Creating Non-Digital Maths Art: decisions, discipline and dizzying possibilities

In 2D mathematical art, non-digital tools can reveal a dizzying world of possibilities. Yet their potential is often overlooked and underestimated.

Roaming through these possibilities, with ruler and compasses at the core, presents us with an imaginative and intellectual challenge. At every stage, the geometry offers choices: it is up to us to make our selection. Which points do we connect to which; where do our lines end; where do they change direction? At what angle?

And what surprises might emerge? What fantasy-inspired images might be created? What illusion of depth, sense of movement and hinting of narrative might be evoked?

A vital aspect of non-digital art is that it forces us to commit to the decisions we make – or at least to consider the consequences very carefully before pen touches paper. These materials do not allow for unlimited changes. Yet this very discipline, this restraint, can be paradoxically liberating.

In this talk, I explore my own adventures with line, colour and paper to form the mysterious and unpredictable.

• https://carmamaths.org/florianbreuer/Aus...