Vidal Sassoon

Vidal Sassoon

1928 - 2012

Vidal Sassoon was an anti-fascist street-thug who became a mathematical sculptor of hair:

We learned to put discipline in the haircuts by using actual geometry, actual architectural shapes and bone structure. The cut had to be perfect and layered beautifully, so that when a woman shook it, it just fell back in.

Rafael Araujo

Rafael Araujo

Rafael is a Venezuelan artist who celebrates the mathematical beauty of nature.

Rafael does all of his drawings by hand: http://www.rafael-araujo.com/

Colin Wright

Colin Wright

This intensely Aussie mathematician / juggler developed the SiteSwap notation to help jugglers record and communicate their patterns.  It ended up to be such a powerful notation that new juggling patterns were discovered.  SiteSwap should be in ALL math curricula worldwide.  It is beautiful and engaging for children.  If school children learn how to juggle – well that’s just a fun side effect 😉

Here is a great lecture by Colin and here are Colin’s notes on SiteSwap. Here is a cool Brazilian video showing a top juggler using SiteSwap.

I had the pleasure of rooming with Colin and Henry Segerman (also featured on this list) at the Gathering for Gardner in 2010.  Inspired people!

Photo by Ben Sparks.

M. C. Escher

M. C. Escher

1898 - 1972

M. C. Escher’s playful treatment of tiling patterns and illusions makes him a favourite artist of mathematicians.

Bio Escher 2

Robert Lang

Robert Lang

1961 -

Robert is a world leader in the art and mathematics of origami.  His web site is www.langorigami.com

Inspired People 9

Inspired People 8

Jorge Luis Borges

Jorge Luis Borges

1899 - 1986

Jorge Luis Borges should be a favourite writer among mathematicians. His short stories highlight twisted worlds that are logically consistent. These two recommendations take 10 minutes to read:

The Library of Babel

The Lottery of Babylon

Marjorie Rice

Marjorie Rice

You should neither overestimate the worth of a university degree nor underestimate those with limited credentials. High school graduate, Marjorie Rice, discovered four new classes of pentagonal tiling patterns between 1975 and 1976 after mathematician R. B. Kershner announced that he had found the last of them in 1968. All the pentagons must be identical. Here are the 14 that have been discovered so far:

Bio Rice P 1

K. Reinhardt, 1918

Bio Rice P 2

K. Reinhardt, 1918

Bio Rice P 3

K. Reinhardt, 1918

Bio Rice P 4

K. Reinhardt, 1918

Bio Rice P 5

K. Reinhardt, 1918

Bio Rice P 6

R. B. Kershner, 1968

Bio Rice P8

R. B. Kershner, 1968

Bio Rice P7

R. B. Kershner, 1968

Bio Rice P10

R. James, 1975

Bio Rice Pentagon 2

Marjorie Rice, 1976-77

Bio Rice Pentagon

Marjorie Rice, 1976-77

Bio Rice P12

Marjorie Rice, 1976-77

Bio Rice P13

Marjorie Rice, 1976-77

Bio Rice P14

R Stein in 1985

You can see a discussion here. How many classes of pentagonal tiling patterns still remain to be discovered? Can someone tell me if ANY upper bound has been established?

PS. I put Marjorie in with the artists, but she probably belongs with the mathematicians.

Tomoko Fuse

Tomoko Fuse

1951 -

Tomoko is a master of modular origami.  Her beautiful designs belong somewhere in every child’s experience of mathematics. There are many instructional videos on YouTube if you want to try to fold some of your own, but the ones pictured below are advanced.

Photo above by Prof. Finn
Bio Tomoko 6

Bio Tomoko 5

Bio Tomoko 4

Bio Dave Brill Nick Robinson Tomoko Michael Shall

Dave Brill, Nick Robinson, Tomoko Fuse, and the late Michael Shall in Sheffield, 1989

Bathsheba Grossman

Bathsheba Grossman

I admit it – I am a HUGE fan of Bathsheba Grossman’s work.

Bio 2 Bathsheba

When MathPickle hits big time, all its corporate office doorknobs will be Bathsheba Grossman doorknobs.

Bio Bathsheba 3

You’ve got to admit that’s much more interesting than the gold dreams of Midas.

Here is an excellent interview with Bathsheba together with snapshots of her art.

Henry Segerman

Henry Segerman

Henry Segerman is a gifted man at the juncture of mathematics and art.  His art has the minimalist beauty that mathematicians find irresistible 😉 Here is his web site: http://www.segerman.org/

I had the joy to meet Henry at Gathering for Gardner in 2010 in Atlanta.

Scott Kim

Scott Kim

Ambigrams are playful creations at the intersection of calligraphy and symmetry operations.  Your students could learn about mirror, translational and rotational symmetry through simple geometric shapes, but they should also learn about symmetry through M. C. Escher’s art or Scott Kim’s calligraphic ambigrams:

Bio Scott Kim

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Bio Scott Kim 2