Week Two I Math + Art I Blog Assignment

 

I recall first being introduced to the concept of math and art in middle school. My math teachers showed us images of the Fibonacci sequence in nature, with examples of fractals in plants and spirals in shells. However, beyond this idea of repeating shapes, I had no other knowledge of this subject. 




Source: TreeHugger


The videos discussed some of the mathematical ideas that are present in art, such as perspective and perfect ratios used for drawing buildings or humans. One concept I found interesting was the concept of the golden mean, a mathematical ratio that appears in nature and art. The video "Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean" explained that the golden mean is a "proportional relation ratio". It is so important because it is aesthetically pleasing to humans, hence being widely used. 





I also thought that "The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion" by Linda Dalrymple Henderson and its explanation of the influence of non-Euclidean geometry on modern art was intriguing. She says "By challenging the hegemony of Euclidean geometry and its claims to absolute truth, non-Euclidean geometry helped to open up new ways of thinking about space, time, and the nature of reality itself" (Henderson 207). "Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions" by Edwin A. Abbott opened my eyes to how math and art are closely related, as both involve creative uses of geometry/perspective to create new forms and meaning with "I call our world Flatland, not because we call it so, but to make its nature clearer to you, my happy readers, who are privileged to live in Space" (Abbott 1). 


Source: Documentary Educational


After researching artists who use the golden ratio, I was fascinated by Katsushika Hokusai's, "...a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period, work (KatsushikaHokusaiOrg). His famous painting "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa" (shown below) includes this ratio in a spiral form. In this piece "Every ocean wave builds itself up following the golden ratio" (HandmadePiece). 


Source: UCSArt

From this week, I learned that artists/scientists used math in their creative work and expressions by utilizing shapes, perspectives, and rations to create new forms of visualizations of life and shapes. Based on what I learned, I would explain the juxtaposition of mathematics, art, and science as a codependent process. Mathematics has symbols of representation for the natural world and science uses those representations to create meanings, while art draws inspiration from both.   


Sources:

Abbott, Edwin A. "Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions". Seeley & Co., 1884.

HandmadePiece. “How Is the Golden Ratio Used in the Famous Paintings?” Musuem Quality Art Reproductions, HandmadePiece, 2016, https://www.handmadepiece.com/support/art-introduction-analysis/how-is-the-golden-ratio-used-in-the-famous-paintings.html#:~:text=The%20Great%20Wave%20off%20Kanagawa%20by%20Katsushika%20Hokusai&text=Every%20ocean%20wave%20builds%20itself,centerpiece%20of%20The%20Great%20Wave.

Henderson, Linda Dalrymple. “The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion.” Leonardo, vol. 26, no. 4, 1993, pp. 339–343. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1575665.

KatsushikaHokusaiOrg. “Katsushika Hokusai.” High Quality Reproductions Of Katsushika Hokusai Paintings, https://www.katsushikahokusai.org/. 

Vesna, Victoria. "Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov". YouTube, UC Online, 9 Apr. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmq5B1LKDg



 







Comments

  1. Valentin Nguyen14 April 2023 at 20:18

    Hi, Shakira! I like that you have many examples of how mathematics and art interconnect in your blog, it truly shows how important math and geometry is not only in art, but also in real life as well. I appreciate your example of how the golden ratio is used in Katsushika Hokusai's painting "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa." I never realized how the golden ratio was used in this painting, so it surprises me how common the golden ratio is universally.

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