The term “mathematical art” usually conjures up just one name–that of Dutch graphic artist M. C. Escher (1898–1972). Many people are familiar with Escher’s endless staircases, hyperbolic tilings, Möbius ants, intricate tessellations, and other creations. They may also be aware of the intertwining of mathematics and art during the Renaissance, with the development of perspective painting and eye-teasing stagecraft.
But the realm of mathematical art is far wider and more diverse than most people realize. A surprising number of contemporary artists count mathematics–from Fibonacci numbers and the digits of pi to tetrahedra and Möbius strips–as the inspiration for their creations.