Unit 2 - "Math + Art"

http://johncarlosbaez.wordpress.com/2013/06/04/symmetry-and-the-fourth-dimension-part-10/
 
The pursuit of mathematics and its ability to define the space around us has influenced art.  Linda Henderson's article The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion referenced artists and mathematicians search for a "fourth dimension".  Henderson presented various artists and their interpretations of the fourth dimension.  What I found the most interesting was a quote by artist Tony Robbin who stated, "We are motivated by a desire to complete our subjective experience by inventing new aesthetic and conceptual capabilities"(209).  Robbin has created various works attempting to depict the fourth dimension.

http://tonyrobbin.net/

Mathematicians and artists are similar in that they use their respective talents to define the world around them.  I believe the perception of incompatibility between math and art generally comes from an artists' inability to visualize the mathematician's concept and/or the mathematician's inability to express their ideas to their audience.  Margaret Wertheim mentioned the invisibility of mathematics in our current technology in her article, Things That Think: An Interview with Computer Collector Nicholas Gessler.  She stated, "Computation is increasingly hidden on microchips and sealed in plastic beyond the sizzling screens of our laptops".  To an untrained eye, one could assume that our art and technology are not heavily dependent on mathematics.  At the beginning of lecture, Professor Desna introduced a concept known as "de-geniusing" which was created by R. Buckminster Fuller.  As a product of a "de-geniusing" educational system, I was taught that art and math were separate and incompatible worlds.  My own experiences have shown me that what I was taught at a young age was incorrect.  As technology increases, math and art continue to show an increasing ability to work together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVo2igbFSPE
(A mathematician using art to express the "fourth dimension")

Based on what I've learned this week and what I've experienced in my own life, math, art, and science are effectively working together to communicate new theories and ideas.  Their interdependence on one another is discrediting the thought that an individual can only have math, art, or science and not all three.

http://wkstudio.bigcartel.com/product/deep-down-inside-we-all-love-math-t-shirt


SOURCES:

Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov.” Cole UC online. Youtube, 9 April 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmq5B1LKDg&feature=player_embedded>

Henderson, Linda Dalrymple. “The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion.” Leonardo. 17.3 (1984): 205-210. Print.

Wertheim, Margaret. "Things That Think: An Interview with Computer Collector Nicholas Gessler". Cabinet, Issue 21, Spring 2006.

http://johncarlosbaez.wordpress.com/2013/06/04/symmetry-and-the-fourth-dimension-part-10/

http://tonyrobbin.net/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVo2igbFSPE

http://wkstudio.bigcartel.com/product/deep-down-inside-we-all-love-math-t-shirt