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 Ratings
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| Reviewed: |
May 12, 2005 by Mathematics |
| Overview: |
The goal of this site is to visualize the mathematical structure behind M.C.
Escher's picture called "Print Gallery" (1956). The visualization uses grids,
still images, and animations. The actual mathematical analysis, involving
conformal mappings of the complex plane, is contained in a pdf copy of the
original AMS publication. This pdf file is available on the site. The Droste
Effect refers to any image that contains itself on a smaller scale.
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| Learning Goals: |
Demonstrate the interconnectedness of art and mathematics.
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| Target Student Population: |
Students in art survey courses or general/liberal-arts mathematics courses;
students interested in using geometric mappings and transformations in artistic
creations.
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| Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills: |
Students should have some familiarity with the artist M.C. Escher and his work.
Students will benefit most who also have a general understanding of graphs and
geometric transformations.
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| Type of Material: |
Animation.
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| Recommended Uses: |
Classroom demonstration; student exploration
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| Technical Requirements: |
Player for mpeg and/or avi files.
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| Strengths: |
An in-depth mathematical analysis of Eschers Print Gallery is not what this
site is about. That information is contained on this site in the form of a
downloadable pdf file, but the actual content of this site is not analytic; it
is instead geometric and visual. With this understanding, the site is a nicely
rendered examination of the interaction between the disciplines of art and
mathematics and is intended for an informed lay viewer. The site authors have
done a good job of providing visual evidence, in terms of high quality still
images and animations, to support their argument for the mathematical structure
of Eschers picture. Also, a great deal of supplementary information,
historical, biographical, and mathematical, is available on this site in the
form of hyperlinks to downloadable files and to other websites.
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| Concerns: |
The site content would have been strengthened had the authors provided more
details regarding the significance of the various grids, images, and animations.
The site is fundamentally a visual argument supporting a certain hypothesis.
Even accepting that, the presenters/instructors/viewers understanding would
have been helped significantly with a little more text.
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Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool |
Rating:   |
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| Strengths: |
The material on this site is well-organized and of high quality; it should
provide an effective resource for classroom demonstration. This is especially
true for an instructor who takes advantage of the downloadable pdf files and
other hyperlinked materials available on-site. For example, the article by Sara
Robinson published in SIAM News gives an excellent overview of the project.
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| Concerns: |
As suggested above, the site is rather sparse in terms of easily accessible
explanations of its content. Various downloadable files and other links offer
good resources; however,
the overall effectiveness suffers a bit from the user
having to search out this information.
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Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty |
| Rating: |
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| Strengths: |
No technical difficulties were encountered in the use of this site. The
animations worked flawlessly. All the images are expandable to a large,
viewable size.
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| Concerns: |
None.
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| Other Issues and Comments: |
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