Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Week 2 - Mathematics, Art and Science

In this week’s “Math + Art” lecture by professor Vesna, I gained several insights into how mathematics has influenced art and science. For example, I have taken art classes when I was younger in which I learned how to use Brunelleschi’s “vanishing point” technique as a so-called “trick” to draw pictures with accurate depth. Professor Vesna explains that the vanishing point is actually geometrical, and an artist can control the length of the object and picture to create a certain image and experience for the viewer. I was also very interested in Da Vinci’s use of the Golden Ratio, used to create proportions in art using mathematical relationships that make the art aesthetically appealing. It is probably Da Vinci’s expert use of the Golden Ratio that makes his depictions of people seem so realistic. Additionally, under the resource entitled “Music and Computers,” I realized the process of music composition is entirely mathematical because composers take into account rhythms and intervals that all have to do with numbers. Using the resource “Mathematical Origami,” I realized that this art form is created entirely by geometrical shapes caused by the folding of a paper over and over again!


In this picture of an origami blackbird, one can see how the shapes of its head, beak, body, and feet are all put together by geometrical shapes. The smaller the shapes, the more "rounded" the edges seem, and the larger the shapes, the straighter the edges.







This week's readings have an overarching theme that both artists and scientists apply mathematics through use of computers. Henderson mentions that artists Banchoff and Strauss manipulated four-dimensional figures on computer screens - this corroborates the idea that computers are the "bridge" between art and science. Additionally, I noticed that the idea of a fourth dimension has been especially relevant in recent movies. For example, the movie "Interstellar" plays on the idea that people could be sent to another world by traveling through a wormhole, calculated using a mathematical equation. Even though it is a fictional story, the producers maintained that it's based on scientific findings - I find this to be a perfect example of how mathematics is used as both an art form (the movie-making process) and science.

Sources: 

Henderson, Linda Dalrymple. “The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion.” Leonardo. 17.3 (1984): 205-210. Print.

Interstellar Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 06 Apr. 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstellar_(film)

Red-Winged Blackbird, Opus 668. Photograph, 2004-2016. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.

"Robert J. Lang Origami." Robert J. Lang Origami. Web. 06 Apr. 2016. http://www.langorigami.com/

Time Signatures. Photograph, 2011. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.

Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov.” Cole UC online. Youtube, 9 April 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmq5B1LKDg&feature=player_embedded>

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