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Al-Andalus Mathematics Tour: Meaning, mathematics and Al-Andalus art in monuments
From November 07, 2024 until February 09, 2025Mondays through Sundays, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
MADRID
Casa Árabe Hall of Columns (at Calle Alcalá, 62, basement level).
Mondays through Sundays, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Free entry until the event’s capacity is reached.
In Spanish.
Casa Árabe and the Descubre Foundation invite you to experience this new way of looking at our heritage from Al-Andalus, introducing mathematics through the history and art from that era. As of November 7 at Casa Árabe’s headquarters in Madrid.
During the Al-Andalus Mathematical Walk, we will be hosting a tour through the monumental centers of the provinces of Granada, Cordoba and Seville to get a different viewpoint of their Moorish heritage, including science, art and history, with the help of technological tools (Geogrebra, 3-D printing, immersive reality and augmented reality).
When crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, Tariq was unaware of the repercussions his journey would have on the West. The eight centuries of Islamic domination that followed made the Iberian Peninsula an anomaly within Europe, in which the Roman, Byzantine and Persian nuances ushered in by the conquerors combined with those of the rich local tradition in a very characteristic way. This gave birth to some of the most important works in the history of universal art, including the great Mosque of Cordoba, the glittering palatine city of the Alhambra in Granada and the imposing minaret built in Almohad Seville, all magnificent examples of the particular symbolic, formal and constructive universe found in Al-Andalus.
However, lying within the brilliant compositional solutions found for its spaces, arches and vaults and in the colorful, rich and complex ornamentation of its tiles and stuccoes, we can also see the marks left behind by the most profound scientific and mathematical tradition of the Mediterranean and East, enlivened by the same breath, thus showing that we are looking at one of the most advanced cultures of that era.
It is an interdisciplinary project involving more than twenty scientists from different areas of knowledge (mathematics, art, computer science), public informers, communicators and educators, which uses technology and the latest information dissemination techniques to spur dialogue between art and science, scientists and citizens, and science and tourism.
The Mathematics Tour has been developed in two stages: it began with the Mathematics Tours of Granada (2018), available online, and is now continuing with the Al-Andalus Mathematics Tour. Both phases have been given funding by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), which forms part of Spain’s Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and the Autonomous Regional Government of Andalusia’s Department of Universities, Research and Innovation.
The Descubre Foundation
The Descubre Foundation is a non-profit institution which forms part of the public administration sector. It is promoted by the Autonomous Regional Government of Andalusia’s Department of Universities, Research and Innovation. Created in 2010, its board of trustees is made up of 20 institutions in the region, with proven prestige in research and public information: universities, research and public information centers, associations, etc. For further details, go to https://fundaciondescubre.es/
When crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, Tariq was unaware of the repercussions his journey would have on the West. The eight centuries of Islamic domination that followed made the Iberian Peninsula an anomaly within Europe, in which the Roman, Byzantine and Persian nuances ushered in by the conquerors combined with those of the rich local tradition in a very characteristic way. This gave birth to some of the most important works in the history of universal art, including the great Mosque of Cordoba, the glittering palatine city of the Alhambra in Granada and the imposing minaret built in Almohad Seville, all magnificent examples of the particular symbolic, formal and constructive universe found in Al-Andalus.
However, lying within the brilliant compositional solutions found for its spaces, arches and vaults and in the colorful, rich and complex ornamentation of its tiles and stuccoes, we can also see the marks left behind by the most profound scientific and mathematical tradition of the Mediterranean and East, enlivened by the same breath, thus showing that we are looking at one of the most advanced cultures of that era.
The purpose of this exhibition is to show the results of a study, the most extensive to date, on how mathematics can be seen in the monumental art of Al-Andalus, by taking an interdisciplinary tour, using them to shed light on historical and artistic interpretation while clarifying the meanings of constructions and decorations. To this end, the exhibition also relies on contemporary technologies, such as 3D models and fabrication, software generation of mosaics, photogrammetry and augmented reality.
Mathematics Tour
The “Mathematics Tour” is an outreach project intended to bring mathematics closer to society in an innovative way. It was inspired by the book “Paseos Matemáticos por Granada” (“Mathematics Tours Through Granada,” published by Editorial UGR 2017), coordinated by Álvaro Martínez Sevilla. The mathematician, a researcher at DASCI - Andalusian Inter-university Institute in Data Science and Computational Intelligence, is the scientific director of this outreach proposal coordinated by Fundación Descubre.
It is an interdisciplinary project involving more than twenty scientists from different areas of knowledge (mathematics, art, computer science), public informers, communicators and educators, which uses technology and the latest information dissemination techniques to spur dialogue between art and science, scientists and citizens, and science and tourism.
The Mathematics Tour has been developed in two stages: it began with the Mathematics Tours of Granada (2018), available online, and is now continuing with the Al-Andalus Mathematics Tour. Both phases have been given funding by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), which forms part of Spain’s Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and the Autonomous Regional Government of Andalusia’s Department of Universities, Research and Innovation.
The Descubre Foundation
The Descubre Foundation is a non-profit institution which forms part of the public administration sector. It is promoted by the Autonomous Regional Government of Andalusia’s Department of Universities, Research and Innovation. Created in 2010, its board of trustees is made up of 20 institutions in the region, with proven prestige in research and public information: universities, research and public information centers, associations, etc. For further details, go to https://fundaciondescubre.es/
