Mathemalchemy (French: MathémAlchimie) is a traveling art installation dedicated to a celebration of the intersection of art and mathematics. It is a collaborative work led by Duke University mathematician Ingrid Daubechies[6] and fiber artist Dominique Ehrmann.[7] The cross-disciplinary team of 24 people, who collectively built the installation during the calendar years 2020 and 2021, includes artists, mathematicians, and craftspeople who employed a wide variety of materials to illustrate, amuse, and educate the public on the wonders, mystery, and beauty of mathematics.[4] Including the core team of 24, about 70 people contributed in some way to the realization of Mathemalchemy.[5]
Description
The art installation occupies a footprint approximately 20 by 10.5 feet (6.1 by 3.2 m), which extends up to 9.5 feet (2.9 m) in height (in addition, small custom-fabricated tables are arranged around the periphery to protect the more fragile elements). A map shows the 14 or so different zones or regions within the exhibit, which is filled with hundreds of detailed mathematical artifacts, some smaller than 0.5 inches (13 mm); the entire exhibit comprises more than 1,000 parts which must be packed for shipment. Versions of some of the complex mathematical objects can be purchased through an associated "Mathemalchemy Boutique" website.[8]
The art installation contains puns (such as "Pi" in a bakery) and Easter eggs, such as a miniature model of the Antikythera mechanism hidden on the bottom of "Knotilus Bay". Mathematically sophisticated visitors may enjoy puzzling out and decoding the many mathematical allusions symbolized in the exhibit, while viewers of all levels are invited to enjoy the self-guided tours, detailed explanations, and videos available on the accompanying official website [1].[9]
A downloadable comic book was created to explore some of the themes of the exhibition, using an independent narrative set in the world of Mathemalchemy.[10]
Themes
Map of Mathemalchemy exhibit
The installation features or illustrates mathematical concepts at many different levels.[2] All of the participants regard "recreational mathematics"—especially when it has a strong visual component—as having an important role in education and in culture in general. Jessica Sklar maintains that "mathematics is, at heart, a human endeavor" and feels compelled to make it accessible to those who don't regard themselves as "math people".[2] Bronna Butler talks about the heritage of JH Conway, whose lectures were "almost magical in quality" because they used what looked like curios and tricks but in the end arrived at answers to "fundamental questions of mathematics".[3]
Henry Segerman, who wrote the book Visualizing Mathematics With 3D Printing,[11] contributed 3D pieces that explore stereographic projection and polyhedra. According to Susan Goldstine, "The interplay between mathematics and fiber arts is endlessly fascinating [and] allows for a deeper understanding ways that these crafts can illuminate complex concepts in mathematics".[12]Edmund Harriss says, "You don’t need a background in math to appreciate the installation, just like you can enjoy a concert without being a musician".[13]
Twenty of the "mathemalchemists" are women, and the facility especially celebrates the contributions of women in mathematics, from amateur Marjorie Rice, who found new kinds of pentagon tilings,[15] to Maryam Mirzakhani, the first woman to ever garner a Fields Medal.[15]
Gallery
Chipmunks learn about prime and composite numbers through a game involving acorns and Babylonian numeral tiles
Mathematically-inspired flora and fauna fill the garden and reef as two squirrels discuss prime number algorithms in front of their Sieve of Eratosthenes
A convergent series of mari (unembroidered) and temari (embroidered) balls rises above the installation
Koch snowflakes descend through the Cavalcade of mathematical pages onto Integral Hill in the exhibit
What does math taste like? Cat and mouse prepare treats in the math-infused Mandelbrot Bakery
Cryptography Quilt represents 27 ways to encode messages
Tess the Tortoise ambles down Zeno's Path toward Integral Hill
Detail from Cavalcade of mathematical pages
The silhouette of a teenager surfs above the Cavalcade and Ball Arches
History
Spherical photograph of Mathemalchemy team members arrayed around the exhibit in development
Daubechies and Ehrmann presented the project in a special session at the 2020 Joint Mathematics Meetings (JMM) in Denver, Colorado.[14][9] They soon had a core group of more than a dozen interested mathematicians and artists who in turn suggested other people not at JMM. Eventually the group would grow to 24 people.[16][9]
Originally, the intent was to collectively design and fabricate in a series of workshops to be held at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, starting in March 2020.[7] The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted these plans.[14] Working instead over Zoom, under the guidance of Dominique Ehrmann and various "team leaders" for different parts of the installation, the 16-by-12-by-10-foot (4.9 by 3.7 by 3.0 m) installation was collectively designed and discussed.
In July 2021 the team could finally get together at Duke for the first in-person meeting, where the components that had been fabricated in various locations in the US and Canada were assembled for the first time, leading to the first complete full-scale construction.[16] The 24 members of the team employed ceramics, knitting, crocheting, quilting, beadwork, 3D printing, welding, woodworking, textile embellishment, origami, metal-folding, water-sculpted brick, and temari balls[15] to create the room-sized installation.[13]
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