IA ideas · for IB Visual Arts students
Maths IA ideas for visual arts students
Artists use mathematics whether they name it or not: perspective is projective geometry, patterns are symmetry groups, curves in type and logos are Bézier curves, fractals generate natural-looking forms, and animation is transformation matrices.
These ideas suit visual arts students who want a Maths IA that feels creative. Several let you make the art yourself (a fractal, a pattern, an animation) and then analyse it precisely.
Accessible (3)
Solid (10)
- Is the golden ratio really everywhere? Testing a popular claimAI SLAI HLAA SLAA HLSolid
- How are letters drawn on a screen? Bézier curvesAA HLAA SLAI HLSolid
- How accurate is the perspective in a Renaissance painting?AA SLAI SLAA HLAI HLSolid
- Why do sunflower seeds form spirals? The golden angleAA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- What curve do straight lines make in string art?AA SLAA HLSolid
- Why does a random game draw the Sierpiński triangle?AA SLAA HLAI SLSolid
- Fold a strip, unfold it: the dragon curveAA SLAA HLSolid
- Animating a logo with transformation matricesAI HLAA HLSolid
- Why does Pascal's triangle make a fractal?AA HLAA SLSolid
- The hidden angles of a hip roof: 3D trigonometryAA SLAI SLAA HLSolid
Ambitious (3)
More in this area: all art, music & design IA ideas · fractals & chaos · matrices, transformations & markov chains · kinematics & physics-style modelling. Thinking of using the same topic or data as another IA? Check your school's policy and ask both teachers first.
Frequently asked questions
Can an art-based Maths IA score well?
Yes, when the mathematics does real work: measuring and testing a claim, constructing a pattern precisely, or analysing a form with functions, transformations or series.
Is the golden ratio a good art IA?
It is the most over-used art IA context. Make testing the claim the point: measure many examples, estimate measurement error and use statistics to decide whether the ratios really cluster near 1.618.
Can I include my own artwork?
Yes, as the object of the mathematics. Describe how it was constructed in mathematical terms and analyse it; the art itself is not assessed.
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