STRING ART: BETWEEN ART AND MATHEMATICS
Can mathematics and Art coexist? In this article, we’ll explore how this long-term relationship has endured in many years.
Mathematics and Art have a lengthy historical connection. Artists have used mathematics since the Greeks era when sculptor Polykleitos prescribed proportions for the ideal male nude. Since then, the marriage between mathematics and art has continued to grow and has developed in various sensory spheres. From Da Vinci till Piero Della Francesca and many others have added personal pieces to this union. Mathematics has influenced art with conceptual tools such as the analysis of symmetry, the linear perspective, and the idea that perfection can be hidden inside an art concept. Of course, art has stimulated the development of mathematics in architecture and many other disciplines. But what about their relationship right now? Where can the modern human being arrive? What kind of a point of view can they add to this historical marriage? Well, there are endless answers to these questions. One of the many replies to these questions is string art. Also known as thread art, string art has its origins back to the 19th century when an English woman called Mary Everest Boole used this method to teach math to children. This use of math has inspired a lot of artists which developed the method of creating geometric designs. Here are some of our favorite artists that are taking string art to another level:
GABRIEL DAWE
"Originally from Mexico City, Gabriel Dawe creates site-specific installations that explore the connection between fashion and architecture, and how they relate to the human need for shelter in all its shapes and forms."
Installation - Plexus no.38
Photo - Doug Eng
JANET ECHELMAN
"Janet Echelman sculpts at the scale of buildings and city blocks. Echelman’s work defies categorization, as it intersects Sculpture, Architecture, Urban Design, Material Science, Structural & Aeronautical Engineering, and Computer Science. Echelman’s art transforms with wind and light, and shifts from being “an object you look at, into an experience you can get lost in.”
AS IF IT WERE ALREADY HERE, BOSTON, MA, 2015
Photo - Melissa Henry, Peter Vanderwarker
NIKE SAVVAS
"Born in Sydney, of Greek-Cypriot parents, I relocated to London in the mid-1990s on award of a prestigious Anne and Gordon Samstag Foundation art scholarship. This scholarship led to an associate research post at Goldsmiths, University of London. In the years following, I have developed a strong international audience for my art practice and continue to live and work transnationally between London, Sydney, and Nicosia."
SLIDING LADDER (DETAILS OF WORK) 2010
Photo - Jamie North
DAVID PRESS
"David H. Press builds elegant hanging sculptures that are a type of 3-D line drawings. The support structures are curved shapes but the wires within these frameworks are straight lines that form what appear to be curved surfaces. Symmetry plays a major role in Press’ work. In “Three Great ¾ Circles in Orange” the use of three circles would have created a sphere, but the ¾ circles create an asymmetrical frame work. "
THE THREE 3/4 GREAT CIRCLES IN ORANGE 2015
Photo - Bridgesmathart.org
Source fibonaccisusan.com
BALL NOGUES
"Ball-Nogues Studio is an integrated design and fabrication practice operating in a territory between architecture, art and industrial design, founded by Benjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues. The Studio’s work is informed by the exploration of craft. Essential to each project is the “design” of the production process itself, with the aim of creating environments that enhance sensation, generate spectacle and invite physical engagement. "
THE SEA KNOWS MORE THAN US
Photo -
CREDITS
Sources
mymodernmet.com, stringsculpture.com, fibonaccisusan.com, gabrieldawe.com, echelman.com, nikesavvas.com, davidpressdesigns.com, ball-nogues.com
Photos
Doug Eng, Melissa Henry, Peter Vanderwarker, Jamie North, Bridgesmathart.org
