frank farris, santa clara university monday, october 23rd ...€¦ · artful mathematics of...

Frank Farris, Santa Clara University Monday, October 23rd, 4:15 pm, SERC 110A

Abstract:Standing at the always-intriguing intersection ofmathematics and art, Frank Farris introduces themathematics of symmetry and how to create mind-blowing symmetrical images using his new waveformtechnique.Hecameupwiththisconceptbyrejectingthetraditionalwisdomthatwallpaperpatternsmustbebuiltupfromblocks—asortofpotato-stampmethod.Instead,hecreatedpatternsfromcontinuouswaves.Whetheryoulike art or mathematics, or both, Farris will help youunderstand his process. He shows how wave functionsdraw on photographic images to create beautifullysymmetric patterns. The focus is on art, but in thebackgroundyoucanglimpsesuchmathematicaltopicsasgrouptheory,functionalanalysis,andpartialdifferentialequations.

Aboutthespeaker:Frank Farris has served as editor of MathematicsMagazine and as the Mathematical Association ofAmerica Chair of the Council on Publications andCommunications. His book, Creating Symmetry: TheArtful Mathematics of Wallpaper Patterns, waspublished by Princeton University Press in 2015. Thebookdescribeshisnewartisticprocessforcreatingartfromsourcephotographs.Inthiswork,photographsaremanipulated using mathematical formulas calledcomplex wave functions, to produce patterns thatreferencetheoriginalinunexpectedways.Theresultingartisasurprisingblendofmathematicalrhythmswithorganic textures and colors. Exhibitions of this workhave been displayed by Carleton College, CornellUniversity, Bowdoin College, Pomona College, andothers. Farris has taught mathematics at Santa ClaraUniversitysince1984.HisundergraduatedegreeisfromPomonaCollege(1977)andhisPh.D.fromMIT(1981).

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