Math + Art Week 2 Blog

I have been fortunate enough to watch someone learn the principles of art and math first hand, which has given me insight about how math goes into the production of art. My sister graduated from The ArtCenter College of Design with distinction and honors; while achieving her master's degree in graphic and environmental design. Prior to talking to her about graphic and environmental design I simply thought that math had no involvement in the creation of graphic and four-dimension projects. Even though seeing her spend countless hours attempting to find the calculations to create her artistic vision and designing beyond the third dimension was extremely interesting to me, I still did not have a deep understanding on what the true meaning of the "fourth dimension" was.

Here is an example of an idea board she created filled with equations, thoughts, and connections:

 The article that particularly stood out to me in this week's readings was The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion by Linda Henderson. This article provided a vast amount of detail and history of how the "fourth dimension" evolved, which strengthened my understanding of the importance of not only of my sister's countless hours of calculations and pushing past the one-point perspective system, but every other artist who is seeking to reach fourth dimension art as well. Henderson states,"The belief in a fourth dimension encouraged artists to depart from visual reality and to reject completely the one-point perspective system that for centuries had portrayed the world as three-dimensional."

https://nathanselikoff.com/works/four-dimensions

After looking through several different pieces of art, the specific piece that caught my eye was Four Dimensions created by Marc Pinsky and composed by Keith Lay. Conceptually, this piece creates a journey through mathematical dimensions while incorporating music and visuals. I chose this piece because my sister has created several similar projects, and I have seen the work that goes into the production of it all. The creator, Marc Pinsky said,"We conceptualized the piece together as an imaginary exploration of the mathematical dimensions." This piece is a prime example of how mathematics goes into the production of beautiful art visuals.

https://www.goldennumber.net/art-composition-design/

The material that gave me the most insight on the juxtaposition of mathematics, science, and arts was found in Victoria Vesna's lecture video: Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean. Before viewing this lecture, I had never heard of the Golden Ratio. The Golden Ratio is a mathematical formula that creates a sense aesthetically pleasing divisions and proportions in artwork.
In the picture above, Leonardo Da Vinci uses the Golden Ratio to achieve balance and proportion in The Last Supper. If he hadn't of used the mathematical formula of the Golden Ratio, the piece would have turned out imbalanced and un-proportional.


Sources:
“Four Dimensions - Real-Time Audio-Visual Performance.” Nathan Selikoff, nathanselikoff.com/works/four-dimensions.

Online, UC. “Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov.” YouTube, YouTube, 9 Apr. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=mMmq5B1LKDg.

Meisner, Gary, et al. “Golden Ratio in Art Composition and Design.” The Golden Ratio: Phi, 1.618, 24 Sept. 2016, www.goldennumber.net/art-composition-design/.

Linda Dalrymple Henderson, "The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion" Leonardo, Vol. 17, No. 3. (1984), pp. 205-210.