Math with Art & Science


This weeks’ viewing and readings accentuate how collaboration between two different academia can produce content that caters to both and delivers a better overall product. Implementation of mathematical laws and theories in art has allowed art to develop elements that have created artistic styles centered around mathematics. The most shocking insight of the week though is the realization that math has essentially been a part of the art for ages. The two have gone hand in hand to produce some of the greatest historical pieces of art dating back to the Renaissance period and before. The application of the Golden Ratio in the construction of the Parthenon in Athens in 440 BC is one such example. The Golden Ratio has been a center piece of math and art through various periods showing up again in the many works of Leonardo da Vinci. The Golden Ratio, alternatively known as the Divine Perspective, is the proportion of a plane figure in which the ratio of a smaller rectangle to the larger is the same as the ratio of the larger to the whole. Da Vinci uses this Ratio in many of his art pieces including the iconic “Mona Lisa.” The Perspective is also evident in “The Last Supper,” showcasing how the Ratio has served some of the most important art pieces in human history. Noticing the prevalence of the Ratio through many periods lead me to inquire its use in current times. Hints of the Golden Ratio are present in the Apple logo. The circle cuts in the logo remain true to the Ratio. The integration of mathematics in religiously inspired art and in art for commercial purposes shows the combination of the two academia can serve more than one purpose.  



Links:
Abbot, Edwin A. "Flatland The Film." Flatland A Romance of Many Dimensions (1884): 1-5. Web. 18 April 2017. 
Henderson, Linda Dalrymple. "The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion." Leonardo 17.3 (1984): 205-10. Web. 18 April 2017. 
https://www.goldennumber.net/art-composition-design/
https://www.goldennumber.net/raphael-golden-ratio-in-renaissance-art/
http://www.instantshift.com/2015/03/31/golden-ratio-in-designs/



Comments

  1. UnknownApril 19, 2017 at 11:54 AM

    Love how succinct your analysis on this combination of math and art is! I think the images you've presented also provide a clear juxtaposition of how math has influenced art from ancient to modern times. Your images show that because mathematics hasn't changed over time (while art has), the influence that math has on art also remains static. And yet, because of the creative facet of art, art is able to change over time but is still influenced by the constancy of math.

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