Week 2 Blog

The intersection of math and art is an example of what can happen when the two cultures of art and science are allowed to interact with one another. From the golden ratio to the discovery of the vanishing point, math has affected art to a great degree throughout the ages. In particular it seems as if the golden ratio has had the most wide ranging effect on art. It was used to proportion the pyramids of Egypt, design the Parthenon, and then used in art like the Vitruvian Man and the Mona Lisa.

Figure 1: Vitruvian Man showing the use of the Golden Ratio

The use of mathematics in art led to artwork becoming more realistic, as better ideas of perspective were introduced into art. The idea of the vanishing point added depth to artwork that hadn’t been seen before. It is interesting to learn that mathematics led to realism in art, since mathematics today seems to give more of an artificial perspective. What I mean by this is that math is used in computer programs to create fantastical illustrations for movies or even for other live art.

Figure 2: A drawing illustrating the idea of the vanishing point

An example of this use of math for more artificial feeling art can be seen in the work of Nathan Selikoff. After looking through the other artists provided in this week’s resources, Selikoff’s is the most “unnatural” to me. He uses computer code to create moving art that can also be interactive with its observers. This is probably the least traditional art that I personally have seen yet it is still appealing to me. I think that it is very interesting that math is still being used to innovate new forms of art.

Figure 3: Screenshot of interactive art created by Nathan Selikoff

Citations

Frantz, Marc. "Lesson 3: Vanishing Points and Looking at Art." 1 Jan. 2000. Web. 9 Apr. 2015. <http://www.cs.ucf.edu/courses/cap6938-02/refs/VanishingPoints.pdf>.

Ida, Takashi. "“Vitruvian Man” by Leonardo Da Vinci and the Golden Ratio." “Vitruvian Man”    by Leonardo Da Vinci and the Golden Ratio. Web. 9 Apr. 2015. <http://www.crl.nitech.ac.jp/~ida/education/VitruvianMan/>.

"Module 4." L4: Learn. Web. 9 Apr. 2015. <http://gid70.rageyart.com/Lesson04/L04_learn.html>.

Selikoff, Nathan. "Nathan Selikoff | Fine Artist Playing with Interactivity, Math, Code." Nathan Selikoff. Web. 9 Apr. 2015. <http://nathanselikoff.com/>.