Maps attempt to preserve isometries, i.e. lengths and angles, upto an overall scale. These are usually thought in terms of smooth deformations. Artists have, naturally, gone beyond such restrictions, and have long used sharp folds and even cuts to create and depict complex shapes beginning from a simple sheet of paper. I will describe how mathematics/science/technology is slowly beginning to catch up with these remarkably imaginative ways of solving inverse problems in physical geometry that attempt to design and control shape. These include 2d kirigami tilings for planar shapes, 3d origami tessellations for complex surfaces, and 4d printing and growing strategies for flowers and faces, using a combination of experimental, computational and theoretical approaches.
Speaker
L. MahadevanProfessor at Harvard University