3. How can pattern be used to make an artistic statement? For the rest of
the course we will be working with repeat patterns in the plane. We will define
these to be patterns with infinite translational symmetry in two directions.
This brings us to the topic of intention in both mathematics and art.
"Whoever wants to know about me as a painter - the only topic
of any interest - should study my pictures with care, and try to draw from them
what I am and what I am trying to do."
-- Gustav Klimt
The Kiss, (1907-1908)
a. Old Globetheater, (1888), Vienna
Klimtwas born in 1862, and attended the School of Arts and Crafts, for artisans.
This was an unusual institution, offering its students an education equal in
quality to the art school nearby. Klimt initially made his living by receiving
commissions for interior theater decoration. He did the decor for the New
Burgtheater, resulting in this painting as further commission. Each face in
this painting is a portrait of an actual prominent individual of the time, each
sketched separately prior to executing this work. It is done in gouache and is
about 32 by 36 inches.
b. Schubert at the Piano, (1899)
In addition Klimt did several equally masterful pieces, such as this portrait of
Schubert at the piano, which enchanted the Viennese public. It was destroyed by
fire and no color photos were ever taken. It was done in 1899 as part of a
comission for a music room in a mansion. But already Klimt was developing a more
removed style, as you can see by "Music". A reworked version of this piece faced
Schubert from across the room.
c. Jurisprudence, (1907)
This piece is part of four murals commissioned for a new university in Austria,
Aula. Ordered in response to Klimt's early work, it was then rejected by
university. Look carefully, can you identify the female figures in the foreground
from Greek mythology? They are the furies. Where are the scales of justice?
Where is the pattern and with whom is it identified? What is this piece saying
about the state of justice and its relationship to the individual?
d. Hygeia, (1900-1907)
Those who commissioned these paintings were quite upset by them and refused to
have them displayed at Aula. They were stored at a private residence for years
as Klimt tried to raise money to buy them back. Finally they were destroyed by
fire. Except for this closeup of the panel "Medicine", no color photos exist.
What is the message of these paintings? What has happened to
Klimt? Klimt became obsessed with one large theme, the relationship
of man to universe. Pattern was one mechanism he used to portray his ideas.
e. Here are some portraits of women, from his early works to his late works.
Sonja Knips,1898 is a typical example of one of the early ones.
f. You can watch his style change in
Margarethe Stonborough-Wittgenstein, (1905)
g. From there it evolves further into what he is best remembered for now,
as in Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, (1907).
Here the motifs
appearing in the pattern have become a personal iconography for the painter.
What do you think the eye shaped motifs represent? How about the vertically split circles?
h.The Three Ages of Woman, (1905)
Klimt was part of a movement called the Secessionists. These
artists made a search for new relationships to old material, especially Greek myth
(They worked in the same time and place as Freud.) The Secessionist motto was
"To art its freedom!".
i. Judith and Holopherne, (1901)
Klimt's relationships with women were not smooth, and in much of his work women
are typically linked with strong archetypes, often by context as in "Judith".
Who remembers her story?
Where are the infinite symmetric patterns? How are they being used by the
artist? Klimt uses pattern sometimes to indicate the gods, the aspect of the
painting beyond mortal individuals, as a direct link to the infinite. Note
contrast between 3 dimensional human forms and 2 dimensional flat patterns. Here
the pattern is used to flatten parts of the painting, again playing with space.
j. Pallas Athena, (1898)
How is the artist using allover patterns and color to make a statement?
What is this artist's intent? How is pattern used to achieve it? Where is the
pattern of Athena's armour echoed? What associations are therefore brought to mind?
k. Beech Grove, (1902)
Klimt also painted Landscape. Some claim his work was not influenced
by Monet but rather Whistler.
l. Poppy Field, (1907)
These were called "mood landscapes", where you see a suggestion of meditation
in a natural setting. Think about all of your color exercises.
Why aren't these considered impressionism?
m. Beethoven frieze, (1902)
"Enough of censorship!
I am having recourse to self-help.
I want to get out.
I want to get away from all these sterile absurdities that hinder my work,
and get back to a state of freedom.
I refuse all state patronage.
I renounce everything."
4. A geometry problem.
How does art or craft affect mathematics? We have seen how mathematics might
affect art, but there is a reverse effect as well. Remember the block print
exercise from class, where you made a right isoceles triangle block with
asymmetric pattern. Using just this block, what kinds of symmetry groups could
you produce? What is impossible? This is a mathematical question imposed by the
craft process chosen. Today we will try a different process.
Next week we will have a visit from Joan Morris, who is a world class Shibori
artist. Her day job is dyer for the theater department. She will bring her
collection of antique shibori pieces as well as her own work and slides. Today
we will try one kind of Shibori.
Shibori is an ancient form of tie dye done in Japan and many other places around
the world. One version of it uses clamped, folded cloth. You should fold your
cloth in an accordion-pleated pattern, along any angles you choose. Pick some
matching wooden clamps to press from either side. Cut paper will protect the
fabric from dye that is already in the wood. You can secure the clamps with
either a C-clamp or string tied tightly. The part that is inside the clamp will
stay white. The rest will turn the color of the dye.
The pictures of class doing Shibori
Everybody now gets to fold one and clamp it. Your job is to use the patterns
described in the last math homework. Pick one. Try to fold the cloth so that
when it is dyed that symmetry group will result. After it is folded, use the
permanent marker to put both YOUR NAME and the SYMMETRY GROUP you predict right
on the cloth. Give them to Dorothy.
