Week 2 | Math + Art

I have always believed in the interdependence among math, science, and art. Until this week, however, I did not know that math and art have such a long historical relationship. Dr. Vesna taught me that perspective played a critical role in shaping the art renaissance. It all began when attempts were made to create 3-dimensional space on 2-d platforms. These attempts, along with intuition, led Giotto to paint 3-d scenes in the 13th century. However, it was Bruneslleschi, who was actually accredited for the idea of perspective when he developed the concept of a single vanishing point.

The Disputation of St Stephen by Carpaccio (1514)

Virtual 3-D Construction of Face Mask

In the 15th century, Leonardo da Vinci fused math and art into a single concept through his distinguishment of "artificial" and "natural perspective" and this led future artists and mathematicians to learn from each other. I also learned that the Golden Ratio was the ultimate connection between math and art. From research, I found that the golden ratio has presently been used for 3-d face modeling! It surely is interesting how technology has allowed for more complex applications of the Golden Ratio.

Vineland by Edwin A. Abbott

This week, it was fascinating looking through different types of artists who heavily utilize mathematics in their work. In the satire, Flatlands, for instance, Edwin A. Abbott depicts his views on Victorian society while exploring geometrics through the creation of a fictional 2-D land. In this land, women are threatening "lines" since they can be seen as dots, depending on the angle you view them. More modernly, Nathan Selikoff creates interactive abstract art using computer coding, and Theo Jansen, creator of "beach creatures," figures out the perfect proportions of tubes for his wind driven creatures to walk the way they do.

Theo Jansen Building his Mechanical Creature

This week confirmed my belief that the connection among mathematics, art, and science is inevitable and even magical. Some artists, like Nathan Selikoff, may choose to use science or math as a heavy tool of creativity, while others, like Giotto, may use math and art together without even realizing it. It's the connection between the two cultures that allows people to continually create new and incredible things.

The Temple of Wholeness at Burning Man

References
Abbot, Edwin A. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. N.p.: Seely, 1884. Print.
"Creatures on the Beach: Theo Jansen on TED.com." TED Blog Creatures on the Beach Theo Jansen OnTEDcom Comments. 6 Sept. 2007. Web. 11 Apr. 2015. <http://blog.ted.com/theo_jansen/>.
Holden, Michael. "State of the Art, Burning Man 2013." Voices of Burning Man. 27 Aug. 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2015. <http://blog.burningman.com/2013/08/photosvideosmedia/state-of-the-art-burning-man-2013/>.
Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov. Dr. Victoria Vesna. Youtube. Uconlineprogram, 9 Apr. 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.
"Perspective: The Role of Perspective: Page 3." Science & Art of Perspective. Web. 11 Apr. 2015. <http://www.webexhibits.org/sciartperspective/perspective3.html>.
Schwind, Valentin. "The Golden Ratio in 3D Human Face Modeling." 28 June 2011. Web. 11 Apr. 2015. <http://www.vali.de/archives/1117>.
Selikoff, Nathan. "Fine Artist Playing with Interactivity, Math, Code." Nathan Selikoff. Web. 11 Apr. 2015. <http://nathanselikoff.com>.
"Theo-jansen-mechanical-sculpture-strandbeest." Experiment with Nature. Web. 11 Apr. 2015.