(Re) inventing the relationship between mathematics and art: thought exercises, looking exercises

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate mathematical practices in art and daily life. To that end, we use a teacher training course in the form of workshops, the purpose of which was to relate mathematics and art by means of images in paintings. Upon problematization of mathematics and art, the following questions were raised : "As you look at the images, does anything in art make you think of mathematics?” Or, the other way around, does mathematics make you think of art?”. When we put the teachers' answers on the table, we adopted the strategy of reflecting or trying to understand how teachers think or propose to relate mathematics to art in order to better teach in their classrooms, or even propose new teaching strategies to them. But first, to raise issues and other questions about how to relate mathematics to art. Such exercise made evident that: the mathematics-art relationship has been understood by speeches of practical application, utilitarian and daily ways of teaching math; that teaching practices silently produce ways of being, believing, and building worlds, which are engendered by a representation concept between mathematics and art. On the other hand, the relationship which sees art and mathematics as potential places for proposing thinking exercises.