2021 Minisymposium “Mathematics and Arts” at the annual meeting of the German Mathematical Society (online)

The minisymposium “Mathematics and Arts” will be part of the joint annual conference of the German Mathematical Society and the Austrian Mathematical Society, originally planned to take place in Passau, Germany, 27. September – 1. October 2021. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the conference will take place in a fully virtual format with very affordable registration fees.

Our minisymposium aims to bring together researchers, artists, and educators interested in the connection and collaboration of mathematics and arts. We are looking for presentations of artistic objects that include mathematical components and put a focus on the imparting of this underlying mathematics. Furthermore, the talks can explore mathematical themes that invite discussions of their illustrations and the embodied artistic value.

As the mathematics component cannot be self-explanatory to the lay-person, the minisymposium aims to present works that make it explicit. For instance, geometric patterns and constructions can be an invitation to explore deeper mathematics, but the talk should clearly indicate how the recipient is brought into contact with mathematics via the artwork. Furthermore, we are looking for contributions that provide an educational opportunity for the observer. It should not only be learned that an artwork includes mathematics in general, but what specific mathematical elements it represents or captures. In this sense, an exemplary learning outcome would be not only that Escher’s works include mathematics, but that they include elements of the wallpaper group as well as an understanding of what this means. Finally, we are looking for illustrations of mathematical ideas, concepts, and objects that carry not only the underlying mathematics, but also an artistic value.

We aim to cover a variety of topics centered around the inclusion of mathematics in different art forms like painting, sculpture, architecture, textiles, or music. Moreover, we aim to address uses of these combinations for example in high school and university teaching or in outreach projects directed at the general public.

The official language of the minisymposium will be English. Each talk will be given 20 minutes plus an additional 5 minutes for questions. To propose a talk, please send an abstract of 1,000 to 1,500 characters (including spaces) and an illustrating picture, a link to a video, or other supporting material to dmv.math.art@gmail.com.

Selected authors will be invited to extend their abstracts to full articles that will be published as a collection in the peer-reviewed online journal w/k. Find here a compilation of articles originating from last year’s minisymposium.

If you have any questions, please send an email to dmv.math.art@gmail.com.

We are looking forward to your proposals,
Milena Damrau and Martin Skrodzki

Important Dates:

• Deadline for Talk Proposals: July 25th
• Acceptance Notification: July 28th
• Registration Deadline: July 31st
• Conference: Passau, Germany (online), 27. September – 1. October
• Notification for articles selected for publication: October 15th