These delicate shapes aren’t whimsical penstrokes on a canvas hanging on a gallery wall – at their heart lies simple mathematical concepts taught in high school.
Artist Hamid Naderi Yeganeh, a mathematics student at the University of Qom in Iran, writes computer programs based on mathematical equations to produce these stunning designs.
“At first, I was interested in beautiful symmetrical figures,” he says. “So I started to create symmetrical figures by drawing line segments and circles in 2012.
“After a while, I understood that I could find some interesting shapes that resemble real things.”
His most-used mathematical concepts are circles, ellipses, polygons and trigonometric functions.
Yeganeh has two ways of creating his artwork. The first, which he’s used since 2014, has him writing and running a program to generate thousands of images.
Out of the multitude emerges the odd surprise – such as his sailboat.
The second method, which Yeganeh has only been using for a few months, involves a little more work.
He chooses as image – such as delicately leafed branches – and tries to nut out which formulas will produce the picture.
“In this method, I need the skills and creativity to find the best formulas,” he says.
And he has no desire to stop. He publishes the equations at the root of his artistic works and tries new methods constantly: “It is interesting for me that we can make an infinite number of beautiful images by mathematical formulas.”
Want more? Check out Yeganeh’s website.
Originally published by Cosmos as The art and beauty of mathematics
Belinda Smith
Belinda Smith is a science and technology journalist in Melbourne, Australia.
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