Cultural Event 2: Hammer Museum

To preface this event, I am very uninterested in artwork and do not find value in observing it. I found much more enjoyment at the Griffith observatory, which was much more visually pleasing and mentally engaging for me. But there is a clear connection between the Hammer museum and our class, DESMA 9. In week 2 we discussed the connection between math and art, which manifested itself at the Hammer museum. Right off the bat I noticed the very mathematic architecture of the Hammer museum, which was very rigid and contained a lot of straight lines. I found this ironic considering what the building contained inside of it. When I think of a museum, I think of a lot of abstract architecture which would be more representative of what was inside. For example, the Walt Disney concert hall would be my idea of abstract architecture. After observing the irony of the exterior, I made my way inside to observe what I came to see.

Sadly, there was no photography allowed inside of the building, so i was unable to capture any of the pieces of art. But i did notice a lot of week two's blog post at the hammer. For example this painting on the cover of the Hammer pamphlet. There are many straight lines and arches used in this picture. The golden ratio was also used here in order to create realistic proportions as well as perfect symmetry. The young angels face, as well as the pottery on the side show symmetry and are representative of the golden ratio. From the surface this painting shows no signs of mathematics, but underneath the use of math aided in creating symmetry and realistic proportions.

Another example was this painting called "Salome Dancing before Herod." This painting was representative of another concept used in my week 2 blog post, the fibonacci sequence. The fibonacci sequence is a sequence of numbers that creates a spiral. From my view, it looks as if this painting contains this spiral, and ultimately aids in communicating the message of the painting. It looks as if the outer boundaries of the painting are mostly irrelevant, but as you follow the spiral towards the center it seems as though the closer you get, the more relevant the material becomes. Although it looks as if the subject is the dancer, ultimately the three servants are there for the king, who is seated in the middle of the spiral.

These interpretations are all subjective to the individual, but any way these paintings are interpreted, mathematics played an important role in establishing realism and symmetry in this artwork.