Transcript Liberal Arts Math: Conceptual Art (2009)

Liberal Arts Mathematics
A Conceptual Art Form
Steve Zides
(Physics Department)
Conceptual Art and Liberal Arts Mathematics
What is Conceptual Art?
What is Liberal Arts Math?
“In conceptual art the idea or
“An introduction to the essence
concept is the most important
of mathematics, namely, the
aspect of the work. When an
discovery and verification of
artist uses a conceptual form
patterns, and to the historical
of art, it means that all of the
role of mathematics in shaping
planning and decisions are
culture.”
made beforehand and the
execution is a perfunctory
affair. The idea becomes a
machine that makes the art.”
--- Sol LeWitt
--- Wofford Catalogue
One and Three Chairs by Joseph Kosuth
“What art has in common with logic and mathematics is
that it is a tautology” --- Kosuth
Number and Set
Examples From Number and Set
Jasper Johns
Georges-Pierre Seurat
Logic and Proof
Examples From Logic and Proof
René Magritte
Joseph Wright
Geometry
Examples From Geometry
Masaccio
Canaletto
Picasso
Transformation and Iteration
Examples From Transformation and Iteration
M.C. Escher
Robert Smithson
Final Projects
Assignment
The goal of this project is to
get each student to think
creatively about the material
being covered in class.
To allow the maximum
amount of flexibility, students
may create a project in any
format they choose. For
example the project could be a
video, photo collage, painting,
series of sketches, short story,
play scene, poetry collection,
etc.
Types of Final Submission
 Poems
 Short Stories
 Baby Mobil
 Board Game
 Rock Video
 New Number System
 Numbers and Classical Music
 Alternate Perspective Painting
 Psychology of Pattern
 Fermat Collage
Kat’s Fermat Collage
Boast in Latin
Entire Collage
Statement of the Theorem
Liberal Arts Mathematics
A Conceptual Art Form
Steve Zides
([email protected])