Plate 3a: Icoshahedral symmetry
Symmetry in science, art, and reality: An icosahedron has 20 equal sides; all are equilateral triangles. An icosahedron supports 59 distinct symmetry operations; that is, there are 59 distinct rotations that take an icosahedron into itself (while interchanging some of the sides). This compares with 2 distinct symmetry operations for an equilateral triangle. Metaphorically, the symmetry of QCD stands to that of QED as the symmetry of an icosahedron stands to that of a single triangle.
More about this image
Source: Betsy Devine took this photograph at the Festival of Mathematics (Rome 2008) during an exhibit of works created by mathematician Aldo Spizzichino and his son, artist Eli Spizzichino. It shows part of a painting (The library of a mathematician) which is © Aldo Spizzichino; its use requires prior authorization from him.
Aldo Spizzichino describes this image as follows: "... two origami models of the great dodecahedron hang from the ceiling, oriented at different angles. The construction is similar to an origami made in paper: twenty trihedral dimples replace the faces of an icosahedron. The rendering in shaded colors is produced by polygonal spots clipped against the triangular facets, with color composition driven by the point location."