| Other Math Tips Hi, students... Here is a letter that I wrote to some instructors at Otis School of Art in Los Angeles. Notice the description in the course catalog. TO: Otis Instructors May 18, 2002 (Attn: Linda Hudson or Linda Burnham) 9045 Lincoln Blvd Los Angeles CA 90045 RE: Who teaches the “Math for Artists” course? Hello! I’m looking for the instructor who teaches the “Math for Artists” course. I’m a teacher of math in Fort Lauderdale at a public school and I’m curious about the types of problems that are included in the curriculum of the Math for Artists course. I teach High School math and I’d like to have some “real world” examples that I can use in my class. Do you have a text book or do you have worksheets or anything that you can recommend to me? If you developed the worksheets yourself, maybe you can give me permission to use them or adapt them for a curriculum that I’m creating for my school (perhaps simpler versions of the fractal problems, to prepare the students for what they might study at your institute). You can see the beginnings of my attempt to develop an alternative way of looking at math in my web site: www.oocities.org/talkinternational/mathforartists.html FROM YOUR COURSE CATALOG: MATH FOR ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS This course explores the connections between math and art in two and three dimensions. The class will include an exploration of Escher’s work, tiling the plane, fractals, and the golden ratio. It will also cover topics such as graphing equations and geometric constructions. Depending on performance on the Basic Skills Assessment Test, students may be required to complete additional independent work in the tutoring lab. http://www.otisart.edu/programs/BFA/Foundation/foundcourse3.htm TO: Linda Burnham / Linda Hudson Thanks! Steve McCrea 2314 Desoto Drive Fort Lauderdale FL 33301 954 463 0310 globalcooling@pstcomputers.com |
| That's right, artists! You will take a "Basic Skills Assessment Test" to determine your math ability. Let's get some of work done in High School by studying the pages that you can find at www.webmath.com and other web sites. This Math for Artists web site is my attempt to make a CONVERGENT ("There's only one solution") world a gentler place for people who have the artistic mentality that asks, "what else is going on here?" A train is traveling east on a track between Paris and Berlin. In four hours the train will cover 240 miles. What is the speed of the train? Divergent thinkers want to know the temperature of the air, was it raining? what color is the train? Why is the train going to Berlin? What happened to make the people want to leave Paris? What will the train's conductor do when she gets to Berlin? What is the color of the seats on the train? how many people are on the train? Is the train crowded? These questions are not relevant to getting the answer that the test creators want, but they are valuable questions in the real world. You want to know if this place is worth remembering or worth visiting or worth learning more about. Are you attracted to this place? I want to make divergent "out of the box" thinkers feel safe -- you can be a successful person and have a fulfilling life even though you take 2 minutes to find the answer and a typical businessman can solve the problem in 30 seconds. Who is happier? I think the person who sees a picture of the train in his mind's eye is a more interesting person and I want to have a cup of coffee on Las Olas Blvd. and talk about this train problem with that person! (I'm a convergent thinker, so I like to learn how a divergent thinker thinks...) |
| Math for Artists in the Otis Course focuses on the following areas: the connections between math and art in two and three dimensions I need to make a 1/16th scale of a building that I'm designing. How much cardboard do I need to buy? I have a photo that measures 4" x 6" and I want to expand the central face (which is 3" x 4") as large as possible on a paper measuring 8.5" x 11" Escher’s work, tiling the plane, Remember those flying birds who turn into fish? fractals, wow.... and the golden ratio. In some paintings, you can find a rectangle that has a longer side that is about 2 to 3 times longer than the short side. Many artists chose this "golder rectangle." graphing equations What does a parabola look like? How does it differ from a hyperbolic curve? Which shape is close to the shape of a satellite dish? geometric constructions. Can you make a pyramid? A perfect cube? How much paper will you need to make a cube that is 27 cubic feet in volume? |
| Examples of WRITINGS by Artists The exercise is to apply mathematical thinking and calculations to the situations that the writers discuss |