This
week’s topic hits a resonance in me while I begin to watch the lecture video,
since something about Leonardo Da Vinci, the virtuoso of forever, comes up to
my mind. One of my favorite novels the
DaVinci Code, pictures various connections in diverse fields.
Mathematics is a sort of tool, but it really plays a momentous role in the
arts. Meanwhile, its influence is profound and constructive.
What impresses
me in Professor Vesna’s lecture is the Cartesian Coordinates from a French
mathematician --- Rene Descartes, which provides a good basis to the future
scientists and artists to build within a concise and efficient 3-D system.
In the novel the DaVinci Code, the curator of the Grand Gallery in Louvre Museum Master Uacques Saunière left a secret message, which is combined of a series of Fibonacci number, to his grand-daughter Sophie Neveu before died of an assassination. The pass word actually led to the Saint Grail, which is the crucial treasure with power. Even we cannot validate the authenticity of the novel, yet still the connection Dan Brown draws among mathematics, painting, symbology, religion and history are fascinating and enthralling.
Another
production combined of mathematics and arts is very attractive to me, which is Golden
Ratio, beautiful mathematics phenomena ubiquitous in the nature, was recognized
by human beings long time ago, and applied to various art paintings, buildings
and statues; it is an obvious example where mathematics stands at the center of
art. From an article by Brett Dusek, I am pretty sure about the great influence
mathematics inserts on art. Below are some visual examples of the Golden Ratio.
If you are looking for an
improvement in your own aesthetics, Golden Ratio will be a great resource and
tools.
Citations:
1.Vesna, Victoria, dir. Mathematics, perspectives,
time, space. Web. 10 Oct 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmq5B1LKDg&feature=player_embedded>.
2.Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code.
1st ed. New York: Doubleday, 2003. Print.
3.DUSEK, BRETT. “Golden Ratio – The Secret to
Aesthetics?.” Creative Sagest. N.p., n.d. Web.10 Oct 2013. <http://creativesagest.blogspot.com/2009/03/golden-ratio-secret-to-aesthetics.html>.
4.Da Vinci, Leonardo. Vitruvian Man. N.d. Painting. n.p. Web. 10 Oct 2013. <https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtTzGTgfESLHvTGounZzSNmInIDA34q5q9LIBf3TOV7KaevsMYZapOzFUTAaBe08sTUmN6F5fbRPxtbAbqpogrSvBgtW-fUyWFkuy5R07HcxHac4LIRXOYsV8cyZiacmwTyTYenXZN3Yk/s1600-h/davinci_vitruvianman.jpg>.
5.The Great Wave Off Kanagawa.
N.d. Painting. n.p. Web.10 Oct 2013.
I read the Da Vinci Code as well, and I have to agree with you that it was an awesome book! Concerning the golden ratio, I think it is interesting how nowadays plenty of people will dissect ancient and contemporary works of art, paintings, sculptures, and even logos, and show how the golden ratio is involved, but what role does the artist play in this if any? We know the Greeks knew of the golden ratio, and implemented it in their architecture, but did the painter of the Great Wave know? Or is it simply a matter of aesthetics, and how the golden ratio plays a role in that?
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