Andrea Streips
This week in lecture, I learned the importance of history between sciences and art. I have always had a grasp on the general understanding of how mathematics has influenced the mechanics of art, but I have never realized how interconnected they truly are. I found that "Flatland" by Edwin Abbott demonstrated an alternate perspective of our society's inability to conceive further dimensions. Abbott delves into his conception of the "flatland", that is a two dimensional world where a third dimension cannot be imagined. Abbott heightens on one of our society's biggest flaws: our inability to interconnect art and math because we lack communication between artists and scientists. 
In addition to Abbott's concepts within "Flatland", I also learned new perspectives about the Renaissance and the ways in which Piero della Francesca applied mathematics and science to the art period in particular. The usage of mathematics through lines and angles has allowed art to progress in a more creative and innovative way. In addition, the lecture also discusses Brunelleschi, a famous artist who integrated mathematical equations and theorems in order to discover a "vanishing point" where parallel lines converge. Robert J. Lang, is another prime example of how art and mathematics have a perfect symbiosis with each other. Lang provides us with two different categories of art and math on his website, but within each section, he discusses how one foils into the other and both need each other in order for origami to be created.
The first artist that comes to mind in regards to interconnecting art and science is Leonardo Da Vinci. Da Vinci has proven to be the ultimate Renaissance man through the way he saw that objects were not comprised of outlines, but were actually three-dimensional bodies defined by light and shadow. His study of science was constantly illustrated through his art by the way his study of nature and anatomy was demonstrated through his realistic paintings. He mastered the perfect proportions of the human body because of science. Through week two's lecture and readings I have developed a better understanding of how important it is to understand the interconnection between art and science.
Citation:
Abbott, Edwin. “Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions.” N.p., n.d. Web. 10 April 2015. <https://cole.uconline.edu/content>.
Lang, Robert "Origami" N.p.n.d Web. 11 April 2015.
<http://www.langorigami.com/science/math/math.php>
Math Intro. By Victoria Vesna. YouTube. Uconlineprogram, 10 April 2015. Web. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHiL9iskUWM&feature=player_embedded>.
Museum of Science. N.p.n.d. Web 11 April 2015
<http://legacy.mos.org/leonardo/artist.html>
Vesna Victoria. “Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov.” Cole UC online. Youtube, 9 April 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.
Hello Andrea,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post about this weeks readings! I thought you provided great insight and further examples about how science math and art are interrelated. I couldn't agree more with you about how Da Vinci and his work perfectly embody these concepts. I had also never seen the picture that you posted next to it and I think that it captures the true essence of this week's readings.