Week 2: Math + Art

Week 2: Math + Art
April 16, 2017

In the lecture given by Professor Vesna, she commented on a fact that seems like it should be common sense, but nonetheless is not always immediately realized. She discussed the fact that, especially in today’s day and age, art, science, and technology - and the math behind science and technology - are inextricably linked. Today, many artists must make use of math - whether or not they are aware of it - when they use digital programs, design shapes, or sculpt dimensions.


Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man

http://blog.world-mysteries.com/wp-content/uploads/
2011/01/vitruvian_man_mixed.jpg
The history of how artists began thinking about art through a more mathematical lense can be seen by artists such as Da Vinci in his “Mona Lisa” and in the “Vitruvian Man.” Mathematics help artists provide perspective and allow them to create dimensions within their visual works. Furthering this point is Frantz’s lecture on vanishing points in art. Given that many art pieces depict scenery or buildings that are 3-dimensional, the artist must construct the piece from the viewer’s point of view so that the image is realistic. He further discusses how mathematics plays a significant role in calculating perspective and vanishing points for certain types of images.  

Frantz - Vanishing Points


Robert Lang - A3 Rose
http://www.langorigami.com/artwork/a3-rose-opus-718
Furthermore, the work of origami artist Robert Lang intrigued me the most as I used to dabble in origami - and not just simple origami - but some complex origami inspired by mathematics. For example, I learned how to create complex 3D shapes such as a dodecahedron. To me, this is one of the best examples of the necessary juxtaposition and intertwining relationship of math and art. Math yields the precision necessary to make a work of art realistic. But it doesn’t have to be boring - and that’s where the creativity of art comes into play with the rules of math. The work of MC Escher also illustrates this juxtaposition in his tesselations as he combines geometry with unique shapes to create intricate works of continuity.
MC Escher - Tesselation
References

http://www.langorigami.com/artwork/a3-rose-opus-718


Frantz, Marc. “Lesson 3: Vanishing Points and Looking at Art.” 2000. Web. 15 Apr. 2017. http://www.cs.ucf.edu/courses/cap6938-02/refs/VanishingPoints.pdf

Lang, Robert. "The math and magic of origami." TEDTalk. Feb. 2008. TED. Web. 15 Apr. 2017. <https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_lang_folds_way_new_origami>.
Smith, B. Sidney. "The Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher." Platonic Realms Minitexts. Platonic Realms, 13 Mar 2014. Web. 13 Mar 2014. <http://platonicrealms.com/>

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 18, 2017 at 11:20 PM

    Hi Amanda, I really like your post this week. You had a lot of great points about how artist use math even though they don't realize. Also I used origami in my post and I liked your ideas about how the art of origami uses complex mathematics in it. I can't wait to read your future posts.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 3: Robotics + Art

Image
Week 3: Robotics + Art  April 20, 2017 With respect to robotics and the concept of artificial intelligence, there seems to be two polar ends of the spectrum of attitudes towards modern technology’s progression toward creating more intelligent and mechanized apparatuses to assist humans with various types of production. On the one end, there seems to be an innate curiosity as to how far we can take robots and artificial intelligence, and how robots and technology can continue to improve the human condition. On the other end of the spectrum, humans seem to fear robots - they fear that robots will take over menial jobs and they fear the artificial intelligence will become too intelligent and take over the world. In Professor Machiko Kusahara’s brief lecture on Japanese robotics, she discusses the cultural divide in how many Western versus Japanese cultures have viewed robots historically. To generalize, she states that while many Western countries typically “employ robots from a
Read more

Week 8: Nanotechnology + Art

Image
Week 8: Nanotechnology + Art May 20, 2017 Let’s consider art to be a process requiring creativity for an aesthetic outcome. And let’s look at the combination of technology and science as a means to continue discovering new things about the world for the betterment of the human condition. Combining all three elements leads us to a whole other realm in which the boundaries we typically see separating these three elements are blurred until you can’t tell which is which. https://image.slidesharecdn.com/ quantumcomputerspart5scanningtunnelingmicroscopebylilisaghafi- 150622195734-lva1-app6891/95/ quantum-computers-part-5- scanning-tunneling-microscope-by- lili-saghafi-46-638.jpg?cb=1437871409 We can see this blurring of lines in the study and science of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology deals with the likes of atoms and molecules of sizes so small it’s still beyond my comprehension. Nonetheless, from the lectures given by Dr. Jim Gimzewski on the work that has been and is being done
Read more