Week 2: Math + Art

I always recognized the role mathematics plays in science, but I didn't really think about how mathematics influences art. For some reason, I think of art as being creative and spontaneous, while I think of math as being rigorous and structured. From the lecture videos, though, I learned how techniques like perspective and the golden ratio have been studied and applied to art to make artwork more aesthetically pleasing (Vesna). One famous scientist, Abu Ali Al-hasan, studied the science of vision and perspective, which Renaissance artists later used (Zahoor). Here is a sample of his work and his portrait (Abu Ali Hasan Ibn Al-Haitham):

 The golden ratio can be seen in architecture, as shown in the Parthenon (Golden Ratio):

Not only is math applied to two-dimensional art, it can also be applied to other art forms, like origami and music. I thought it was really interesting that people have been coding simulators to computationally determine ways to fold something along a line or plane (Lang). Knowledge of algebra and geometry are especially useful here. As for music, mathematics is used to encode sound, for which knowledge of binary numbers and bitwise operations would be helpful, and determine frequencies, for which calculus and trigonometry would come in handy (Burk).

Math can be also applied to biology. Leonardo da Vinci, a famous scientist and artist, noted that parts of the human body are related by the golden ratio too (Parveen), (Golden Ratio in the Human Head):

From this week’s lessons, I think artists actually use a lot more math than many would realize. For example, artists analyze angles when they’re considering the viewers’ lines of view and perspectives. However, I don’t see art being used as much in the sciences, except in design in tech companies.

The juxtaposition of math, art, and science highlights the need for math in both art and science.This is particularly interesting to me because of the huge perceived contrast between math and art, yet math informs a lot of the basic techniques in art. Math is definitely necessary in science too, especially subjects like physics and chemistry, but I don’t see as much of a contrast between the two.

Works Cited

Abu Ali Hasan Ibn Al-Haitham. Digital image. Nitum. N.p., 27 Sept. 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.

Burk, Phil, Larry Polansky, Douglas Repetto, Mary Roberts, and Dan Rockmore. "Music and Computers." Music and Computers. Columbia University, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

Golden Ratio. Digital image. Math Is Fun. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.

Golden Ratio in the Human Head. Digital image. MATHEMATICS AND ART. University of Georgia, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.

Lang, Robert J. "Computational Origami." Computational Origami. Robert J. Lang Origami, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

Parveen, Nikhat. "MATHEMATICS AND ART." MATHEMATICS AND ART. University of Georgia, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

Vesna, Victoria. Mathematics - Zero Perspective Golden Mean. UCLA, 9 Apr. 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.

Zahoor, A. "ALHAZEN (965-1040 AD)." ALHAZEN (965-1040 AD). University of California, Santa Barbara, n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.