Fragments of Infinity
A Kaleidoscope of Math and Art
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- $17.99
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
A visual journey to the intersection of math and imagination, guided by an award-winning author
Mathematics is right brain work, art left brain, right? Not so. This intriguing book shows how intertwined the disciplines are. Portraying the work of many contemporary artists in media from metals to glass to snow, Fragments of Infinity draws us into the mysteries of one-sided surfaces, four-dimensional spaces, self-similar structures, and other bizarre or seemingly impossible features of modern mathematics as they are given visible expression. Featuring more than 250 beautiful illustrations and photographs of artworks ranging from sculptures both massive and minute to elaborate geometric tapestries and mosaics of startling complexity, this is an enthralling exploration of abstract shapes, space, and time made tangible.
Ivars Peterson (Washington, DC) is the mathematics writer and online editor of Science News and the author of The Jungles of Randomness (Wiley: 0-471-16449-6), as well as four previous trade books.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
What do math equations look like when the numbers are translated into form and the form is rendered in, say, silk, or glass? In Fragments of Infinity: A Kaleidoscope of Math and Art, Ivars Peterson (The Jungles of Randomness), a writer and editor at Science News, studies sculpture inspired by abstract math. Many among this breed appear in plazas and subway stations; others get little visibility, being too minute or fragile. Quasicrystals and hypercubes rendered in glass and metal; lattices transformed into different geometric patterns; M bius strips made of everything from ribbon to bronze; computer sculpture generators via numerous methods and media, the work examined explores "the beauty of embedded possibility." Helaman Ferguson, Harriet Brisson and William Webber are among the artists represented. 250-plus photos and illus.
