Math and art collide in this year’s Louise and Richard K. Guy Lecture Series

This year’s Louise and Richard K. Guy Lecture Series will explore the mathematics of one of the world’s most well-known graphics artists, M.C. Escher. The speaker, Dr. Doris Schattschneider, professor emerita of mathematics at Moravian University, will reveal how Escher pioneered mathematical research to accomplish his artistic goals.

The lecture series, now in its 18^th year, celebrates the joy of discovery and wonder in mathematics for everyone. The series was a 90th birthday present from Louise Guy to her husband, Dr. Richard Guy, PhD, professor emeritus of mathematics at the University of Calgary, in recognition of his love of mathematics and his desire to share his passion with the world.

The meeting of art and mathematics

Escher was a Dutch graphic artist who made woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints — prints made from engraved copper or steel plates — many of which were inspired by mathematics. Imagery in his graphic works uses geometry and provides visual metaphors for abstract mathematical concepts. He was fascinated by and a master at depicting symmetry, duality, reflection, relativity, recursion, dimension, and topological change.

This lecture will illustrate these mathematical concepts implicit in several of Escher's works and outline the transformation geometry that governs his interlocking figures. The lecture can be enjoyed by everyone; a background in math is not required.

The legacy lives on

The man behind the lecture series, Richard K. Guy, was a teacher, colleague, philanthropist, mountaineer and treasured member of the UCalgary community. As a mathematician, Guy was a world-renowned combinatorist and graph theorist who made profound and important contributions to pure and applied math and to the early years of computer science. He published over 300 scholarly articles.

Guy officially retired in 1982. Yet, over 35 years later, even after he turned 100 years old, he still spent many days a week in his UCalgary office. Guy passed away on March 9, 2020. His zest for life and love for community and mathematics live on through his incredible legacy.

Letters for the history books

One of Guy’s greatest goals was to make mathematics accessible to all, which he did through the Louise and Richard K. Guy Lecture Series. Guy also created the Eugène Strens Recreational Mathematics Collection, which is made up of rare books, puzzles, periodicals, and archival material from a variety of mathematicians, including Charles W. Trigg, Wade Philpott, Martin Gardner, William Schaaf, and Leon Bankoff.

Marjorie Rice, whose papers are also in the Strens collection, was an American amateur mathematician who discovered new pentagonal tilings — shapes that can fit together perfectly to cover a flat plane.

Now, Schattschneider, this year’s lecture speaker, is donating her correspondence with Rice over the years of their extensive collaboration. Schattschneider’s donation will complement the collection’s existing holdings in the Marjorie Rice fonds and provide more context to her work.