Week 2: Art+Robotics+Math

     It's a tragedy that in modern education systems students are told that they do or do not possess a specific skill and must settle on one specific pathway. Professor Vesna made mention of this with the bad teacher example. Despite this, artists use math extensively. Engineers also make use of art techniques to draw designs and for the aesthetic appeal of a product. Renaissance artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Sandro Botticelli made extensive use of math to produce beautiful and proportionally pleasing works. Even artists who do not intentionally use math as a means to produce a work tend to employ a few concepts unbeknownst to them. Math complements art by allowing for more accurate reproductions of the natural world.

(Basilica of  San Lorenzo)

     Filippo Brunellesci developed the vanishing point prior to the advent of the Cartesian coordinate system by Descartes in the 17th century. Brunellesci's use of geometry allowed for proportionally correct architectural creations such as his Basilica of San Lorezno and his famous Duomo. In his linear perspective system, all lines in the plane must converge to a single point as they do in the natural world.

(Representation of Vanishing Point from Observer Perspective)

     (Birth of Venus; c. 1486)

     Boticelli's Birth of Venus illustrates the use of the Golden Ratio Phi. Numerically, this concept is represented by the value 1.618. Not only is the canvas a golden rectangle, but regardless of which logical variation you use to take the golden ratio point they all come back to both the navel and the bottom right elbow. The red, blue, and green squares show three variations that all come back to these locations. 

(The Creation of Adam; c. 1512)

     Michelangelo also used the Golden Ratio in "The Creation of Adam," which adorns the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The finger of God touches Adam's figure at the golden ratio point. In this example, the result was found by using the horizontal borders of the image as the width.

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     The beautiful thing about the relationship between technology and art is that the combination yields work that is more fascinating than either category's respective work on its own. At the core of music is math and physics. Sound can be represented mathematically by the wave equation as shown in the 1D, 2nd order differential equation below:

Most people generally don't care about the underlying factors and only care about the outcome. When music is combined with math and technology (in this case synchronized automation) more of the senses are stimulated. The introduction of synchronized lighting into the music culture has created concerts and night-venues that serve to stimulate more than just the sense of sound. By reaching out to sight, hearing, and sometimes touch, this new system creates emotion. An example of this is shown below:

(see footnote*)

     This man used a programmable micro controller called an Arduino to synchronize his music to an LED array. It creates an emotionally stimulating environment that is fully automated and built upon the foundation of signal processing (math and electrical engineering,) optics, and sound. Although physics and math are at the core, the end result is art.

*This is not everyone's idea of robotics but at its core it is the same. Signals are processed and I/O is used to achieve a result. Complex actions are carried out based on a set of predefined variables. Control flow is implemented on a basic level as well (light color and pulsation.)

Works Cited

Apartment Light Show: Arduino Style. Dir. Brian Schimke. Perf. Arduino. YouTube, 2009. Film.

"Churches in Florence, to Visit For Historical & Artistical Interest." Churches in Florence: List of churches to visit during your visit in Florence. Visit Florence, 1 Jan. 2002. Web. 4 July 2014. <http://www.visitflorence.com/florence-churches/>.

Harris, Beth , and Steven Zucker. "Linear Perspective: Brunelleschi's Experiment." Linear Perspective: Filippo Brunelleschi's Experiment. Khan Academy, n.d. Web. 4 July 2014. <http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/Brunelleschi.html>.

Meisner, Gary. "Golden Ratio in Art Composition and Design." Phi 1618 The Golden Number. N.p., 4 May 2014. Web. 4 July 2014. <http://www.goldennumber.net/art-composition-design/>.

Perez, E. . "A Short History Of The Cartesian Coordinates." A Short History of the Cartesian Coordinates. Educated Mind, 1 Feb. 2011. Web. 4 July 2014. <http://4dlab.info/article_short_history_of_the_cartesian_coordinates.htm>.

Vesna, Victoria. "Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov."YouTube. YouTube, 9 Apr. 2012. Web. 4 July 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmq5B1LKDg&feature=player_embedded>.