Quantifying the Qualitative: Understanding the realm of Art and Mathematics by Anubhav Chandla DESMA9

Quantifying the Qualitative: Understanding the realm of Art and Mathematics

Based on this week’s lectures and reading material, it is prevalent that mathematics has played a prominent role, both intrinsically and extrinsically, in developing art and science. As initially discussed in the lecture, the intermingling of the abstract and mathematics was seen through ancient texts, as a way to quantify the abstract world around us (Vesna, 00:04:27 - 00:05:24). This was especially interesting in the context of an ancient civilization where mathematical concepts such as the number “zero” were utilized in order to decipher the primitive yet expanding society at that time. Another specific example discussed in the lecture, which I also found to be quite uniquely discussed by the author, Marc Frantz, is the use of the vanishing point. While I had previously learned about the vanishing point strictly as an artistic concept, it was interesting to see the relationship between distance, angels, and the use of parallel lines (Frantz, 5). This interdependence between quantitative mathematics and the abstract world is also explored naturally through the discussion of infinity and fractals within the video published by the Socioeconomic Institute and how fractals show up in the coral reef and nature (Socioeconomic Institute, 00:02:27 - 00:03:50).

Qualitative Paint: Using Numbers as the Canvas

Figure 1: "A Bird in Flight" by Hamid Naderi Yeganeh 

One specific artist that stands out to me as the epitome of both mathematics and art is Hamid Naderi Yeganeh and his creations of animals and other natural shapes. As seen in the art piece above, Hamid, an artist by profession, uses a collection of mathematical equations in order to create overlaying line segments or other shapes that are computer generated into animal-like shapes. In this art piece specifically, spirals and a multitude of intersecting lines are used to depict directed motion through the flight of a bird (Yeganeh, 2)

This artwork further allowed me to understand how art and mathematics are inseparable and provide artists like Hamid with a medium to uniquely create art pieces that quite literally have a distinct formula that can be followed and replicated while being unique at the same time. 

The Juxtaposition between Numbers and Nature

Figure 2: "The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory" by Salvador Dali

Figure 3: The Fractal Coast: Quantifying the Arch Cape in Oregon, U.S.

As seen in the art piece above by Salvador Dali, through this week’s readings and overall discussion of art, science, and mathematics, I was able to further understand how artists use various forms of mathematics as a way to actualize the expression of thought and emotion they experience. As seen in art movements such as Surrealism and Dali’s painting of "The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory", art was used as a form of social commentary that constantly questioned the natural world and its surroundings. 

This juxtaposition of quantifying the unquantifiable through art and nature can also further be seen through the satellite picture of the Arch Cape in Oregon. As discussed in the Veritas Journal, as you zoom in and out of the coast, a fractal-like design can be seen to infinitely form, since there is no definite stop between the rocky shapes being formed (Dahl et al, 3). 

References

1) Dahl, Caleb, and Pingback: “The Infinite Coast.” Veritas Journal, 16 Jan. 2020, veritasjournal.org/2020/01/16/the-infinite-coast/.

2) Frantz, Marc. “Lesson 3: Vanishing Points and Looking at Art .” University of Central Florida, 2000, www.cs.ucf.edu/courses/cap6938-02/refs/VanishingPoints.pdf.

3) Socioeconomic Institute,  “Fibonacci, Fractals and Financial Markets - Socionomics.net.” YouTube, Socioeconomic Institute, 31 May 2007, www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE2Lu65XxTU.

4) Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics-PT1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov.” YouTube, YouTube, 9 Apr. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmq5B1LKDg&t=1s.

5) Yeganeh, Hamid Naderi. “Mathematical Imagery.” American Mathematical Society, www.ams.org/publicoutreach/math-imagery/yeganeh.

Figure References

Figure 1: Yeganeh, Hamid Naderi. “Mathematical Imagery.” American Mathematical Society, www.ams.org/publicoutreach/math-imagery/yeganeh.

Figure 2: Dali, Salvador. The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory. 1952, archive.thedali.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=record%3Bid.

Figure 3: Dahl, Caleb, and Pingback: “The Infinite Coast.” Veritas Journal, 16 Jan. 2020, veritasjournal.org/2020/01/16/the-infinite-coast/.