This week’s material emphasized the important role of mathematics in creating guidelines in both art and science. One insight I gained was learning about the origins of zero. I realized that the history of the concept of zero beginning with the Babylonians in 400 BC is a critical paradigm shift in mathematics (Vesna). Another important insight is the origin of the use of mathematics in art. Opposite to what I may have assumed prior to this week, the mathematical basis of zero and concepts such as perspective did not originate in the West. For instance, the number zero was written about by Brahmagupta in India before spreading to China, Islamic countries, and finally the West by Fibonacci (Vesna). Similarly, The idea of perspective and study of optics in art began with Al-Haytham and spread to many scholars and artists such as Edwin Abbott (Edwin Section 6). A third insight I gained was understanding the basics of the Golden Ratio. Because I was born in Egypt, analyzing the Great Pyramids of Giza and the use of the Golden Ratio at that time was intriguing (Meisner).
Image taken from Gary Meisner portraying aspects of
the Golden Ration in the Pyramids of Giza.
An interesting example uniting some of the aforementioned techniques is the work of Nathan Selikoff. He creates interactive art incorporating concepts of mathematics, physics, and optics. One unique piece of work he exhibited in Orlando was a clock projected onto a building. The clock was also connected to an audio system so that one can visually see a representation of sound. Selikoff used a clock, a mathematical apparatus, while exhibiting aspects of optics and sound waves in one single art project (Selikoff). Selikoff and many other artists utilize the studies and analysis of optics from previous artistic scholars. Edwin Abbott, specifically, writes about the way humans are able to recognize each other and other objects in a mathematical sense. Abbott expands on the foundations of optics set by Al-Haytham.
TED Talk by Nathan Selikoff describing the use of
computer code in art.
Artists and scientists very commonly use mathematics in their work because it is a unifying aspect that helps bring both cultures together. This week, I was able to see the overlap of art, science, and mathematics in my own life. As a part of my biomedical research lab, I am responsible for taking images of fluorescently labeled samples. The beautiful colors created by the microscope in the image below constitute aspects of biology, light refraction, geometric analysis, and perspective.
Image I took on confocal microscope. Each gray
circle represents a cell.
Sources:
Abbott, Edwin. “Flatland: Of Recognition of Sight.” N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. <https://cole.uconline.edu/content>.
Meisner, Gary. “Phi, Pi and the Great Pyramid of Egypt at Giza.” The Golden Ratio: Phi, 1.618, The Golden Ratio: Phi, 1.618, 14 May 2016, www.goldennumber.net/phi-pi-great-pyramid-egypt/.
Selikoff, Nathan. “Fine Artist Playing with Interactivity, Math, Code.” Nathanselikoff , 2012, nathanselikoff.com/.
Talks, TEDx. “I Give You Permission | Nathan Selikoff | TEDxOrlando.” YouTube, YouTube, 2 Nov. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v9wHJJ6uDQ.
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>
Hey Isaac, I agree with you about how this week put a lot of emphasis on the importance of mathematics in art in science. In the TED talk, something I thought was really interesting was when Nathan Selikoff talked about "Trial and Error" because he really put a lot of emphasis into that. Even though there was a lot of challenges and It wasn't always easy making art on covers, It made him better and It made him ask questions and get help from others until he was able to become better at It the more work he put into It. It's cool because his mom is was an artist and his dad was an engineer and he found his way kind of between both of those to do something that people really liked and It was his art through mathematics.
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