503-370-6737

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