Boulder, CO

The Bridges Organization - Boulder, CO

MoSAIC Boulder

Free and open to the public

Come experience the beauty and excitement of math and art!

Host: The University of Colorado Boulder

Venue: Mathematics Department

Mathematics Building
2300 Colorado Ave.
Boulder, CO 80309

Link to Google Maps

Dates:

  • Friday, April 1, 2016, 10:00 am - 7:30 pm
  • Saturday, April 2, 2016, 9:30 am - 2:00 pm

BVSD Teachers can sign in for Professional Development Activity credit for attending!

Tentative Schedule at a Glance:

FRIDAY April 1, 2016

  • Daytime — Local School
  • 4:00-4:30 PM — David Reimann — Mathematics in the Art of M.C. Escher, MATH 100
  • 4:30-5:00 PM — Cookies and refreshments, MATH 100
  • 5:00-5:10 PM — Oganizers — Introduction: MoSAIC Festival Project, MATH 100
  • 5:10-5:50 PM — Hunter Porterfield Ewen — "Numbers, Notes, and Emotion: the Math That Makes Music Beautiful", MATH 100
  • 6:00-7:00 PM — SMIRK! — Performance — "Juggling and Math", MATH 100

SATURDAY April 2, 2016

Ongoing Events
  • 9:30 AM - 2:00 PM — Mathematical Art exhibition, Math 350
  • 9:30 - 11:00 — Free juggling lessons for kids and Adults, Math Patio
  • 9:30 AM - 2:00 PM — Mathematical Movies
  • 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM — Tyler Alpern — Mathematical Mural — Libby Hall
Mathematics and Art Street Fair — 9:30 AM - 2:00 PM, MATH 175
  • Paul Hildebrandt — "Zometools display and discussion"
  • Chris K. Palmer — "Mathematical Folding"
  • David Reimann — "Group Sculpture Assembly" — Starting at 10:45
  • Golden ratio/Fibonacci sheets
  • Large mathematical "posters" for folks, especially children, to color
  • Zotebook demonstration
Talks/Workshops, all in Math 100
  • 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM — David A. Reimann — Talk/Workshop — "Creating Escher-like Tessellations"
  • 10:45 AM - 11:15 AM — Michael Eisenberg — Talk/Workshop — "Mathematics on Spheres"
  • 11:30 AM - 12:15 AM — Warren Hammond — Talk/Workshop — "Juggling and mathematics"
  • 1:00 - 2:00 PM — Advanced Juggling and Siteswap Roundtable, all welcome! (Math 220)
  • 1:00 PM - 1:45 PM — Chris K. Palmer — Talk/Workshop — "Mathematical Folding"

Speakers, Workshop Leaders, and Organizers:

  • Tyler Alpern — University of Colorado Boulder
  • Michael Eisenberg — University of Colorado Boulder
  • Warren Hammond — Juggler, Boulder, Colorado
  • Hunter Porterfield Ewen — Instructor of Critical Media Practices, College of Media, Communication, and Information, University of Colorado Boulder
  • Paul Hildebrandt — President and Chief Visionary Officer, Zometool Inc., Longmont, Colorado USA.
  • Chris K. Palmer — Digital Fabrication Lab Manager, College of Environmental Design, University of California - Berkeley
  • David A. Reimann — MoSAIC Project Manager, Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science, Albion College, Albion, Michigan
  • Sarah B. Robertson — Local Art Exhibition Curator, Graduate Student, Museum and Field Studies, University of Colorado Boulder
  • Beth Stade — Local Organizer, University of Colorado Boulder
  • SMIRK! (Reid Belstock and Warren Hammond) —
  • Rob Tubbs — Local Organizer, Associate Professor of Mathematics, University of Colorado Boulder

Activity Descriptions:

Art Exhibition: The MoSAIC Art Exhibition consists of forty-five works of mathematically inspired fine art traveling to a half dozen venues around the US over the next year. Curated by George Hart, the artworks were selected to show a wide range of media and mathematical ideas. Don’t miss this chance to see prints, sculpture, fiber arts, 3D prints, carved stone, and ceramics by some of the most creative math-inspired artists in the world.

Numbers, Notes, and Emotion: the Math That Makes Music Beautiful 
Hunter Porterfield Ewen
Ever wondered what makes a piece of music sound "bright", what makes a chord particularly "crunchy", or why certain scales are "happy" while others are "sad"? Listen and learn about the surprising mathematical relationships of music that influence our understanding of beauty, harmony, and emotion.
Hunter Ewen is a dramatic composer, educator, and multimedia designer. During the day, Dr. Ewen teaches students strategiesas Instructor of Critical Media Practices in CU-Boulder's College of Media, Communication, and Information. At night, he composes, solders, choreographs, and videographs solo and collaborative projects around the world. His work garners awards and performances from organizations like SEAMUS, Punto y Raya, Manchester New Music, CSU Fullerton, and Electroacoustic Barn Dance by ensembles like the Beethoven Academy Orchestra, Cairo Symphony, and Third Coast Percussion. Ewen is published by Ken Dorn, Alphonse LeDuc, Music Minus One, and Theodore Presser.

Juggling and Math Performance
SMIRK!
Physical comedian Reid Belstock and 
innovative juggling ace Warren Hammond have 
teamed up to bring you their hilarious and incredible 
new show, Smirk! Reid plays a maniacal goofball to Warren’s straight man garnering comparisons to Abbott and Costello. Described as "A nicely matched pair of performers with a deep bag of tricks," by Juggle Magazine, their juggling and slapstick antics explode off the stage to fill the largest auditorium. Their work has earned them multiple awards, including the 2009, and more recently the 2011 IJA Silver Medal in the Team competitions.
Reid Belstock
Warren Hammond began juggling when he was 13 years old in Roanoke, VA. Since then he has toured as a soloist, with the Off-Broadway show “Lazer Vaudeville,” and with his duo show, “Smirk!" He has two silver and four gold medals in international juggling competitions, and was the co-recipient of the IJA Excellence in Education Award with his wife, Bekah Hammond. He has run dozens of festivals across the US, been a judge for the International Jugglers’ Association stage championships as well as the director. He has also served on the IJA Board of Directors.

Creating Escher-like Tessellations
David Reimann
The artist M.C. Escher was a master at creating interlocking shapes that could be used to fill space without overlaps or gaps.  We will learn how to create special shapes in several ways and explore how these relate to symmetry.
David Reimann is the MoSAIC Project Manager and Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Albion College in Albion, Michigan.  He teaches an interdisciplinary course on mathematics and art.  As an artist, he is interested in creating patterns that convey messages on multiple levels and scales using a wide variety of mathematical elements and media; he enjoys creating art that uses text to form geometric patterns and geometric patterns that form text. He is also interested in tessellations and other modular forms as the basis of interesting 2D patterns and 3D shapes. He frequently exhibits art at the Joint Mathematics Meetings and the Bridges Conference. Since January 2015, he has been providing original cover art for the Mathematics Magazine, a publication of the Mathematical Association of America.  He has a doctorate in computer science and a master’s degree in mathematics, both  from Wayne State University, and a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Toledo.

Math on a Sphere
This talk will explore spherical geometry using the “Math on a Sphere” (MoS) programming system developed in our lab at CU Boulder. MoS is freely available on the Web, and provides an interactive language (based on the traditional Logo “turtle geometry”) that allows users to create beautiful geometric designs and patterns on a spherical surface. The talk will present an introduction to the language, and show some illustrative “spherical art” created by surprisingly simple programs.
Mike Eisenberg is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Institute of Cognitive Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He and his wife (Ann Eisenberg) co-direct the Craft Technology Lab at CU Boulder; their work focuses on blending new technologies with the best traditions of children’s craft and construction activities. Mike is a member of CU’s President’s Teaching Scholars, and was a recipient of the University’s Thomas Jefferson Award in 2010.

Mathematical Mural in Libby Hall (painting in action)
Tyler Alpern, designer and coordinator
Tyler Alpern has taught drawing and painting at CU since the late 80's.  His students have created murals at Libby and Sewall Halls, C4C and on the hill at the Flatiron and Fox theaters. Tyler Alpern has taught drawing and painting at CU since the late 80's.  His students have created murals at Libby and Sewall Halls, C4C and on the hill at the Flatiron and Fox theaters.


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