With the upcoming deadlines for essays fast approaching, today I found myself procrastinating… Again! Often I find myself scribbling down patterns and shapes without even thinking. Art to me is a good escape as there are no right and wrong answers, unlike maths which can seem very rigid. Today after I finished my scribbling, I realised that without my conscious knowledge at the time, throughout my drawing I had been considering numerous maths concepts.
In a recent lecture with Wendee we discussed the presence of mathematics in patterns. We discussed shapes, repetition, turns and drops. All of which seemed somewhat important in art but which artists may not necessarily deem as maths. It was clear to us that maths is extremely important in art as it allows you to calculate spacing, angles, patterns or sequences, this is something I have never considered before. To me, maths has always been a subject which was completely set aside from others.
When drawing today I found myself calculating which angle was best to hold the pen in order to achieve thinner or thicker lines. I also had to consider the spacing between the lines in the drawing itself as I wanted to keep them as parallel as possible (again, had I
Who knew there could be so much maths in a simple drawing?!
not had a basic understanding of fundamental maths I would not understand the concept of parallel lines, or angles). The speed I moved the pen at also impacted the thickness of the lines and the accuracy of the lines which is something I had to consider more closely when the spacing of lines reduced. More maths!
I even found myself using maths when trying to make a random pattern. I wanted the small dotted pattern to seem random, this would imply that I did not think about how many dots I was putting in each square. However, I found myself counting the amount of dots and trying not to repeat the same number too often. I am genuinely amazed at how much mathematics can be found in even the simplest of drawings.
In a recent lecture with Anna Robb we were informed about ‘The Golden Ratio’. This is something I have never heard of until now, but on reflection used multiple times throughout my time doing standard grade then higher art in high school. The Golden Ratio is also known as Divine Proportion and is determined by the number 1.618 (Phi). The Golden Ratio is often used in art when artists are creating portraits, by distancing the facial features in relation to the golden ratio an artist considers their work to be seen as beautiful (this is often why we see artists stepping back from their work and using their brush to check proportions). A person who’s body is in proportion to the golden ratio is also seen as beautiful (unfortunately for me, I do not fall in this category). One website I came across when researching divine proportion in art describes it as (http://bit.ly/2ecAsw1) “the most mysterious of all compositional strategies. We know that by creating images based on this rectangle our art will be more likely to appeal to the human eye, but we don’t know why.” I find it fascinating that we have an innate sense to the golden ratio and are more drawn to liking this that use divine proportion. It is even suggested that the Egyptians applied the golden ratio when building the great pyramids, as far back as 3000 B.C. Clearly, mathematics plays a fundamental role in both art and architecture which to me is extrodinary as I feel this is something we perhaps take for granted.
So far, this module has really opened up my eyes as to just how much we use maths, sometimes without knowing. I feel that because I have a firm knowledge of basic maths I don’t often think about when I am using it. Just simply being able to tell the time and calculate how long it will take to walk to a lecture means I am able to leave my flat at a suitable time. This is something I have never really considered as ‘maths’ as to me it comes as second nature. Liping Ma
Time = A basic concept we take for granted everyday
describes having a fundamental understanding of basic mathematics as being able to identify connectedness between mathematical concepts. In my art I was able to connect the speed of the pen to the spread of ink on the paper, resulting in the thickness of the line. Moving the pen faster resulted in a thinner but less accurate line. Interconnectedness is also apparent when calculating what time to leave. You must know the distance you are travelling, the approximate speed you walk at and be able to calculate the time it will then take you to cover the distance. Although often taught together, speed distance and time are three separate yet basic concepts in maths that to be able to understand fully must be learnt together.
Maths is all around us, there is no escape!
Maths… There is no escape.
