ISC 280, Science & the Visual Arts

Syllabus for Spring 2003

 

 

Course Description:  An overview of how science and mathematics contribute to the visual arts.  Emphasis on perspective, proportion, scientific topics in art, mathematically based art forms, and artist’s materials.

 

Prerequisite:  MTH 121 or higher

 

Meeting Times:  2:00 – 3:15             MT      S 166

                           10:00 – 11:50         T         S 200

 

Materials Needed:  At least two good pencils, no higher than #2; a very good eraser; a ruler; colored pencils, drawing paper or pad.

 

Instructor:  Dr. Judith Silver

 

Office:  SH 778F (In the “alley”.)

 

Office Hours:  10:00 – 11:50           M

                          1:00 – 1:50              MT

                          4:30 -- 6:30              R 

 

Phone:  696-3044

 

Email:  silver@marshall.edu

 

Webpage:  http://webpages.marshall.edu/~silver

 

Course Requirements: 

 

1.      Homework will be given weekly, and is due the following Monday.  Late homework will be discounted 5% for each day it is late, weekends not included.  Homework will count for 20% of the final grade. 

 

2.      Three in-class exams will be given on lecture material and class activities.  The final exam is not comprehensive.  Exams count for 50% of the course grade.  Missed exams may only be made up if the instructor is notified in advance and documentation is provided showing that the absence was unavoidable.

 

3.      Laboratories are worth 25% of the course grade.  Laboratory grades will be based on lab reports, which are due one week after each laboratory session.  The final lab report is due on the final exam (poster session) day.

 

For full credit, each lab report must be typed.  It must also include an introduction (covering objectives and what methods will be used), a results section, a discussion of how the lab was actually carried out, and a conclusion.

 

Laboratories cannot be made up.  If an excused absence is provided, the following lab score will be doubled.  The student remains responsible for the material covered.

 

4.      The term project will be a poster.  Posters are due at the Poster Session, which will be held during the first class session of Dead Week (last week of class).  You will be allowed a 5 minute time slot to present your poster and to answer questions.  The presentation must last at least two minutes for full credit.

 

 Posters may illustrate any concept in math or science, or they may demonstrate the connection between art and math or science.  They must be made on standard size (22” x 28”) poster board, but you may tape two or more sheets together if you wish.  Poster grades will count for 5% of the final grade. 

 

5.      Attendance will count in the case of borderline grades.  Students attending 90% or more of the class sessions may have 1% added to their final average.

 

Grading Scale:          90% - 100%               A

                                    80% -   89%               B

                                    70% -   79%               C

                                    60% -   69%               D

                                      0    -   59%                F

 

Exam Days:               February 10, March 10, May 5 (Monday, 12:45-2:45 p.m.)                    

 

Poster Session:        Monday, April 28

,

 

Tentative Course Outline

 

DATE

ASIGNMENT

Jan 13

Read Lesson #1 in Viewpoints.

Lab 1

Buildings & Vanishing Points.  Meet in the Atrium on the Third Floor of Drinko Library.

Jan 14

Problems 1-4 on pp. 1-7 & 1-8.

Jan 20

Martin Luther King Holiday.  No class.

Lab 2

Similarity & Perspective.  Read Lesson #2 in Viewpoints.  Do Problems 1-4 on pp. 2-4 through 2-7.  Meet in SH 532 Computer Lab.

Jan 21

Draw front, side, and base views of a unique house plan.  Mark the coordinates.

Jan 27

Guest Lecture – Stan Sporny.

Lab 3

CAD Drawing with Excel.  Meet in SH 532 Computer Lab.

Jan 28

Read Lesson #3 in Viewpoints.  Problems 1-3 on 3-9 & 3-10.  For Problem 3, use the “Junction” painting in Drinko Library, 2nd floor.

Feb 3

Read Lesson #4 in Viewpoints.  Problems 1-3 on p. 4-8.

Lab 4

Viewing Art.  Meet at the Huntington Art Museum.

Feb 4

Seeing is Believing video.

Feb 10

Exam on Perspective and Proportion (Lessons 1, 2, & 3)

Lab 5

Polyhedra.  Meet in S 200.

Feb 11

Platonic Solids and the Golden Mean.  Worksheet on Platonic Solids.

Feb 17

Lecture on Symmetry.  Read pp. 561-567 in Section 10C of MTH 121 book.  Do problems 11-14 on p. 574.

Lab 6

Levers and Mobiles.  Meet in S 200.

Feb 18

Guest Lecture on Symmetry – Protip Ghosh.

Feb 24

Lecture on Reflections and Rotations.  Read pp. 670-677 in For All Practical Purposes.  Do problems 7-12, 15 on pp. 682-684.

Lab 7

Symmetry with Kaleidomania.  Meet in SH 532 Computer Lab.

Feb 25

Lecture on Frieze Patterns, Wallpaper Patterns, and Tessellations.  Make your own tessellation using Kaleidomania.

Mar 3

Guest Lecture on Fractals and Sculpture – Whitney Eskew.

Lab 8

Fractals with Fractasketch.  Meet in the Art Department Computer Lab on the 6th floor of Smith Hall.

Mar 4

Lecture on Fractals.  Read Lesson 4 in Viewpoints.  Problems 1-3 on pp. 4-14 to 4-16.

Mar 10

Exam on Mathematically Based Art Forms (Polyhedra, Symmetry, & Fractals)

Lab 9

Pigments.  Meet in S 200.

Mar 11

Lecture on the Chemistry of Paint.  Worksheet.

Mar 16 – 23

Spring Vacation

Mar 24

Guest Lecture – Gary Ellis (BASF).

Lab 10

Binders.  Meet in S 200.

Mar 25

Lecture on Pigments & Binders.  Worksheet.

Mar 31

Guest Lecture on Mineral Pigments – Protip Ghosh.

Lab 11

Reflectance.  Meet in S 200 with Marcia Harrison.

Apr 1

Lecture on Color & Light.  Worksheet.

Apr 7

Lecture on Optics.  Worksheet.

Lab 12

Hypothesis Testing. Meet in S 200 with Marcia Harrison.

Apr 8

Guest Lecture on Digital Cameras – Dewey Sanderson

Apr 14

Lecture on Detecting Fakes.  Worksheet.

Lab 13

Scanning Electron Microscopes.  Meet in S 200 with David Neff.

Apr 15

Lecture on Paint Films.  Worksheet.

Apr 21

Lecture on Art & the Human Genome Project

Lab 14

DNA & Art.  Meet in S 200 with Liz Murray.

Apr 22

Guest Lecture on Oriental Lacquer – Vicki Bragin

Apr 28

Poster Session

Lab 15

Level Curves.  Meet in the Corbly Hall Early Childhood Center.

Apr 29

Review Session

May 5

Exam on the Science of Painting (Pigments, Binders, Color & Light, Detecting Fakes, DNA Art)

 

 

 

Bibliography

 

Baker, L. and D. Schattschneider.  The Perceptive Eye:  Art and Math.  Allentown

Art Museum. 1979.

 

Banchoff, Thomas F.  Beyond the Third Dimension:  Geometry, Computer

            Graphics, and Higher Dimensions.  Scientific American Library.  1996.

 

Blackwell, W.  Geometry in Architecture.

 

Bounford, Trevor.  Diagrams and Charts (On the Spot Guides, Vol.6).  Nippan

            Pub. 1991.

 

Burger, Edward B. and Michael Starbird.  The Heart of Mathematics:  An

 invitation to effective thinking.  Key College Press.  2000.

 

de Vries, Vredeman.  Perspective.  Dover Books.

 

Edgerton, Samuel Y.  The Heritage of Giotto's Geometry:  Art and Science on the

Eve of Scientific Revolution.  Cornell Univ. Press.  1994.  

 

Emmer, Michelle (Editor).  The Visual Mind:  Art and Mathematics.  MIT Press.

            1993.

 

Evans, Robin.  The Projective Cast:  Architecture and Its Three Geometries.  MIT

            Press.  1995. 

 

Field, J. V.  The Invention of Infinity, Mathematics and Art in the Renaissance.

            Oxford Univ. Press.  1997.

 

Grafton, Carol B.  361 Full-Color Allover Patterns for Artists and Craftspeople.

             Dover.  1999.

 

Kappraff, Jay.  Connections:  The Geometric Bridge between Art and Science.

             McGraw-Hill.  1991.

 

Kim, Scott.  Inversions.  Key Curriculum Press.  1996.

 

MacGillavry, C. H.  Fantasy and Smmetry:  The Periodic Drawings of M. C.

Escher.  New York:  Abrams.  1976.

 

MIT Press.  Leonardo, Journal of Art, Science, and Technology.

 

Shlain, Leonard.  Art & Physics:  Parallel Visions in Space, Time, & Light.  Quill

            (formerly Morrow).  1991.

 

Pedoe, D.  Geometry in the Liberal Arts.

 

Peterson, Ivars.  Fragments of Infinity:  A Kaleidoscope of Mathematics and Art.

            New York:  Wiley.  2001.

 

Taft, W. Stanley and James W. Mayer.  The Science of Paintings.  Springer. 2000.

 

Venters, Diana, & Elaine Krajenke.  Mathematical Quilts.  Key Curriculum Press.

            1999.

 

Walser, Hans.  Symmetry.  Mathematical Association of America.  2000.

 

 

Websites

 

African Women Global Network.  Fractals in Nature. http://www.acs.ohio-state.edu/org/awognet/Research/Fractals/

 

Artists Using Science and Technology.  http://www.ylem.org

 

Bragin, Victoria.  Oriental Lacquer:  A Science Perspective.   http://webpages.marshall.edu/~vbragin/art/OrLacquer/index.html

 

Britton, Jill.  Investigating Patterns:  Symmetry and Tessellations.  http://www.camosun.bc.ca/~jbritton/jbsymteslk.htm#top

 

Ember, Lois R.  Chemistry and Art.  http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/7931/7931art.html

 

Franz, Marc.  Lessons in Mathematics and Art.  http://php.indiana.edu/~mathart/viewpoints/lessons/

 

Gallian, Joe.  Mathematics Awareness Week:  Mathematics and Art.  http://www.d.umn.edu/~jgallian/art.html

 

Hagan, John.  Learning How to Draw.  http://www.geocities.com/~jlhagan/K9-14/introduction.htm

 

Holdener, Judy.  Models of Life.  http://www2.kenyon.edu/People/holdenerj/ModelsofLife/Modelshomepage.htm

 

International Society for the Arts, Sciences, & Technology.  Leonardo Online.  http://www-mitpress.mit.edu/e-journals/Leonardo/index.html

 

Mathematics Archives – Topics in Mathematics – Art & Music.  http://archives.math.utk.edu/topics/artMusic.html

 

Mathsyear 2000.  Anamorphic Art.  http://www.mathsyear2000.org/explorer/anamorphic

 

Smith, Tony.  The Golden Mean.   http://galaxy.cau.edu/tsmith/KW/golden.html

 

Wallace, Shelly and Marc.  Constructing a Celtic Knot.  http://www.wallace.net/knots/howto

 

WebExhibits.  Pigments in Paintings.  http://webexhibits.org/pigments

 

Williams, Bill.  An Introduction to Stage Lighting.  http://www.mts.net/~william5/sld/sld-100.htm