Math and Art


Math and Art

                                                                                           (Robert J. Lang Origami)

Origami design is a skill that transforms a 2D paper into a 3D sculpture. One can see from the image above, origami artists require a great understanding of geometry in order to design and fold incredibly detailed pieces. By using geometry, an artist is able to figure out what angles to fold a paper which will result in the shape they are envisioning. I find this interesting since I occasionally will make origami, however I don’t have a good enough understanding to create my own designs.



Da Vinci used the “Golden Ratio” in many of his famous artworks such as The Last Supper and Mona Lisa. It was found by many artists that using this golden ratio gave the artwork balance and was aesthetically pleasing to the viewer. This could be because the golden ratio is found in nature so its incorporation in art subconsciously gave both the artist and viewers a sense of completion in the art piece. One example of the embodiment of the golden ratio in biology is in shells of snails or aquatic life. 

(https://www.goldennumber.net/art-composition-design/)

(https://www.pinterest.com/BurntBirchEtsy/golden-ratio-fibonacci/)



Another example of where art and math come together is in perspective and vanishing points in images. Artists are able to express depth in a picture using a vanishing point to help imitate the view of what a spectator would actually see. The vanishing point is where the image lines converge, as can be seen in both the images below. The lines for the railroad intersect at the vanishing point in the distance to help emphasize the long length of the track. With 3-dimensional images, such as the image with the cube, the vanishing point provides the artist with the lines needed to give the object the proper perspective. 


 
   (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanishing_point)


References

Franz, Marc. "Vanishing Points." Lesson 3: Vanishing Points and Looking at Art (2000): n. pag. Web.

Meisner, Gary. "Golden Ratio in Art Composition and Design." Goldennumber.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2017.

Robert J. Lang Origami. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2017.

Treibergs, Andrejs. "The Geometry of Perspective Drawing on the Computer." Mathematics of Perspective Drawing. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2017.


Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics.” Lecture. CoLE DESMA 9. Web. <https://cole.uconline.edu/~UCLA-201209-17S-DESMA-9-1#l=Week-2-Assignment/id4287887




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