Week 2 Art and Math

From this week’s lecture and material, I gained a lot of insight towards the importance of mathematical models in the real world, as well as the world of art. I learned about the historical precedent surrounding art and maths, such as the basis behind the Vitruvian Man, as well as the mathematically structured things in nature. I learned of the real world applications of mathematics in the field of arts. The TED talks in particular were fascinating to me, showing how complex artworks can be boiled down to the basic mathematical principles that make up their foundations.

Vitruvian Man Notebook: Leonardo da Vinci: 0800759836567: Amazon.com: Books
Vitruvian Man

Robert Lang’s TED talk on origami was especially interesting to me. Origami was a pretty big part of my childhood, but I never had a good grasp on the deeper implications of mathematically designed Origami. One vivid memory from my youth is of an origami book I had, Genuine Origami by Jun Maekawa. In it, Maekawa details many formulas involved in his folding processes, as well as the rationale behind them. Only after hearing Lang’s talk on the real world applications do I now understand the significance of mathematics in art.

Genuine origami - Jun Maekawa (Book) - OrigamiArt.Us
Peacock from Genuine Origami, based on mathematical formulas

The folding telescope that Lang and his team worked on was truly a definitive example of the merging of art and science together. Mathematical principles first helped to establish the foundation for designing increasingly complex origami works, then the origami masters were brought back to apply their understanding and mastery to solve a scientific problem. To me, seeing the interrelationship between art and science come full circle in an example such as this was inspiring to see to say the least.

Press
Robert Lang's Satellite design


Hull, Thomas. “Origami: Mathematics in Creasing.” Origami: Mathematics in Creasing, The Conversation, 6 Jan. 2015, theconversation.com/origami-mathematics-in-creasing-33968. 

DlimitR. “Fractals - Mandelbrot.” YouTube, YouTube, 17 June 2006, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivRQDbAduoM. 

Lang, Robert. “The Math and Magic of Origami.” TED, Feb. 2008, www.ted.com/talks/robert_lang_folds_way_new_origami.html. 

Echelman, Janet. “Taking Imagination Seriously.” TED, Mar. 2011, www.ted.com/talks/janet_echelman_taking_imagination_seriously. 

socionomics. “Fibonacci, Fractals and Financial Markets - Socionomics.net.” YouTube, YouTube, 31 May 2007, www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RE2Lu65XxTU. 

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