I applaud and support your efforts at developing a math/art program, especially for middle school age visitors! This can be an exciting way to capture the imagination of young folks seeing the interconnection among disciplines, when so often they are presented discretely.
I have taught art and design at university for over 15 years, and find in theory and in practice that math and art are inextricably intertwined. Particularly while teaching 3D Design, concepts from geometry to trig and even some calculus make their appearance as we try to solve aesthetic (and functional) problems. For years I introduced students to both Platonic and Archimedean solids by way of first introducing the art/math concept of a point, and a series of points making a line, and a series of lines making a plane, then a series of planes making a volume, then a series of conjoined volumes with which to additively sculpt. This practice seemed far less intimidating for students that (in stereotypical fashion) were "not good at math." They came to find that they actually understood a great deal about math, but from an object maker's perspective.
Most often the materials for our exploration were simply study paper, straight edge, exacto knife, and rubber cement. Also, a bone folder made for better creases, folds, and therefore alignment of the finished volumes. The materials then were also quite accessible, inexpensive, and nearly all students had prior experience with them...even if they needed some demonstration on professional use of the tools. This made material manipulation entry barriers very low and students could then concentrate on concepts.
I'd be happy to share a brief from one such project that
might be useful in a workshop format. I'll see if I can track that down. In the meantime, I hope your project grows exponentially! ;-)
------------------------------
Bradley McKinney
Interactive Technology Instructional Designer Developer
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
Indianapolis IN
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 07-05-2018 01:28 PM
From: Jan Cohen
Subject: Math in art
I am launching a venture to bring programs to museums about the mathematics of art. Focusing on shape, proportion, symmetry, grids, patterns and other geometric attributes, these workshops include presentations, investigations and studio components geared toward middle school age visitors. Looking for comments, suggestions and contacts.
------------------------------
Jan Cohen
New York NY
------------------------------