M.C Escher

Today I found a very interesting book today during my research called The Magic of Mathematics - Discovering the Spell of Mathematics. I thought this would be a great starting point for my literature review as it has many examples of mathematical artworks. It focuses not only on art and maths, but it also focuses on many other links such as the relation between maths and nature. But then again, who is to judge whether nature is art or not? In this book I stumbled across an artist by the name of M.C Escher. His art looked very familiar to what James had presented to me in the second(i think) maths/art lecture. I went to the library and did some research as to what books he had released. The most interesting books that most related to me were called Exploring the Infinite, Visions of Symmetry, and the Magic Mirror of M.C Escher. I ordered the books in and started reading the first one available to me. On the first page I found many great ideas and quotes. I am finally beginning to start my maths trail. And I have a feeling I am on the right track.

Project Research

I was browsing the web when I stumbled across a program that is in every way possible related to our assignment. It uses maths and art to generate designs and patterns using specific algebraic rules that you are able to change and adapt. I found this program extremely interesting because despite using random patterns, it also had a sense of order and purpose to every shape generated. These kinds of designs are almost impossible to imagine and generate without the incorporation of mathematics. It is a prime example of how the barriers between maths and art have been eliminated. Looking at these designs I see a huge potential for adapting them into something usable for my playground design.

Here are some of the patterns that I managed to build in the program.

Week 4 - Signs and Symbols

It is now week 4, and I am beginning to see the bigger picture of how maths and art are intertwined with each other, quite literally in fact. After James drew up a quick diagram I recognized that the metaphorical circle that defines art should not be a static thing. In fact, it is up to us  are artists to mold the shape of that very circle to encompass new features. We can even remove features of that original circle if we chose to do so. For too long, the "isms" of the art world have ruled, they are now a thing of the past. This simple metaphor once again, made me reflect upon how I used to think of art before coming into this course and how I view it now, after 6 months of BCT.

Today's lessons also branched away from the maths aspect of the paper and focused more so  on the art perspective and its presentation and interpretation. The "white cube" was a perfect example. As extravagant as it sounds, it is but a mare gallery. However, once inside the building, all you are confronted with is an extremely plain environment, completely surrounded by bland white walls. For me, looking at this I felt as though it transported visitors to a completely new realm, disjointed from the world itself. It focuses peoples attention on the artworks that are strewn precisely around the walls. It made me think about how I present my work and how important it is for the surroundings to reflect the art itself. It is almost as if the environment that art is in, is in fact part of the artwork itself.

Another subject talked about in class was that of symbols. All through school I thought I had an understanding of what symbolism is after writing countless symbolism essays on novels and films. However, once again, my views were drastically changed. I realized that what makes a symbol a symbol is how we  invest meaning into that specific object, word, sound etc. It isnt inherent for an object to have meaning in it, the meaning comes from us, who we are, and what we have experienced. A  prime example of this from class was the use of the crucifix in a particular painting. The cross itself wasn't a symbol, it was the use of a symbol...Hard to get your head around I know. From listening to James I came to the conclusion that we ourselves don't need to be theorists on the subject of signs and symbols, but we can use them as a powerful tool  to aid in our creativity.

I enjoyed the first part of the class however, the second part with Andy was not so enjoyable. In fact it was noted down as one of the most "WTF" moments in BCT so far. We were introduced to an artists by the name of Joseph Beuys. His face was covered in honey while he cradled a dead hare and whispered to it descriptions of the paintings around the room. For me, this is just too much. And quite honestly, strange for me to consider as art. However I am making a huge attempt to keep an open mind during this course and from witnessing such acts, I can understand how this may not seem symbolic to me, but that it probably because it has no invested meaning to me. Once again, this class has broadened my ever expanding view on art, as I eagerly await the next class.

Week 3

On the third week of maths and art we were introduced to the details of our project. At first it didn't seem like too much to do, but now I have hit reality in the realization that it is a huge amount to get done before the end of semester, especially with multiple projects running at once. I need to get my A into G and get some research done before I fall to far behind. Although I am more dreading the design of the playground rather than the essay itself. After the project details were released we moved onto the subject of maths and art again. We experimented in class with the new subject of geomety, and how we can sculpt it and transform it into interesting loops and patterns. For example, a half twist in a strip of paper, and celotaping it together at both ends. This produced an interesting and "infinitesimal" pattern. When i drew a line along the paper it seemed as though it never had a beginning and never had an end. We then began to experiment with different amounts of twisting of the strips of paper, but eventually it just got too messy to continue the exercise. Nonetheless, I discovered that geometry can be sculpted and changed beyond the common squares and circles that we encounter in our everyday lives. This really interested me because I have seen a lot of these kind of artworks and I have always wondered how people come up with this intricate, mind boggling patterns.

Near the end of the lecture we were shown a range of maps that we designed in the past to represent the paths that underground trains travel on in London. I noticed that the map seemed to be very confusing and overly complex. Aspects such as distance, landmarks, and topography  were all used in the earlier tube maps. But it was until the modern map that people began to accept the simplified version of the tunnel system. All people really wanted to know about was which train they needed to catch to get to their destination. There really was no need for over complication. It is now up to me to design a map for Auckland cities proposed rail system.

Given the brief, we were told to go away and design our own map of the NZ railway system. A new loop was proposed to include Britomart, Aotea Square, K Rd, Newton, Mt Eden. Boston Rd, Grafton,

    Newmarket, Britomart. I decided to have a play around with a circular-like structure. I feel that it is easy to understand. (perhaps because I made it). I wanted the map to be as simple as possible. Geography was not an issue as most people dont know where most things are anyway. All they want to know is where and how. I didnt add in all the stops because it was a bit time consuming. But you get the picture.

Week 2

After the first week of maths and art I really didn't have huge expectations for the second week, I thought it was be more debate and talk about what exactly the subject involved, however instead we headed in a direction that I was rather please to talk about and that was the art itself. We explored many areas of how maths affects the art around us and even our architecture. Most interesting to me was one of the first pictures shown to us of a spiral drawn onto the ground in a town square of some kind. Because of how it was drawn it really brought to me the feeling of tension within the picture. Usually, we encounter architecture to be of a 'perfect and flawless' appearance, with perfectly drawn squares and circles. However this picture showed me that our perception of something as bland as a town square can change with the involvement of maths/art within the architecture. Strangely enough the fact that mathematics was used to create the masterpiece is also a contrasting factor in my opinion because normally I perceive maths to follow structure and rules. However in this case it does the complete opposite. Another piece of art that stood out from the flock was a piece designed by Bridget Riley. It was off black and white lines swirled around each. To me I instantly thought to myself that it was a 3D cone shape, however as people began to converse about it, i realized that my view point was not that of everyone else, some people didn't even see it as 3d, while others thought that it was a 3d inverse cone. It showed me that using maths in this artwork provided not one, but many other possibly view points to appreciate the art. It reminded me that everyone is different with their thoughts and opinions and that one artwork may not necessarily spark the same emotions for every individual.

As we scrolled through countless images that relation to maths and art I slowly became bored with the repeating images that had relations to 'optical illusions.' I was glad when we moved onto artworks by a man named Chuck Close. I gazed upon his portrait painting thinking that it was extremely well painted, but as James zoomed in close to the image we see realised that the picture itself was not a picture as a whole, it was made up of thousands of other tiny boxes, which were then split up into many more 'pixels.' I had to stop for a moment to fully contemplate the time and effort put into this painting. Once again, it showed me that there is much more to art that its face value.

Week 1 - Maths introduction

Finally, we are back at uni and we are fast getting back into the mindset of actually using our brains. I had no idea  what we were in for upon entering the first 9am Monday class but interestingly enough we were informed that a large section of semester 2 will revolve around the concepts of maths and art together as one. In the first class we didn't focus too much on the art side, rather we talked about maths and what it means to us as individuals. After all, maths is just a word, how do we describe it? Numbers? Symbols? Equations? All of these are correct but after debating with Andy for quite sometime my perception of  what mathematics is had truly transformed. It made me think about it from a completely different perspective. I have always thought of maths as a universal language that intertwines all things within our universe. However, I began to realize that perhaps mathematics is simply a construct of human nature, a complex tool that we have generated to bring about explanations of the unknown. It  is in our nature to strive and understand our surroundings, whether is be space, biology, or engineering. But if the human race was to be wiped out entirely, would our language of maths follow? We have seen time and time again that maths is not perfect. We are continuously adjusting the laws of physics for example to explain how things move and even how all things came about. But how do we determine what is true and what is false? There is no evidence, simply a patchwork formula. Being a space nut, I personally could talk  about the subject for an eternity. The first lecture, despite being an introduction has truly sparked my interest. Maths is a wonderful thing to study, it not only relates to how all things were created but it also has relevance to such human creations as art. This language of mankind truly is an amazing concept that in has weaved its way through everything we see around us in an infinite web. Maths is much more than  numbers, symbols, and equations, it is beauty.


maths is art