Week 2: Math + Art

“YOU, WHO are blessed with shade as well as light, you, who are gifted with two eyes, endowed with a knowledge of perspective, and charmed with the enjoyment of various colours…” –Edwin A. Abbott

Before this week’s lesson, I hadn’t given much thought to the connection between math and art. Of course on some level I always knew they were related—how could computer graphics or architectural design exist without the coalescence of art and math? But I had never before given it serious thought, nor had I thought about how beautiful the combination of the two could be. The above quote, along with the lecture, inspired me to reflect on this concept.

Delving into the specifics of how big a role math played in creating such prominent works of art as the pyramids, Leonardo da Vinci’s Virtruvian Man (using the Golden Ratio concept based on Fibonacci Numbers) or Mondrian’s use of simple geometric ‘golden rectangles’ in his more modern artwork, made me realize just how much math and art have always been intertwined. 

Edwin A. Abbott’s book, Flatland, also provides a literary illustration of how art and math come together. His clever use of the personification of geometric shapes and lines gives the reader a unique perspective about dimensions. From the above examples, I learned that while being an artist requires skill, a great deal of precision comes from the math used to help construct a beautiful work of art.

         

My friend, who is an aspiring architect, uses math frequently to dream up beautiful buildings that wouldn’t be considered anything less than art, though she doesn’t think of herself as an artist. I would definitely consider the architect who constructed the mausoleum pictured on the right to be an artist as well. A theme in this class seems to be challenging the idea that people who study art are usually totally separate from the world of math/science, and vice versa. As the examples above suggest, this couldn’t be further from the truth, and I'm grateful to have learned that. 

Works Cited

Abbott, Edwin A. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1963. Web. 9 Apr. 2015. 

Bourne, M. "The Math Behind the Beauty." Intmathcom RSS. Web. 9 Apr. 2015. 

Parveen, Nikhat. "Mathematics and Art." Web. 10 Apr. 2015.

"Pattern Lesson 5 Math Part." Mathematics Across the Curriculum at Dartmouth. Trustees of Dartmouth College. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. 

Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics Pt1-Zero Perspective Golden Mean.” Online video. Youtube. UC Online, 9 April 2012. Web. 10 April 2015.