I learned very quickly from my youth art classes that drawing isn't an escape from math. My first lessons included graphing paper and understanding the distances between the objects I was drawing as well as the angles in which they needed to be drawn. I was reminded of this connection again when I learned of the golden ratio in an architecture class during my freshman year of college. The two subjects are inevitably intertwined.
Most of the time, math is part of the "behind the scenes" rather than the focus. Things become interesting, however, when the tables get turned and mathematical conepts become the focus of the art (rather than the means through which it is accomplished). Edwin Abbott's Flatland takes geometric shapes and creates a new universe with them all while commenting on the social hierarchies of his time.
My favorite pieces are the works of Theo Jansen. Personally, I consider these the highest form of fusion between math, science, and art.
Jansen's works, however, usually leave viewers with an uncomfortable feeling. In a mathematically ruled universe, where is the line drawn between what is and isn't art? Is all art just a combination of mathematics and, by transition, is all life then art in itself? Perhaps art is somewhat all encompassing- chemistry, calculus, and physics may all be considered art classes. Or, from the opposite perspective, perhaps art does not exist at all but is only a created concept used to comfort man in a mundane, number-ruled world that cannot go beyond its mathematical limits.
Sources:
"Creatures on the Beach: Theo Jansen on TED.com." TED. N.p., 06 Sept. 2007. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. <http://blog.ted.com/2007/09/06/theo_jansen/>.
"Daina Taimina, Discoverer of Hyperbolic Crochet." Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013.
Abbott, Edwin Abbott. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1963. Print.
Robert J. Lang Origami. N.p., 2004. Web. <http://www.langorigami.com/>.
"TACTILE-KINESTHESIS." CsuriVision. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2013. <http://www.csurivision.com/index.php/2012/02/tactile-kinesthesis/>.
Hi Jordan,
ReplyDeleteOnce again you wrote a great post. This week you ask another thought provoking question. Where doe science start and art begin? My answer to that question, although I am sure there are many holes to it, boils down to one point. What makes art different from science is whether it is trying to communicate a message. When you look at a picture, a dance, a drawing, an artwork, etc they usually are trying to communicate something. It could be a commentary on society, propangada, or just a still in everyday life. I don't think science attempts to communicate the same way. Science is just the process of finding answers and explaining why and how things work. If I could define the line between art and science, it would be whether or not whatever we are looking at has a message.