Despite the situation today where art and science separate the two in their own categories, it is interesting to learn that mathematics has been involved with both for many centuries in the past. Mathematics can serve as a backbone for art that is considered very aesthetically pleasing and also as a backbone for sciences. For example, the golden ratio is a ratio denoted as phi that is a number that many artists follow to create proportional pieces. This includes the Parthenon in Greece (("Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov" 25:29). Examples like this demonstrate that even though at times it seems like art and sciences are on opposite sides of a pole, mathematicians can bring them together. In fact, this form of art is considered aesthetically pleasing with its basis in math.
An interesting museum installment that combines art and math is the Crochet Coral Reef found in the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC. The art installment took a lot of human, mostly female, labor to create the various corals that have geometric designs ("About the Project"). It represents how something large scale like this was created when humans come together, which is similar to how humans can collaborate to solve ecological problems ("About the Project"). It is also interesting because the corals that were crocheted follow a hyperbolic geometric shape that has existed in nature for many years, but mathematicians have struggled to prove them (Science+Art Project). This art piece represents the importance of the intersection of science, art, and mathematics which can come together to not only be aesthetically pleasing to look at, but also demonstrate an important understanding and lesson in science of protecting the coral reefs.
Art, science, and mathematics can all come together to work with each other rather than clash with one another as subjects to aim for a better understanding of the world. As mentioned earlier, one of the ways mathematics manifests itself in art is through the golden ratio. Despite human created art being a place where this ratio shows up, the ratio also appears a lot in nature, such as in sunflowers (Choi). So, having an understanding of mathematics and art can help in science to learn more about how the world works. Another example of how math and art can manifest itself is through fractals. Fractal art is a form of art that utilizes mathematical equations to create it and this can also be found in nature and the leaves of plants (Park). It can also be seen in the human body, which is an area science is found in to understand how individuals operate ("What Is a Fractal?"). Overall, this is to say that all three subjects can provide a better understanding of the world around us, despite a lot of people placing these subjects in very different categories. This is especially true in today’s education system, which is unfortunate.
Works Cited
"About the Project." Crochet Coral Reef, crochetcoralreef.org/about/theproject/.
Choi, Jiwon, et al. "The Most Irrational Number that Shows up Everywhere: The Golden Ratio." Journal of Applied Mathematics and Physics, vol. 11, no. 4, Apr. 2023.
"Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov." YouTube, uploaded by UC Online, 9 Apr. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmq5B1LKDg.
Park, Hyde. "Amazing Fractals Found in Nature." Mathnasium, 3 Jan. 2023, www.mathnasium.com/ math-centers/hydepark/news/amazing-fractals-found-nature-hp.
Science+Art Project: Crochet Coral Reef. Margaret Wertheim, www.margaretwertheim.com/crochet-coral-reef. Accessed 12
Usvat, Liliana. "Mathematics of the Parthenon." Mathematics Magazine, www.mathematicsmagazine.com/Articles/Mathematics_ofTheParthenon.php.
"What Is a Fractal?" Iternal, iternal.us/what-is-a-fractal/.
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Hey, Emmy!
ReplyDeleteYou've made a genuinely interesting post! Mathematics has long served as a connecting force, despite the seeming split between science and art in modern times. I think it's so cool how mathematics improves the accuracy of science and the beauty of art. I appreciate you providing this understanding of how math, art, and science are all related.