Extra Credit: National Museum of Mathematics

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Bloom by John Edmark (still position)
While visiting New York, I also took the opportunity to visit the National Museum of Mathematics. The exhibitions of mathematics and artistic displays within pushed me to choose mathematics for my final paper. One interesting exhibit was Bloom by John Edmark, which utilized rotation at a specific speed and a 3D printed bowl to create a dynamic and evolving object. Mathematics was required to create the display, since the rotation speed must perfectly match the strobe light and features on the bowl. Additionally, 3D printing technology allowed the artist to easily create new objects for rotation with the great precision required for the exhibit.

The next work of art that was directly inspired from mathematical principles was Human Tree, an interactive exhibit that utilized video cameras and fractal patterns to allow audience members to become trees made of themselves. I especially liked this exhibit because it was entertaining enough to make people stay and play with it for a few minutes, which is significant when most works of art are interacted with for only a few seconds. Additionally, it helped me better understand the recursive nature of fractals since I could clearly identify myself at each iterative step, which shows the power of art in illustrating mathematical principles.
Myself as a Tree

The final exhibit I wanted to mention was the section dedicated to interactive mathematical puzzles. Each puzzle was carefully designed to have one or many solutions using advanced geometry. I noticed that many museum patrons spent over half an hour in the area, including myself, which suggests that we are naturally attracted to mathematics. I highly recommend that any DESMA 9 students who are interested in mathematics or simply enjoy puzzles visit the museum.

Mathematical Puzzle


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