ColinGalbraithDESMA9 Week2

Flatland movie poster

After reviewing this week's lecture and source materials, I have a greater appreciation for how math has influenced art and vice versa. One particularly impactful piece shaping my thoughts was the book Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbot. Flatland shows that using mathematics as a basis to describe relationships can lead to insights easily portrayed with visuals (Abbot). Abbot used simple geometric analogies of dimension to question our ideas of social classes. 

3D fractal

Fractals are another example of the interplay between math principles and visual art. Fractals are complex geometric shapes whose areas do not scale by integers when their one-dimensional lengths are increased. Fractals often occur in nature, e.g., plants, snowflakes, and shells (Srikanth). In many cases, color can enhance the visual representation of fractals. For example, the Mandelbrot set is often displayed using different colors to represent different levels of complexity (Campuzano). The use of color simultaneously creates beautiful art and provides valuable information about the level of mathematical patterns. 

snowflakes (hexagonal fractal) 

Another example of art being inspired by math is Salvador Dali’s "Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus)" painting, which incorporates the concept of a hypercube. The painting depicts Christ’s body levitating above the hypercube, using the mathematical concepts of volume and terminal points to create a visually striking and thought-provoking work of art (Macdonald). The use of math inspired me to think about 4D as 3D plus time and led me to the interpretation that since Christ’s body is above the crucifix and doesn’t show signs of torture; it occurs at a different time from his death. 

Crucifixion Salvador Dali

I also learned from Flatland, and the lecture that misunderstood math has often been feared. For centuries, the concept of nothingness was misunderstood, with some cultures even seeing zero as a symbol of “the devil.” It wasn't until the Indian mathematician Brahmagupta introduced the concept of zero as a number in the 7th century that its significance was recognized (History). This parallels how the new concepts of the 3rd dimension and color were avoided and feared in Flatland. Throughout history, math and art have been intertwined, often one being a complement allowing the other to progress further.

References: 

Campuzano, Juan Carlos Ponce. “The Mandelbrot Set.” Complex Analysis, 2019, https://complex analysis.com/content/mandelbrot_set.html#:~:text=Every%20pixel%20that%20contains%20a,is%20to%20the%20Mandelbrot%20set. 

Macdonald, Fiona. “The Painter Who Entered the Fourth Dimension.” BBC Culture, BBC, 24 Feb. 2022, https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20160511-the-painter-who-entered-the-fourth-dimension.

 “Mandelbrot Set.” From Wolfram MathWorld, https://mathworld.wolfram.com/MandelbrotSet.html. Mandelbrot Viewer, https://math.hws.edu/eck/js/mandelbrot/MB.html. 

Srikanth, Yamini, et al. “Fractals in Nature.” Smore Science Magazine, 14 Mar. 2023, https://www.smorescience.com/fractals-in-nature/. 

“Who Invented the Zero?” History.com, A&E Television Networks, https://www.history.com/news/who-invented-the-zero. 

Image References: 

Madrigal, Alexis. “Geeky Math Equation Creates Beautiful 3-D World.” Wired, Conde Nast, 10 Dec. 2009, https://www.wired.com/2009/12/mandelbulb-gallery/. 

 “Flatland.” Rotten Tomatoes, https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/flatland. 

Popova, Maria. “The Haunting Beauty of Snowflakes: Wilson Bentley's Pioneering 19th-Century Photomicroscopy of Snow Crystals.” The Marginalian, 2020, https://www.themarginalian.org/2020/01/19/wilson-bentley-snowflakes/. 

Salvador Dalí. “Salvador Dalí: Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus).” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1970, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/488880.