Week 2

From this week's lectures and readings, I have learned how mathematics influenced art and science through the Egyptians application of the golden ratio in building pyramids, the idea of vanishing points in paintings, and Da Vinci's unmatched ability to fuse "mathematics and art in a single concept" in works such as Vitruvian Man. Diving more specifically into one piece of work that exhibits mathematics influencing art, I chose to analyze M.C. Esther's Regular Division of the Plane with Birds. As shown on platonicrealms.com, Escher's piece utilizes a tessellation of triangles. The style of tessellation requires that artists employ geometry concepts such as reflections, glide reflections, translations, and rotations in their pieces. Furthermore, "These distortions had to obey the three, four, or six-fold symmetry of the underlying pattern in order to preserve the tessellation." Escher had a lot of mathematical considerations when constructing his piece! 
Regular Division of the Plane with Birds; wood engraving, 1949 

This piece uses a tessellation of triangles.

From this week's material, I've learned how mathematics directly inspires artwork. Some art pieces more obviously involve mathematics, such as Piet Modrian's Tableau I, where the piece has isolated, clearly defined geometric shapes. Others, such as Peter Neeff the Elder's Interior of the Antwerp Cathedral, are less intuitive, but upon further reading can one understand the underlying mathematic principles that construct this painting. According to Mark Frantz's paper on vanishing points, "viewing the actual painting in the Indianapolis Museum of Art gives a surprising sensation of depth, of being 'in' the cathedral"; not only does constructing art involve math, but viewing art does as well. The juxtaposition of mathematics, art, and science are such that they are overlapping, with work ranging from Da Vinci's Mona Lisa to M.C. Esther's Regular Division of the Plane with Birds falling into the overlapping area.

Piet Modrian's Tableau I
Peter Neeff the Elder's Interior of the Antwerp


Sources

“Tableau I, 1921.” Www.Piet-Mondrian.org, www.piet-mondrian.org/tableau-i.jsp.

The Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher, platonicrealms.com/minitexts/Mathematical-Art-Of-M-C-Escher/.

 Mark Frantz. Lesson 3: Vanishing Points and Looking at Art. University of Central Florida, 2000.

 “Interior of the Antwerp Cathedral.” Art Works, www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/digital-collection/01. Paintings/30615.

 Victoria Vesna. "Mathematics Pt 1." YouTube. 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1291&v=mMmq5B1LKDg.




  


Comments

  1. UnknownApril 14, 2018 at 9:08 AM

    Interesting take on the material! Mathematics in art is always fascinating to see. I do wish there were more classes at UCLA that incorporates both math and art. I believe a deeper understanding of both would allow us to understand art on a deeper level and truly appreciate the effort artists put in their works.

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  2. Jennifer LathropApril 16, 2018 at 7:33 PM

    I too was fascinated by Interior of the Antwerp. Seeing mathematics applied in such a way that can mimic reality in such an impacting way displays the complex relationship between mathematics and our world. It seems strange that many classes only employ ideals from either maths or arts, when it is so simply shown here that an understanding of both vastly deepens the impact of either subject.

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