Emilie Wouters- DESMA9 Unit 2

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                                                                                            U2: Math + Art

    Math and art have way more overlap than the average person might think. When thinking of how math and art mix, the first person that comes to mind is Leonardo Da Vinci, whom I have admired since I was in 3rd grade. He did work in invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography In addition, I would like to mention Kate McKinnon, the guest speaker in our class.



          
                                   Vitruvian Man                                                                   Golden Spiral                                        Mona Lisa's golden proportions

    Let’s start with Da Vinci, more specifically, his work with the Golden Ratio, Fibonacci sequence, and the Golden Spiral. These are famously examined through his works of the Mona Lisa and the Vitruvian Man. The Fibonacci sequence can be found in countless aspects of nature, as well as in design and art. In The Last Supper, Da Vinci examines perspective, which tends to have a mathematical base. The connection between the math and art bases of perspective are further investigated in Marc Franz’s lesson on vanishing points.


Beadwork inspired by Monday's lecture

    Speaking of lessons, Kate McKinnon’s lecture on Monday really affected me. You see, I have enjoyed doing various crafts all my life, and something I did with my dad in elementary school was beading. Later I started other fiber arts, but I had lost the materials for the type of bead art I did. When I saw her do mathematical work through beading, I was intrigued. I didn’t know such a mix existed. I couldn’t find her web site or patterns, but I went back to the lecture to find the pattern for the triangular beading piece. This was the first beading piece I had done in years, and I didn’t have much time, nor the foresight to plan a design, so it’s a bit rough, especially in the design aspect. However, I will definitely try again when I have more time and more beads, with a plan of my design. I will hopefully also try a different shape. I also added in a MMIWG2S bracelet I made using the method of beading I had done long ago, as I was excited to start beading again. It was super relaxing and interesting.


References:

A.v., et al. “Mathnasium of Cave Creek.” Mathnasium Corporate Site, 2 Mar. 2021, www.mathnasium.com/cavecreek/news/2018/04/mathematics-in-the-art-of-leonardo-da-vinci. Article.

Frantz, Marc. “Vanishing Points and Looking at Art.” 2000. PDF

Ida, Takashi. “‘Vitruvian Man’ by Leonardo Da Vinci and the Golden Ratio.” Advanced Ceramics Research Center Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan, 18 June 2012. Article.

Golden Spiral. www.companyfolders.com/blog/media/2015/09/golden-spiral.jpg. Image.

Mona Lisa + Golden Spiral. imgs.classicfm.com/images/25767?crop=16_9&width=660&relax=1&signature=zaV1b3MFv0hIC0a41oGLG3CvQ7I=. Image.

Vitruvian Man. blog.world-mysteries.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/vitruvian-man-lg.jpg. Image.

The last image was taken by Emilie Wouters, author of the blog.


Comments

  1. Chiara Berruto DESMA9April 10, 2021 at 3:41 PM

    Wow! I was so happy to read that you started beading again after this weeks lecture. Its so awesome that it inspired you so much, your design turned out amazing. I agree that Leonardo Da Vinci was truly incredible I like how you listed all the things he took on. It really highlights how science and art are not divided because someone truly can do it all.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hope PhamApril 11, 2021 at 5:05 PM

    Your beadwork is amazing! I think an amazing future project would be trying the flower tetrahedron that Kate McKinnon mentioned in class. Here is her website: https://beadmobile.wordpress.com/. Also, it’s amazing how one man could learn so many disciplines (invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography). Not many people willingly study so many subjects after they graduate high school, and I wonder if great minds like Leonardo de Vinci can be reborn in the modern world if only our education system were reformed and taken out of the context of factory, standardized processing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Margaret BlackApril 11, 2021 at 9:49 PM

    Émilie, your beading is wonderful. My favorite part about your summary is how you incorporated what I typically view only as "art" (DaVinci's works) and seamlessly interwove the concepts of math that we covered during the lecture and readings. In addition, I appreciated how you were able to transfer the content of Kate McKinnon's presentation to your own life and pick up beadwork again! I don't have much experience with beading, but seeing the presentation and your work now has really inspired me to give it a try. Overall, a great blog post, and I definitely enjoyed reading your interpretation of the week's material.

    ReplyDelete

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