Only Connect
Year: 2024 Authors: Margaret Kepner
Core claim
Appropriate visual forms can logically connect mathematical content, such as number theory and recreational math, with quilt-inspired art.
Topics
mathematics and art, quilt-inspired design, recreational mathematics, number sequences
Domains
number theory, magic squares, integer partitions, Catalan and Bell numbers, quilting, pattern design, geometric dissections, shape packing
Methods
visual translation, pattern-based composition, mathematical imagery, format matching
Media
quilt patterns, square spiral grid, printed artwork, star-shape dissections
Paper text
The text below is the locally extracted OCR/Markdown version of the paper. Raw PDF files remain local and are not published here.
Bridges 2024 Conference Proceedings
Only Connect
Margaret Kepner
Washington, DC, USA; renpek1010@gmail.com
In my artistic work, it is my goal to connect ideas and themes from both mathematics and art. For example, I sometimes express mathematical concepts using formats found in traditional quilting. In the figures below, the top row shows two pieces based on quilt patterns (Wild Goose Chase and Log Cabin). The mathematical content for Figure 1 is the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic, while in Figure 2, the subject is a Magic Square of Order 8. Topics in recreational math often provide me with subject matter. In addition to magic squares, some of my art is inspired by geometric dissections and shape-packing problems. Figure 3 shows a piece based on dissections of a square into regular star shapes, and uses a Crazy Quilt format. Number theory is another content source. In Figure 4, the prime, triangular, Fibonacci, and several other number sequences are plotted on a square spiral path. I have also created artwork based on integer partitions, and the Catalan and Bell numbers. For each topic I explore, I try to find an appropriate visual format that provides a logical connection to the underlying mathematical content and produces a pleasing result.
Figure 1: Prime Goose Chase.
Figure 2: A Breeze over Gwalior.
Figure 3: Crazy Squares, Fractured Stars.
Figure 4: Sequences on a Square Grid - 576.
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