Week 2: Math + Art

 This week pertaining to Math and Art, one of the first sources given to us discussed the fascination with the "fourth dimension" and how it influenced art styles in the 20th century. The artistic and scholarly nature of this article really emphasized the way that Science and Art are intertwined, and I was especially surprised to learn that a lot of the significant styles of this time were inspired by Einstein's Theory of Relativity--which I thought was generally just admired by scientists! (Henderson 205). Art focusing on mathematical properties can represent perspective and vision, as focused on by Piero de la Francesca (Vesna 18:14-19:10). On the other hand, math in art can manifest itself in the imagination, as shown to me by Abbott's Flatland. Despite the simple imagery of triangle soldiers or line women, these simple descriptions and illustrations create a world that is still rich to the imagination. 

Visualization from Flatland Describing a Dream with a Line of Different People 

I also had previously thought that most art concerning nature was inspired by nature's randomness and imperfections, however I was really intrigued to see that oftentimes it can also be a reflection of the world's natural tendencies towards geometry. As shown in the Crochet Coral Reefs (pictured below), art reflecting nature can be really calculated: in this case, hyperbolic geometry for the reefs of coral. 

Pod Worlds at the Museum of Arts and Design, Photographed by Jenna Bascom for MAD. 

On the same tangent as geometry, ART+COM's piece "Kinetic Rain" (pictured below) opened my eyes to how precise calculation can completely change how an art piece can be viewed. I have had the chance to see this in real life, and I remember being so astonished by the way that these calculations and calculated movements can create a piece's impact. 

"Kinetic Rain" by ART+COM Studios

With the way that math and art are so intertwined and potentially so far apart, it seems that their relationship manifests itself into one implying the other and vice versa. As technology grows, it seems that Math and Art can begin to share a space instead of dividing it. Bringing in the perspective of how art and culture can connect to current technology, Nicholas Gessler states “ I think we have to understand culture and cognition not just in terms of how humans interact and pass information from one to another, but in terms of physical things as well. “(Wertheim) . This viewpoint is something I think that all students should share, whether they are involved in arts, sciences, or both. 

Works Cited (Images are also from these sources) 

Abbott, Edwin Abbott. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. Second, revised edition, 1884. Ibiblio,     https://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/eaa/FL.HTM. 

“About the Project .” Crochet Coral Reef, 2024, crochetcoralreef.org/about/theproject/. 

Henderson, Linda Dalrymple. "The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion."     Leonardo, vol. 17, no. 3, 1984, pp. 205-210. JSTOR, http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0024-    094X%281984%2917%3A3%3C205%3ATFDANG%3E2.0.CO%3B2-1.

“Kinetic Rain, 2012.” ART+COM Studios | Kinetic Rain, https://artcom.de/en/?project=kinetic-rain. Accessed 10 Apr. 2024 

Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics-PT1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov.” YouTube, Youtube, 9 April 2012, https://youtu.be/mMmq5B1LKDg  

Wertheim, Margaret. "Things That Think: An Interview With Computer Collector Nicholas Gessler." The Institute for Figuring, 2006, https://www.theiff.org/publications/cab21-gessler.html.