Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology
Visual Teaching Of Geometry And The Origins Of 20th Century Abstract Art, Stephen Luecking
Visual Teaching Of Geometry And The Origins Of 20th Century Abstract Art, Stephen Luecking
Journal of Humanistic Mathematics
As a group, the artists educated near the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries possessed greater mathematical knowledge than expected of artists today, especially regarding constructive skills in Euclidean geometry. Educational theory of the time stressed such skills for students in general, who needed these to enter the workplace of the time. Mathematics teaching then stressed the use of manipulatives, i.e., visual and interactive aids thought to better fix the student’s acquisition of mathematical skills. This visual training, especially in geometry, significantly affected the early development of abstraction in art. This paper presents examples of this visual …
On The Use Of Geometric Elements In The Works Of Laszlo Moholy-Nagy And Piet Mondrian, Kimberly Spayd, Molly Reynolds, Christian Lansinger
On The Use Of Geometric Elements In The Works Of Laszlo Moholy-Nagy And Piet Mondrian, Kimberly Spayd, Molly Reynolds, Christian Lansinger
Journal of Humanistic Mathematics
Working in overlapping artistic circles in the first half of the twentieth century, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and Piet Mondrian had very different intentions for how their pieces would affect viewers. But while their aims differed dramatically, the individual techniques they employed were both rooted in a mathematical foundation. Moholy-Nagy used simple two-dimensional shapes, scaled repetition of those shapes, and variations in perspective to illustrate the potential benefits of machine technology to the common person. Mondrian, alternatively, limited the elements in his work to perpendicular lines, asymmetry, and a dedicated adherence to the plane in order to align his viewer's metaphysical state …