2        To many of us, Mathematics and Art are two subjects not immediately associated with each other. We tend to think of Mathematics as rigid, formulaic and precise, while Art is fluid, creative and unpredictable. Yet look at this building. It has required mathematics to calculate the load-bearing weight of each wall and column, to ensure the building is structurally sound. But, it needed an artist's eye to transform classrooms and courtyards into an aesthetically appealing home for the arts in Singapore. Omit the role of mathematics or art, and we would not have this historic building today.

3        Indeed historically, Art and Mathematics have always been close cousins. During the Renaissance, the height of artistic expression for example, education placed an emphasis on selected mathematical skills, such as an understanding of ratios and proportion. Artists naturally incorporated a mathematical awareness of the world in their images, while patrons evaluated the artwork with an eye that appreciated at once both technical and aesthetic values. They were not hampered by the need to compartmentalise and categorise their world, whereas the contemporary audience tends to emphasise the demarcation and classification of the world into that which is considered an aspect of either "the arts" or "the sciences". Even today, mathematics and arts need to be wed to help businesses survive. Take handphones, for example. All handphones work on fundamental and mathematically-precise Boolean logic but the company that understands the art of human function and preference becomes the market leader. Increasingly, such a dichotomy no longer has currency because we seek to inculcate in our young a seamless, multidisciplinary outlook on life and the challenges it poses. One way to do this is through art education programmes offered by this exhibition.

4        The Singapore Art Museum has curated "Art Figures" from a variety of sources, assembling works which are usually not viewed together, to create an exploratory journey that probes the line that we assume divides Mathematics from Art. The Museum has also designed special activities that encourage school children to interact with their experience of viewing art. Visiting an art museum should lead to such an active engagement with what one sees - not a prescriptive lesson in 'good art' or 'bad art', but an exploration of the possibilities, an unrestrained connection with the creative vision from the artist, through the artwork, to the audience.

5        But we do not seek to bring students to museums to only ooh and aah over things that are highlighted for their approval. We bring them here to show them the myriad forms creativity can take, the broad sweep of an artist's vision, and the even broader range of possibilities and imaginings that individual interpretations of the same artwork can offer.

6        Therefore, we gather these Art Figures to show our students that mathematics is not always about numbers, absolutes or perfect symmetry; it is also a language with its own nuances, symbols and possibilities of interpretation. Similarly, Art is not antithetical to order; it breathes new life into recognisable symbols and structures, and is as much an international language as Mathematics. The art works in this exhibition richly illustrate the synergy between Mathematics and Art. Together, these subjects interact to provide the fundamentals of an educated and sophisticated understanding of the world we live in, enriching the student's classroom learning experiences.

NATIONAL HERITAGE