Extra Credit Event 1: The Hammer Museum

Last weekend, my roommate and I, visited the Hammer Museum. Admission was free, so no matter what we saw, it was worth the visit. The exhibit that first caught my eye was Gaines' "Numbers and Trees". Bright colors superimposed onto beautiful silhouettes of trees drew me closer. When I got close, I could see that there were two physical layers to the art, a acrylic transparent one with color and the black and white drawing sitting an inch behind it.

Gaines, "Numbers and Trees"

Gaines, "Numbers and Trees"

Though the colors are beautiful and artistic, they are actually a code. You can see that each colored square holds a number. Each vertical axis has the same number in all its squares beginning with zero at the center axis. As the numbers branch outward, each horizontal line depicts them in numerical order beginning with zero. This reminded me of our lecture on Math and Art. Though many aspects of art, including perspective, are dependent on art, Gaines' work uses math in a different manner. Gaines' uses math and numbers to bring to life the simple, natural beauty of these tree forms, but forces the viewer to participate, to come closer to the work, to analyze the numbers, and to recognize a pattern.

Me inside the full scale "Spun"

"Spun", Development models, 2012

Keeping on with the Math and Art theme, I found the work titled "Spun" very interesting. You can see on the models on the left that these small pieces resemble spinning tops or totems. Mathematically derived, the circles are cocentric and of correct size so that the weight of the totem cannot knock it over. Not only are they beautifully simple, their same mathematical properties hold true when they are built in real size. The museum put several out for people to sit in, and once I did, I found that no matter how fast and how hard I spun the totem, it was impossible to knock it over. Here, math definitely contributed in making these interactive works of art.

Bonus proof of me at the Hammer

Overall, I strongly recommend anyone to visit the Hammer Museum. It's free, and open every day except Mondays and it's easy to spend several hours there without even realizing it. The exhibits are vast, interactive and one of a kind. One can learn first hand about the relationship between math and art, beyond just math's role in perspective and making paintings look realistic.