Week 2: Art and Math

When it comes to art, people tend to overlook the aspect of mathematics. Week two’s lecture offered us insight into the dynamics between art and math. Perspective, brought by Al-Haytham, is the mathematical system to demonstrate three-dimensional space in a flat plane (Vesna). Artists could illustrate the depth and use linear perspective to exceed the one-dimensional aspect. Artist, Brunelleschi, was able to do so while adopting the concept of scale—an object’s length about the length of the whole picture (Vesna).

Having learned about perspectives and scales, I started to understand those concepts from those drawings, including “Under the Wave off Kanagawa” by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai. Mathematics appears within this painting, embodying the mountain in the background and the multi-dimension curvature of the waves. (Harris)

After reviewing Music and Computers, I learned how sound could be vital to the mathematical concept of functions. A function requires an input and output, plotting lines on the x and y-axis of a graph, similar to how time (information) and amplitude (output) measure sound waves. (Music and Computers). Likewise, math is a relationship of codes and patterns embodied within art. Here, Nathan Selloff has depicted these patterns in audiograms visually representative of sound frequencies. When a song serves as a form of art, we can listen to frequencies found in math. 

Conclusively, mathematics, art, and science are and always relevant. In art, math can be beneficial for generating ratios and visual cues that could bring visual pleasure. One of the most exciting combinations of the two would be the Golden Ratio, epitomized in various natural structures.

                                                            Work Cited

Arkenberg, John G. “Where Is the Math in Cinematography...” Gordon Arkenberg, Gordon Arkenberg, 12 Jan. 2016, http://www.gordonarkenberg.com/blog/2016/1/10/where-is-the-math-in-cinematography.

“Audiograms - Interactive Software Art, Print.” Nathan Selikoff, 18 Jan. 2020, https://nathanselikoff.com/works/audiograms.

“Chapter 1: The Digital Representation of Sound, Part One: Sound and Timbre.” Music and Computers, http://musicandcomputersbook.com/chapter1/01_01.php.

Harris, Leila Anne. “Under the Wave off Kanagawa (The Great Wave) by Hokusai (Article).” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/japan-art/a/hokusai-under-the-wave-off-kanagawa-the-great-wave#:~:text=Under%20the%20Wave%20off%20Kanagawa%20is%20full%20of%20visual%20play,snow%20falling%20on%20the%20mountain.

Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics-pt1-Zeroperspectivegoldenmean.mov - YouTube.” Youtube, UC Online, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmq5B1LKDg.