Math + Art

            Around the 1920s when mathematicians were struggling to grasp the full understanding of the fourth dimension’s space and time, artist had a blank canvas to continue the visual aspect with art. This form of art has carried on for many years. Famous artist such as Salvador Dali, and Irene Pereira amongst others painted their interpretations of surrealism in time and space. The work between mathematicians and Albert Einstein’s Relativity theory crossed over and influenced some famous artwork that will appear in the upcoming years; “While acknowledging Einstein’s theories, Andre Breton and various surrealist painters during the 1930s and 1940s retained many of the pre-Einsteinian implications of ‘the fourth dimension’ and non-Euclidean geometry” (Henderson 205). As math continues to be practiced we realize how important it impacts our lives. Prior to Albert Einstein, in the 13th century artist/architect Giotto started to draw three-dimensional drawing on canvas. His original famous work showing linear perspective is called “The Visitation”. Not long after with a heavier influence of math in 1413 Feilippo Brunelleschi created the first correct formula of linear perspective. As Artist incorporated linear calculations, the paintings began to appear life like.


            Maurits Cornelis Escher was an artist who became known for his work in the 1950s. M.C. Escher created math influenced art. One of my favorites is his “Regular division of the plane with birds”. This drawing seems to be an illusion like picture of white and black doves, but under further investigation what is unknowingly catching the viewer’s attentions is the birds are in a tessellation of triangles. I have learned that art and mathematics are more similar than different. Although math is primarily numbers, formulas, graphs, and theories its principals are heavily ingrained in the visuals of art. A better term to describe it is Juxtaposition which means the state of being close together or side by side.


            


“To see a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wild flower hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour” - William Blake


Henderson, Linda Dalrymple. “The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art:              Conclusion.” Leonardo. 17.3 (1984): 205-210. Print.

Quellette, Jennifer. "Pollack's Fractals." Discover Magazine. N.p., 1 Nov. 2001. Web. 15 Apr. 2017.

Smith, B. Sidney. "The Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher." Platonic Realms Minitexts. Platonic
Realms, 13 Mar 2014. Web. 13 Mar 2014.
Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov.” Cole UC online. Youtube, 9 April 2012. Web. 15 April. 2017. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmq5B1LKDg&feature=player_embedded

Wertheim, Margaret. "Things That Think: An Interview With Computer Collector Nicholas Gessler." The Institute For Figuring // Where the Wild Things Are. N.p., Mar. 2006. Web. 16 Apr. 2017.

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 17, 2017 at 11:29 PM

    Brunelleschi and Escher's artworks are excellent examples of how art and math are heavily intertwined. Through their art, we can see how heavily dependent these two very different subjects are on one another. As you said, Brunelleschi created the first correct formula for linear perspective, which clearly shows the use of mathematics within art. I never considered tessellations before you mentioned them, but they are actually a perfect example of geometry and the use of shapes and mathematical principles within art.

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