April 15, 2018
Math + Art
This week’s material really opened my eyes to the huge impact that math has on art. A lot of times art and math are used simultaneously by artists to create their masterpieces. Both subjects have become more and more intertwined. Jennifer Ouelette makes clear how math is used when it comes to the art of making fractals. Ouelette says, “Fractals may seem haphazard at first glance, yet each on is composed of a single geometric pattern repeated thousands of times”. Fractal art is created by calculating fractal objects and representing the calculations as images or animations. Eric Weisstein also explains the Mandelbrot set. Weisstein says, “The term Mandelbrot set is used to refer both to a general class of fractal sets and to a particular instance of such a set. In general, a Mandelbrot set marks the set of points in the complex plane such that the corresponding Julia set is connected and not computable” (Weisstein).
I also learned about the similarities between music and math as both involve structure and form. I played the piano growing up which forced me to learn how to count the beat. I learned about scales, chords, and melodies as well. 
Another form of art that uses math to convey the art’s meaning is origami. According to Robert Lang, “applying the basic principles of math are essential requirements in the art of Origami.” He shows this in Robert Lang: The math and magic of origami.
Sources
Lang, Robert. "The math and magic of origami." Robert Lang: The
math and magic of origami | TED Talk | TED.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2017.
Lang, Robert. "Robert J. Lang Origami." Robert J. Lang Origami. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2017.
Ouelette, Jennifer. "Pollock's Fractals." Discover Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2017.
Weisstein, Eric. "Mandelbrot Set." Mandelbrot Set -- from Wolfram MathWorld. N.p., n.d. Web.
16 Apr. 2017.
Jansen, Theo. "My Creations, a New Form of Life." Theo Jansen: My Creations, a New
Form of Life | TED Talk | TED.com. TED.com, 09 June 2007. Web. 15 Apr. 2017.
I thought it was very interesting to learn the influences of math on music. The fact that mathematics can approach us through all senses truly depicts the impact it has on our day to day lives.
ReplyDeleteI thought that it was interesting how you tied music into your blog. We don't realize how much math has had an affect on art until we take a step back and see that they are all around us all the time. The combination of the two is almost an art itself.
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