3-5 Apr 2013
New York NY, U.S.A.
Simplicity: Ideals of Practice in Mathematics & the Arts The Graduate Center, City University of New York April 3-5, 2013 http://www.s-i-m-p-l-i-c-i-t-y.org/ Lectures by and conversations among twenty-five mathematicians, artists, art historians, philosophers, and architects together with screenings of artist's films by Andy Goldsworthy (New York premiere), David Hammons, Richard Serra, Andy Warhol, and William Wegman. To find "criteria of simplicity" was the goal of David Hilbert's recently discovered twenty-fourth problem on his renowned list of open problems given at the 1900 International Congress of Mathematics in Paris. At the same time, simplicity and economy of means are powerful impulses in the creation of artworks. Recognizing the aesthetic nature of Hilbert's question, this conference aims to focus on criteria of simplicity in mathematics that are informed by perspectives from art and architecture, the philosophy and history of mathematics, and current mathematical practice. Invited participants: Andrew Arana, Philosophy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Rachael DeLue, Art & Archaeology, Princeton University Juliet Floyd, Philosophy, Boston University Curtis Franks, Philosophy, University of Notre Dame Étienne Ghys, Mathematics, École Normale Supérieure, Lyon Mikhael Gromov, Mathematics, IHES, Paris and New York University Rosalie Iemhoff, Philosophy, Utrecht University Hanna Johansson, Philosophy, History, Culture & Art Studies, University of Helsinki Maryanthe Malliaris, Mathematics, University of Chicago Dusa McDuff, Mathematics, Barnard College, Columbia University Juhani Pallasmaa, Juhani Pallasmaa Architects, Helsinki David Reinfurt, designer, New York Marja Sakari, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki Amy Sandback, art historian, New York Peter Sarnak, Mathematics, Institute for Advanced Study & Princeton University Kate Shepherd, artist, New York Riikka Stewen, Finnish Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki Dennis Sullivan, Mathematics, Graduate Center, CUNY & SUNY at Stony Brook Andrés Villaveces, Mathematics, National University of Colombia, Bogotá Dan Walsh, artist, New York Stephen Wolfram, Wolfram Research, Champaign, IL Hugh Woodin, Mathematics, University of California, Berkeley Andrea Worm, Art History, University of Augsburg Norma Claudia Yunez Naude, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Aix-Marseille University Jan Zwicky, Philosophy, University of Victoria Film program: Andy Goldsworthy David Hammons Richard Serra Andy Warhol William Wegman Organizers: Juliette Kennedy, Mathematics, University of Helsinki Roman Kossak, Mathematics, Graduate Center and Bronx Community College, CUNY Philip Ording, Mathematics, Medgar Evers College, CUNY For more information and to register, please visit the conference website at http://www.s-i-m-p-l-i-c-i-t-y.org/ This conference is sponsored by the Clay Mathematics Institute, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, FRAME Foundation, the Graduate Center, CUNY (Advanced Research Collaborative, Committee for Interdisciplinary Science Studies, Comparative Literature Program, Mathematics Program), and the National Science Foundation.