Week 2: Math + Art


        I think it would be foolish to limit ourselves and not see the opportunities math has in art or art has in math. Nothing is thought of as being strictly “artistic” or “scientific” or “mathematical” anymore. 

     This can be seen with the beloved pastime Origami. It may have started off as being simply viewed as a cultural appreciation. However, looking deeper, the math behind all the folds and making the shapes shows how multi-dimensional origami truly is. When explored, this existence of math and art expresses and creates something beautiful. The presence of math and art can be seen all over nature. As soon as someone looks out his or her window or when he or she walks out the front door. It is all around us and makes us what we are. Nature shows the coexistence of the arts/sciences/math in the waves of our oceans to the trees of 
our forests and all the way to the highest peaks of our mountains.

       Further, Marc Frantz, shows the unity of math and art with his vanishing point theorem, “If two or more lines in the real world are parallel to one another, but not parallel to the picture plane, then they have the same vanishing point. The perspective images of these lines will not be parallel. If fully extended in a drawing, the image lines will intersect at the vanishing point,” (Marc Frantz 2000). Even just reading this article and the definition made me feel like I was back in high school reading a Calculus Textbook even though it is talking about an art concept. After reading his paper, it would be silly for anyone to assume that in this instance, art and mathematics aren't one. 

       Even MC Escher, when talking about his work, says "for me it remains an open question whether this work pertains to the realm of mathematics or to that of art,” (M.C. Escher 1997). He created unique and fascinating works of art that exhibited a wide range of mathematical ideas even though he had no formal mathematics training beyond secondary school. I think that says it right there.
It's inevitable that math and art will be used together. Even if all you know is 2+2 or that three sides make a triangle, you can still delve into the art realm and make something glorious. It is stunning to see the product and beauty that arises when mathematicians and artists inspire one another. I think the more intrigued mathematicians can become, the more we will be able to encourage and develop both math and art individually and together. Like Escher says, mathematicians need to display the courage to venture into the garden rather than just perform the act of opening the gate.  

Works Cited

1x - Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2017. 

"BBC - Culture - MC Escher: An Enigma behind an Illusion." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017. 

Frantz, Marc. "Lesson 3: Vanishing Points and Looking at Art." Lesson 3: Vanishing Points and Looking at Art (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 15 Apr. 2017. 

Lang, Robert J. "Robert J. Lang Origami." Robert J. Lang Origami. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2017.

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/> 

Torres, Leyla. "How to Make an Origami Dragonfly." Leyla Torres - Origami Spirit. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.




Comments

  1. khillApril 18, 2017 at 9:01 PM

    I agree with you that there are undeniable similarities and overlapping ideas between the arts and the sciences that, when put together, have the potential to create remarkable things. However, it seems that within our society, we generate a culture that does everything in its power to keep these fields separate. As mentioned in lecture, this begins with the "degeniusing" of children in the education system -- which is characterized by acts such as cutting funding for art programs. This is a ridiculous move when you consider the power of combined knowledge in both art and science, but until our society realizes how crucial this is, then the separation between the fields will persist.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week Six: BioTechnology & Art

Image
          To understand ideas on a deeper level, scientists and artists combine in many projects. Whether it be animal experimentation or something as simple as food recipes, this combination can be seen in all of the projects involving Biotechnology and Art. Looking at the week 6 reading, I learned about the importance of both biotechnology and art when looking at their joint works involving animals, food, our body, and more. It showed me how our society relies on technology and experiments more and more every day. This can be seen, as Professor Vesna noted, with all the GMOs in our food. This application of art and biotechnology, GMOs, diversifies our species and truly is changing the world, (Week 6 Biotech Intro Video).  I found Gary Wenk’s article This is Your Brain on Food very interesting. He talked about all the chemicals in food and how they can alter how your neurons function and how you think/feel. I also found it interesting the scenario he...
Read more

Week 3: Robotics and Art

Image
                    To be quite honest, there isn’t a lot that interests me in the science field. I don’t wake up and think to myself, “hmm I wonder what I’m going to learn today in science”. All throughout high  school, I stayed away from science at all costs. I know that that is an awful thing to say as there is so much to be discovered and explored in science as well as it is the foundation of life as we know it, but that is just how I was. If anything, robotics was and is the one thing that DOES get my very minimal science urges and desires flowing. It always interested me, all the seemingly impossible contraptions I would see in high school. The art and science that goes into the creation and effectivity of robotics are truly mesmerizing. It also happens that one of my all-time favorite movies is Wall-e, which features a robot as the main character. I am not ashamed to say this kid movie is one of my favorite...
Read more