Week 2: Math + Art

I think the concept of math and art together is very interesting. As an artist myself, I have not considered the fact that I use math all the time in my art without even knowing it. This is because I always considered math to be things like formulas. I was not doing any calculations while doing my art, but Professor Vesna explains in her lecture that math is much more than just formulas. Art is actually modeled after nature through something called the "Golden Mean". This concept helps artist to create a more natural looking art.












The "Golden Mean"

Perspective is also used in art all the time in art and is something that relates to math. The vanishing point rule says that there "should be a vanishing point to which all parallel lines in a plane converge". This helps to create the illusion of perspective on a 2D surface. Using math, the artist is able to guarantee that the geometry of the picture will look correct to the viewer. 

All parallel lines converge at vanishing point

Our guest speaker this week, Kate McKinnon, did a great job of explaining just how she uses math for her impressive beading projects. McKinnon uses geometry to create shapes with her beads, and links those beads to create intricate 3D pieces. She does such a great job at combining math and art into something so beautiful and so complex. 

Kate McKinnon Beadwork

Artists and mathematicians learn from each other all the time. It has become clear to me after this week that both fields would not be where they are today if they didn't collaborate with each other. 

Sources / References:

Frantz, Marc. Lesson 3: Vanishing Points and Looking at Art. 2000, www.cs.ucf.edu/courses/cap6938-02/refs/VanishingPoints.pdf. 

“Golden Rectangle Ratio.” Empty Easel, 2009, emptyeasel.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/golden-rectangle-ratio.jpg. Accessed 9 Apr. 2021. 

Henderson, Linda Dalrymple. “The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion.” Leonardo, vol. 17, no. 3, 1984, pp. 205–210. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1575193. Accessed 9 Apr. 2021.

Jenny Sangster Jewellery, 2014, jennysangsterjewellery.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/011.jpg. 

McKinnon, Kate. "CONTEMPORARY GEOMETRIC BEADWORK", beadmobile.wordpress.com/.

“Ratio.” Elegant Themes, 2019, www.elegantthemes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Ratio-1024x648.png. 

Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.” YouTube, 9 Apr. 2012, youtu.be/mMmq5B1LKDg.

Zhou, Yichao. “Vanishing Point Example.” Yichao Zhou, yichaozhou.com/img/blog/vp-example.gif. 


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