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| Rule of thirds for visual composition |
The rule of thirds for use in taking photos and creating
canvas artwork was the extent of my knowledge and application of math in
art. Learning that the greatest art
masters, from Francesca to da Vinci, not only created eternal art pieces, but
also helped develop some of the scientific and mathematical processes for more
realistic pieces made me appreciate more some of the techniques we use that we
otherwise just take for granted. Someone
at some point in time had to come across the idea and really expand upon it before
it became common knowledge.
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| Vanishing point as demonstrated by Brunelleschi |
Development of art in terms of math can be traced throughout
history. It never dawned on me the
significance of geometry in perspective, as demonstrated by Brunelleschi in his
use of the single vanishing point as described in lecture. These principles, which we spent a year in
middle school drilling in our minds, had significance beyond just the math
lesson to the creation of art pieces.
The golden rectangle is another example of mathematical
application in art. Numerous works,
including the Mona Lisa and pyramids of Egypt, utilize math relationships to
create distinct but appealing figures.
Without the math portion, there would be much less visual appeal, but
without the art, there would not be the beauty and uniqueness to each artists’
work.
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| Golden rectangle, even in today's society |
In modern works, the golden rectangle plays a huge part in
the logos of popular brands. Math plays
a role in the creativity, but also the marketability of products and
services. The juxtaposition of math and
art truly comes down to the design – how both math and art are needed to create
designs that capture people’s attention and generates feelings of some sort. Math influences and dictates the artwork in a
way that allows artists to follow patterns to encourage viewers engagement, yet
leaves them the leeway to generate new pieces each time.
Usage of math provides a pathway for realism in some mediums,
but also a creative, visually appealing and engaging art piece in modern forms.
Works Cited
“Linear Perspective:
Brunelleschi's Experiment.” Saylor.
Smart History, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2015.
Meisner, G. “Logo
Design using the Golden Ratio.” Golden number, 6 May 2015. 11 Apr. 2015.
Parveen, N. “Mathematics
and Art.” N.p, n.d. 11 Apr. 2015.
“Rule of Thirds –
Composition in Art.” The art and fine art
tips of Lori Mcnee. N.p, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2015.
Vesna, Victoria.
"Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov." YouTube.
Hi Chena,
ReplyDeleteI really like the fact that you had an actual instance where math is literally fused with artistic principles. Going into the logo constructions with rectangles it donned on me I had completely forgotten the basics many of us went through in beginners art classes where we start off with simple geometric shapes. Artists are able to distinguish circles, squares, triangles and other shapes in a design, and slowly add detail and curves to create a picture. Basically the idea of going from a circle to say a human face.