{"id":31374,"date":"2019-08-09T16:06:44","date_gmt":"2019-08-09T20:06:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=31374"},"modified":"2024-07-02T17:12:10","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T17:12:10","slug":"mastering-the-art-of-math","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=31374","title":{"rendered":"Mastering the art of math"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mark
Mark McCombs (top) exhibits his art at the Bridges 2018 Conference in Stockholm, Sweden. The origami sculpture in the forefront is \u201cThe answer inside\u201d and the fractal image in the background is \u201cMyth of Sisyphus.\u201d This origami sculpture (below) is called \u201cAnd yet you go on.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When you take a look at Mark McCombs\u2019 artwork, be sure to consider the mathematical equations behind them. The swirling pieces of paper and repeating designs in this mathematics teaching professor\u2019s art is a study in mathematical symmetry. Math and art may appear to be at different ends of the educational spectrum, but to McCombs and his students, they couldn\u2019t be more connected.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to try to help people believe that math isn\u2019t just numbers.\u00a0 <\/span>Math is a way of interacting with your environment,\u201d McCombs said.<\/p>\n

McCombs works mainly in modular origami, which consists of smaller paper shapes that can be combined to create one complete sculpture. He also uses the Ultra Fractal software\u00a0application to produce fractal images, geometric shapes that contain infinitely many copies of themselves no matter how many times you zoom in.<\/p>\n

\"ASculpture in Sweden<\/h3>\n

McCombs\u2019 art is spread all over the state and the world.
\nLast July, two of McCombs\u2019 pieces (a sculpture and a fractal print) were presented at the Bridges Conference in Stockholm, Sweden. The sculpture was purchased by a curator at the Swedish Museum of Science and Technology. McCombs was also a featured artist at the Liquidambar Gallery in Pittsboro from\u00a0June 2 to July 28.<\/p>\n

However, it was because of McCombs\u2019 younger brother, Doug McCombs, that he was able to find the courage to submit his pieces to these galleries. In 2015, McCombs\u2019 brother passed away from an unexpected heart attack. It was through his brother\u2019s passion that McCombs said he began to understand what it meant to create art.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was just an amazing guitarist. And he inspired me in so many ways, but one of the ways that he inspired me is in my teaching. It\u2019s just such a joy for me to share him with my students,\u201d McCombs said.<\/p>\n

A few months before his brother\u2019s passing, McCombs had
\nbegun to teach himself the art of origami. He soon started
\nInfinite Tones Studios (infinitetonestudios.com) as an homage to his brother.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoug always told me that tone is what allows us to experience grace through harmony. And that\u2019s what I feel like I started to experience as I\u2019m making the sculpture and fractal images. I really believe that Doug is part of it, too. It\u2019s a gift to me from him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perspectives on math and art<\/h3>\n

For the past 10 years, McCombs has taught the first-year seminar Math, Art and the Human Experience, designed to give students different perspectives on what math and art can be.<\/p>\n

This interdisciplinary outlook, McCombs said, is essential to create an approachable and humanities-focused curriculum for math. He has always thought this way; he received his undergraduate and master\u2019s degrees in math at Carolina, but he also minored in English.<\/p>\n

In the seminar, students look at different artists and evaluate their work based on its different planes of symmetry, angles and perspective. Students also design origami and fractal art using the Adobe Suite and the BeAM Makerspace.<\/p>\n

Last spring, McCombs submitted a redesigned proposal for the seminar. For the first time this fall, the course will be completely focused on origami and fractals. Before 2016, McCombs himself hadn\u2019t created art, but he said he\u2019s ready to expand the course even more.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m most gratified by the times at the end of the semester when I get my course reviews back and someone will have
\nwritten, \u2018I never thought I\u2019d ever say, my favorite class was my math class.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

By Kyra Miles, University Gazette<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you take a look at Mark McCombs\u2019 artwork, be sure to consider the mathematical equations behind them. The swirling pieces of paper and repeating designs in this mathematics teaching professor\u2019s art is a study in mathematical symmetry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":31375,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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