Week 2-Mathematics and Art


Week 2- Mathematics and Art

         Undoubtably, mathematics has played a major impact on the influence in art (and as I discussed last week, science) in our lives. When things are created, there are very rarely done so in a care-free manner, but rather with extremely precision and focus to a task at hand.  One prime example of this could be Filippo Brunelleschi, who was an Italian architect, and a person that many considered to be the first modern engineer. In his mind, "there should be a single vanishing point to which all parallel lines in a plane, other than the plane of the canvas, converge". This belief is one that has been taken to heart by many which lead to some of the most revolutionary changes in the way we live our lives. Primary, the smart phone.
The "iPhone" or what we now know as
the iPhone 1, was revolutionary in its design



Never had there been a device that was oriented around a single point. But that it what the engineers at apple, who drew inspiration from mathematicians as well as artists to create the device that now is the baseline for nearly all cell phones. As discussed in the lecture, as well as the readings, the serious, conscious connections or juxtapositions between art and math began when people began to realize and understand the connection of lines and continuity. This idea could not be expressed more clearly than through the works of M.C. Escher.  Of all the works I have seen by him, the one the captures my attention the most is the one that I was shown at a very early age.

Although my first impressions of it in elementary school were simply that it was cool to look at, by studying this topic I have begun to realize it has much more meaning than that.  Escher's staircase, while certainly very artistic, provides an insight into the idea of continuity and what is or is not possible (for example, dividing by 0). So the fact that art and science and mathematics are all intertwined makes sense immediately when one puts thought into it. As this picture of colorful ellipses shows, an understandings of art and math is crucial for a true understanding of the world.















Citations:
Biography.com Editors. "Filippo Brunelleschi." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 13 Sept. 2016. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.

McInerny, Sam. "Modern Art Is Indebted To Descartes." BigThink. N.p., Feb. 2016. Web. 14 Apr. 2017.

O' Connor, JJ. "Mathematics and Art - Perspective." N.p., Jan. 2003. Web. 13 Apr. 2017.

"Relativity by M.C. Escher – Facts & History of the Painting." Totally History Relativity Comments. Total History Corp., Feb. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2017.


Smith, B. Sidney. "The Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher." Platonic Realms Minitexts. Platonic Realms, 13 Mar 2014. Web. 13 Mar 2014. 

Comments

  1. Yuchen LiApril 18, 2017 at 10:11 AM

    Hi Tyler, I really like your idea of taking concepts from art and math to a more abstract level. I have never thought that vanishing points not only apply to lines in a plane but also to our everyday lives. While smartphones have become the one point where applications with various functions converge, do you think it is possible that what human pursues is also converging into one or a few things? For example, do all technological, scientific, and artistic innovations help human beings to be freed from labor and to understand the world? I think a lot of questions can be inspired from your discussion of the vanishing point.

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