Of Art & math : introducing ambigrams

Mishra, Punya and Bhatnagar, Gaurav (2013) Of Art & math : introducing ambigrams. At Right Angles, 2 (3). pp. 28-33. ISSN 2582-1873

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Abstract

Mathematicians love puzzles—they love to play with numbers and shapes but often their love can turn to words and other areas that, at least on the surface, have little to do with mathematics. In this article we are going to focus on a very specific kind of artistic wordplay (and its relationship to mathematics) called ambigrams. The word ambigram was coined by cognitive scientist Douglas Hofstadter from ‘ambi’ which suggests ambiguous and ‘gram’ for letter. Ambigrams exploit how words are written and bring together the mathematics of symmetry, the elegance of typography and the psychology of visual perception to create surprising, artistic designs. Most of all, they are great fun!

Item Type:	Articles in APF Magazines
Authors:	Mishra, Punya and Bhatnagar, Gaurav
Document Language:	Language English
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Ambigrams, Calligraphy, Symmetry, Perception, Palindrome, Mapping, Transformation, Reflection
Subjects:	Natural Sciences > Mathematics
Divisions:	Azim Premji University - Bengaluru > University Publications > At Right Angles
Full Text Status:	Public
URI:	http://publications.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/id/eprint/3033
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