THE SEDUCTION OF CURVES: The Lines of Beauty That Connect Mathematics, Art, and the Nude

This work focuses on seven curves, the fold, cusp, swallowtail, and butterfly, plus the hyperbolic, elliptical, and parabolic "umbilics," and describes the surprising origins of their taxonomy in the catastrophe theory of mathematician Rene Thom. McRobie introduces these curves and then describes their role in nature, science, engineering, architecture, art, and other areas. Color photos.