I've always thought of math as an integral part of life as we know it. Like it says in Professors lecture, math is even a building block of art. Early artists like Duccio had been using mathematical principles when painting perspectives, but it wasn't until Brunelleschi that the first correct formulation of linear perspective was established. He developed the ever-useful vanishing point, which is the point at which receding parallel lines viewed in perspective appear to converge. The correlation between math and common art was addressed by Leon Battista Alberti saying, "I will take first from the mathematicians those things with which my subject is concerned" (Lecture). Math gives art the principles of perspective and proportion.
http://www.cbcurtis.net/benedict/Humanities%20Site/mediev_fresco.html
Leonardo da Vinci is one of the most famous mathematicians in history. He explained that perspective in a rational demonstration by which experience confirms that the images of all things are transmitted to the eye by pyramidal lines. The pyramid of lines are the series of angles and distances that come from lines being connected at a single point. These lines can be used to provide a structure and complexity to a piece of art work. (Lecture)
http://perepelitsin.org/bipiramid%20engl.html
Mathematics and science seem to be a juxtaposition to art, but after learning about this weeks materials I've realized that they are actually highly integrated. So, for artists who think they lack any mathematical ability, they are actually smarter than they think, and for mathematicians who think they lack creativity, it is possible for them to use math to find it. This weeks material has left me with hope that I might me able to create art someday without being "artistically gifted."
I really like your approach on the relationship between art and math. I thought that it was really interesting how you showed the progression of this realization through different artists like Duccio, Brunelleschi, Alberti, and Leonardo Da Vinci. The way that you presented Leonardo Da Vinci as a mathematician made me really think about how i never consider great artists to be mathematicians, but they really are. I also liked how you said that you now you feel like you can create art without being 'artistically gifted' because I do not consider myself to be artistically gifted either, and this makes me excited and shows everyone can be an artist!
ReplyDeleteI too enjoyed learning about Leonardo Da Vinci's work in both the arts and mathmatics. I knew prior that he worked with the golden ratio, and other geometric equations in his work to stide towards a perfection in his work. However, I did not know about his work with the pyramid that you mentioned and I found your writing about it very interesting. To me Da Vinci is the perfect example to show the juxposition between art and math.
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