Can Art save Mathematics?

“Can art save the world?” is a well-known catchphrase in art circles. As most participants to the ICME are mathematicians, the title of this DG was reformulated more modestly as: “Can art save mathematics?” Indeed, some call mathematics a supreme art form as it enjoys total freedom, unrestricted by material limitations. An art form with the “collateral advantage” of having many real life applications, sure. However, if it can be considered as art, why don’t art and mathematics more often collaborate, for their mutual benefit? In the past, carpenters or painters sometimes helped mathematicians in the construction of mathematical models which sometimes had artistic ambitions (intarsia, for instance), but today’s computers allow mathematicians to express themselves in total freedom, without the help of intermediate persons or tools. However, mathematicians aren’t necessarily artists and so this technological improvement does not necessarily guarantee better art. Also, while in the past the lack of mathematical knowledge by artists was a burden for the development of mathematical art, today this should no longer be the case: computer developments make mathematics more accessible to artists, despite their usual aversion for the pure sciences. Yet how do we bridge the gap between mathematics and art so that mathematical art becomes an equally well “established” art field as, for instance, biological art or kinetic art? It would be beneficial for society because it would help to unite the “two cultures” of J.P. Snow, and because today’s society needs designers interested in scientific developments.status: publishe