Over the last decade or so, the inherent beauty and elegance of maths has proven fertile territory for video artists looking to put their keen eyes, exacting minds and technical wizardry on display. But as the old proverb goes and this 1966 short film shows, there is nothing new under the sun. A classic production from the National Film Board of Canada, this short animated film sets some 300 transformations, divisions and subdivisions of triangles to a piano waltz, making for a viewing experience that still enchants 50 years later.
A brilliant ‘geometric ballet’ of sound, shape and symmetry on the theme of 180°
Director: René Jodoin
27 February 2017
videoDesign and fashion
Beyond fortune-telling – the enduring beauty and allure of tarot
16 minutes
videoHistory of ideas
How to read ‘The School of Athens’ – a triumph of Renaissance art
25 minutes
videoArt
Finding the spirit of Haiti through a tour of its contemporary art
20 minutes
videoMathematics
After centuries of trying, we’ve yet to arrive at a perfect way to map colour
20 minutes
videoHistory of science
Insect aesthetics – long viewed as pests, in the 16th century bugs became beautiful
8 minutes
videoMusic
A riveting audiovisual dive into what makes sounds harmonious, or not
28 minutes
videoNature and landscape
After independence, Mexico was in search of identity. These paintings offered a blueprint
15 minutes
videoMathematics
Spiral into the ‘golden ratio’ – and separate the myths from the maths
4 minutes
videoArt
A young Rockefeller collects art on a fateful journey to New Guinea
7 minutes