WEEK 2: Math + Art

(http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/rule-of-thirds.htm)

As an artist myself, I’ve subconsciously used mathematics, primary geometry in most or if all of my work. Learning about the relationship between mathematics and art is insightful on how to gain more perspective in viewing and creating work. In photography, the ‘Rule of Thirds’ applies to the composition of a photo by aligning the subject with guidelines and intersection points. This technique provides perspective to the artist in creating the image, as well as the observer receiving it. Famous artists in the past such as Leonardo Da Vinci have used the “Golden Ratio”, a number that explains the relationship of lines and their distances to one another, as a method in creating a different perspective of viewing reality, as do modern artists such as myself use today.

(http://www.indezine.com/products/powerpoint/learn/color/color-cmyk.html)

Delving deeper into the use of Mathematics in photography with its relation to art, is the use of photo editing applications like Photoshop or InDesign, that operate on a system of values in not just scale and sizing, but also in creating color and altering light. The system of values is based on ratios from 0-100 that serve as different editing functions. Artists of all sorts who use computers to design, especially architects, have no choice by learning how to qualitatively express their creativity in their work.

(http://www.thephotophore.com/babel-tower-shirin-abedinirad/)

Let’s take for example, these art pieces by Shirin Abedinirad, photographs that juxtapose art, mathematics, architecture, and science. The mirror effect of reflecting an image with the use of light was a developed by experimentation and the symmetry of the subject was created with ratios and measurements. The appeal of the image is the artistic component that makes this piece as a different perspective of reality. As the author of Art of the Golden Ratio, puts it, “Mathematics is full of mystery and beauty.”

(photographed by me)

Citations

Paine, David P., and James D. Kiser. Aerial Photography and Image Interpretation. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley, 2003. Print.

Brown, Blain. Cinematography: Theory and Practice: Image Making for Cinematographers and Directors. Burlington, MA: Focal, 2012. Print.

Hollos, Stefan. The Art of the Golden Ratio. Abrazol, 2015. Web. <https://books.google.com/books?id=l1ANswEACAAJ>.

Gardner, Robert. Experiments with Light and Mirrors. Enslow Pub Incorporated, 2006. Web. https://books.google.com/books?id=8nvDBGcphkIC&q=mirrors and light science&dq=mirrors and light science&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwinooye6YXMAhUJs4MKHWJ4DBMQ6AEIIjAB