The Key to the Intersection of Art and Science: Mathematics

Imaginary Foundation. “Science Art Wonder”. Imaginary Foundation, 2011, https://www.imaginaryfoundation.com/collections/art-prints/products/science-art-wonder-art-print

Mathematics has been a mode by which art and science can merge together. It bridges science and art together (Vesna) For instance, Henderson discusses how theories of the fourth dimension and non-euclidean geometry influenced art to “find a form of expression inherent in the next higher dimension”, in a manner that was both spiritual and cosmic. Similarly, mathematics has influenced literature, with Abbott’s flat land using two-dimensional shapes as characters with their own personalities in his story about a hierarchical society in an imagined land. 

                                    Poster for the film Flatland. Flatland: The Movie by IMDb, 2007. IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0814106/.

Salvador Dali’s The Persistence of Memory relates to Einstein’s rejection of time as the fourth dimension. Dali utilizes a contrast of 3D shapes and perception to create the illusion of warped, limp watches. In his work, “time must lose all meaning” (MoMA). The painting follows along with the rejection of this theory, and the subsequent reactions to this revelation that followed.

                                                                        Dali, Salvador. “The Persistence of Memory”. 1931, Museum of Modern Art, New York

This week, I learned that artists and scientists both appropriate mathematics in their creative works and expression. Scientists use math to make sense of nature and explain it, as well as discover the unknown (Johnson). Mathematics acts as a tool for scientists to explore the world and what lies beyond it. Artists utilize mathematics as a tool by which to offer commentary on the revelations of our time. 

The juxtaposition of mathematics, science, and art, to me, is not really a juxtaposition at all. Rather these fields have influenced each other and used specific parts as a basis for their expression. While their interpretations of each other may not be technically correct, the fields of mathematics, art, and science have created new meanings from each other.

Works Cited

Abbott, E. A. (1998). Flatland: A Romance in Many Dimensions. Penguin.

Dali, Salvador. “The Persistence of Memory”. 1931, Museum of Modern Art, New York

Henderson, L. D. (2018). The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art, revised edition. MIT Press.

Imaginary Foundation. “Science Art Wonder”. Imaginary Foundation, 2011, https://www.imaginaryfoundation.com/collections/art-prints/products/science-art-wonder-art-print.

Johnson, B. (2011, November 11). How to creatively integrate science and math. George Lucas Educational Foundation. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/integrating-math-science-creatively-ben-johnson

MoMA. (n.d.). Salvador Dalí. The Persistence of Memory. 1931. The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved April 8, 2022, from https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79018

Poster for the film Flatland. Flatland: The Movie by IMDb, 2007. IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0814106/.

Vesna, V. (2012). Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov [Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmq5B1LKDg