Week 2: Math + Art

"Brunelleschi observed that with a fixed single point of view, parallel lines appear to converge."Image from https://maitaly.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/brunelleschi-and-the-re-discovery-of-linear-perspective/

Edwin Abbott's FlatLand: A Romance of Many Dimensions depicts a society strictly divided into classes of dimensions. Although Abbott's novella was meant to elicit discussion about the nature of Victorian society, in the context of this course, his descriptions bring up images of the divide between math and art. We often do not realize the connection between the two disciplines despite the fact that the development of linear perspective during the Renaissance helped improve art, allowing artists to paint more unified, realistic scenes. Linda Henderson further elaborates on how math and science theories have contributed to the development of modern art through the concept of a fourth dimension. 

Manchester Masterpiece: The Unexpected Golden Ratio
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3381257/The-picture-sums-Manchester-New-Year-s-Eve.html

We further see connections between math and art when discussing the golden ratio, a math concept as well as an art tool used to achieve harmony, beauty, and balance. Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and the pyramids in Egypt as well as the Parthenon in Athens are noted for having this golden ratio--approximately 1:1.618--which has aesthetic appeal. Perhaps the golden ratio, then, gives us an explanation for why we think some art and architecture is more visually pleasing than their counterparts. Another connection between math and art can be seen in optical illusions, which may use geometry and linear perspective to confuse the viewer and gives us insight on how the human visual system works. 

A polar graph I made in pre-calculus honors during high school.
The pinwheel is based off of the a variation of the rose curve equation, r = a sin nθ

I did not expect this week's topic to be relevant to my personal experiences. I never cultivated an interest in math in contrast to my strong interests in music and doodling. I also, however, did not expect to re-discover work I had done in high school to directly relate to this week's topic. As it turns out, polar graph art is a perfect example of the connection between math and art, for it uses a polar equation of a curve as the base of the artwork that will be created. Regarding my music interests, this week's topic helped me realize the importance of math in music and music presentation, given how EDM and other related genres have become more mainstream and popular. Moving forward, math and art--in addition to science--will be integral in allowing society to move towards a new dimension of understanding and discovery. 

Sources

Abbott, Edwin. "FlatLand: A Romance of Many Dimensions." Web.

Bein, Kat. "All of the Lights: Meet the Man Who Designs EDM's Million-Dollar Stages." Web. 

Henderson, Linda. "The fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art." Web.

Joseph, Anthony. "It's just like Michelangelo! Epic New Year's Eve photo of drunken carnage on the streets of Manchester spawns string of 'artistic' memes."     Web.
Vesna, Victoria. "Mathematics pt. 1." Lecture. Web.