Everything is Number – Mathematics Meets Arts

The project “Everything is Number” started in the year 2008 with a calendar illustrated by the Swiss artist Eugen Jost. All paintings deal with mathematical topics. The interplay of arts and mathematics provides fascinating insights into mathematics especially for students at school. Sponsored by the German employers’ association Gesamtmetall the calendar paintings became part of an exhibition at more than 150 schools all over Germany. Students were invited to discover new access to mathematical problems and tasks. The feedback of the public towards the calendar and the exhibition was overwhelming. In the meantime the nonprofit project grew and we could publish books and a second calendar in 2010. In special workshops for teachers we show how to work with Jost’s paintings in the classroom to motivate students for mathematics. Since October 2009 the project hits another peak with a temporary exhibition at the Museum of Technology in Berlin. Year of Mathematics 2008 In 2008 the German government proclaimed the “Year of Mathematics” to stress the diversity and importance of mathematics in society and everyday life. Especially children and young people were to be inspired by an interesting and exciting science. A lot of national and local projects were started. Exhibitions, contests, festivals and other activities pointed out the beauty, the importance and the fascination of mathematics as a science and a subject at school. For the year of mathematics the chair of mathematics and mathematics education at the University of Bayreuth contributed a big and colorful wall calendar. Only on this occasion the Swiss artist Eugen Jost created thirteen paintings. On the backside of each calendar leaf the mathematical topic of the corresponding painting was explained. These texts are not interpretations of the paintings, they give some mathematical and historical background information, and they want to stimulate the reader’s curiosity. The artist Eugen Jost lives and works in Thun in Switzerland. On the one hand his paintings are inspired by numbers and patterns. On the other hand he is dealing with language. The longer he has worked in those two fields – numbers and language – the less he has seen clear border lines between them. His paintings tell stories; they ask questions and they invite the viewer to do mathematics. Numbers, patterns and language are three important fields which characterize mathematics education. Arts in Mathematics Education This calendar was the initial point for our widespread project called “Alles ist Zahl” respectively “Everything is Number”. The feedback to the calendar was extraordinary. We got a lot of letters from enthusiastic people and many teachers told us, that they use the calendar paintings in their lessons to motivate several mathematical topics. Bridges 2010: Mathematics, Music, Art, Architecture, Culture