The Intersection Between Math and Art

Hello clay readers, it’s your resident mathematically challenged math columnist here to encourage you to embrace your artistic side along with your number-loving tendencies this month! Let your inner artist soar free as you embark on a journey with me to discover the surprising amount of overlap between math and art. Here’s a fun fact: the idea that people are more “left-brained” (the side that handles logic, analysis, numbers, language, etc.) or “right-brained” (the side that’s more creative, intuitive, good with music and art) is more based on myth than fact. While it’s true that certain areas have stronger neural connections, making those tasks easier for the person, no one side is favored over the other—or works entirely independently, unless the other side is damaged. All this to say, humans don’t have to define themselves as one hundred percent a “math person” or an “art person” because we all have both wired into our amazing neurological systems!

To further prove this argument, many math concepts actually show up in works of art, and artists often find it helpful to have that knowledge in order to make their masterpieces the best they can be. Unfortunately, when people tell you math bleeds into literally every aspect of life and therefore you have to learn it well, they’re correct. For example, according to Britannica, linear perspective is “a system of creating an illusion of depth on a flat surface.” Guess what? That’s basic geometry! It involves a bunch of parallel lines and grids and transversals, oh my (terms that may give you traumatic flashbacks to Geometry 1 if you’re like me—I’m sorry in advance). But you know what else? Perspective was one of Leonardo Da Vinci’s most used techniques, most noticeably in “The Last Supper” to give the room the illusion of depth and three-dimensionality when it’s actually on a flat plane (oh look, another geometry term!). Furthermore, during my extensive research for this article, I came upon this math thingy called the “Golden Ratio,” which is a “mathematical constant revered for its aesthetic appeal” and corresponds to approximately 1.618 (Anurag). It’s basically a ratio that brings harmony and peace and whatnot to the elements in the work of art… honestly, I’m assuming you guys reading the article are math lovers and good at understanding these concepts, so you probably get it way better than I do. But it seems cool!

Another fairly straightforward concept that’s easy enough for me to understand is symmetry! This is a mathematical concept based on the reflection of a shape across an axis of symmetry (which is basically just a line. It sounds less complicated that way). Anyways, this is a strategy widely used in visual art to make both sides of an object or landscape look equal. Plus, it goes the other way too – when you’re graphing reflections on your graph paper for math class, you can color in the shapes with highlighters, colored pencils, or charcoal if you’re feeling ambitious! Shoutout to Mrs. Crosby for fostering in her students a love of pretty polygons <3 Also, another cool thing I discovered this year is fractal geometry: in math, fractals are geometric shapes with a very detailed structure that repeat themselves in increasingly small scales. It’s hard to explain with words, so check out this cool picture: 

Fractal geometry shows up a lot in modern art, because it’s essentially a repeated pattern. In fact, it’s reminiscent of zentangle: an art form based on repeated small patterns that combine to fill up a whole paper, or canvas, or whatever medium the artist chooses. In fact, have you ever doodled in the margins of your notes or textbook during class? If so, you’ve practiced zentangle! Check out an example below and you’ll see what I mean, as well as how it incorporates fractals:

So that concludes my expertise on the subject of the intersection between math and art (hey look, intersection! Another math word! Maybe that should be the article title…), but I’m sure all you genius mathematicians can find even more connections if you keep your eyes and mind open!

Works Cited

Anurag. “Relation Between Math and Art Explained | Superprof.” We Love Prof – IN, 1 Oct. 2023, www.superprof.co.in/blog/maths-help-with-painting.

Blumberg, Naomi. “Linear Perspective | Definition, Examples, and Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Feb. 2024, www.britannica.com/art/linear-perspective.