Art in 3-D

Thus, the chief reason for studying regular polyhedra is still the same as in the time of the Pythagoreans, namely, that their symmetrical shapes appeal to one's artistic sense.
       —H.M.S. Coxeter (Retrieved from http://www.georgehart.com/virtual-polyhedra/art.html ,June 26, 2006)

H.M.S.Coxeter, an eminent geometer, became a mathematician because of his love of symmetry. Your students may also become intrigued with geometric shapes simply because of their beauty, order, and structure. These resources offer visual, sometimes interactively animated, representations of three-dimensional objects. You may find that they open a new avenue to mathematics for your students.

---

Polyhedron Models Custom Built http://mathforum.org/library/view/5277.html

A ton of textual information on what polyhedra are, their history, classification, and structure, but graced with clear, colorful images! These pages are for that student who falls in love with 3-D geometric art, or the class that wants to really know how polyhedra were named, what makes one different from another, or simply wants to see a good picture of almost any type of symmetric figure in solid geometry. MSP full record

Polyhedra Collection http://mathforum.org/library/view/7007.html

Galleries of polyhedra! All types are shown here using static images and three-D objects that can be rotated, so as to see the polyhedron from all sides. Great for showing the connection of mathematics to art and for visualizing the abstract. MSP full record

Polyhedra and Art http://www.georgehart.com/virtual-polyhedra/art.html

Here you will find images and accompanying text on polyhedra as they appeared in art from pre-Renaissance times to the 20th century. For example, geometric drawings from Leonardo da Vinci, Johannes Kepler, and M.C. Escher, among others, are not only portrayed in detail but also explained in terms of art history and mathematical structure.

Math That Makes You Go Wow - A Multi-Disciplinary Exploration of Non-Orientable Surfaces http://mathforum.org/library/view/12671.html

This unique site was created by teachers as a supplement in a late middle school or early high school math course. The developers designed the site “to convey the beauty and fascination of such mathematical objects as the sphere, the torus, the Klein bottle, the Mobius band, the real projective plane and beyond (3-manifolds), etc.” It includes illustrations that may be rotated on-screen, sections on the history and philosophy of these unusual solids, and the connection of these figures to other areas. MSP full record

---

 Back to top

Copyright September 2006 — The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0424671. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.