7/27/2007

The Golden Mean - Fibonacci Series


The Golden Mean, the golden spiral, the golden section. They all stand for the same thing...a special proportion found prevalently both in nature and also in classical architecture and art. The proportion is almost magical in its ability to create a pleasing ratio of space. I feel it is a perfect example of the math behind the scenes at work. I have read a lot on this topic over the last few years. The concept was revealed to me when I read this book on Maxfield Parrish and learned of Dynamic Symmetry. This is another mathematical-related formula upon which a supposedly superior arrangement of space is based.
I find the math behind things most fascinating. The connections between these ratios and music, art, architecture and even more important, species in nature is most amazing and probably more than coincidental.
I at one point was doing collage on pieces of paper that I had cut to golden mean proportions. I really enjoyed working with a slightly longer piece of paper. However, framing these works is much more expensive. They are not a standard size and mattes and frames had to have custom sizes. I haven't delved into framing too many of these older works due to the financial cost of this. But I won't deny that I still am tweaked over the idea of using the Golden Mean. In fact, reading about this book for sale has me all fired up again to do something with all this math.
"Because of its aesthetic qualities, embodied in its unique ability to relate the parts to the whole," writes Olsen, "golden ratios are used in the design of many modern household items." Credit cards, for instance, are very close to the 8 by 5 Fibonacci approximation of phi. Surely no one ever designed the first credit cards to reflect phi, but the ratio does seem to be inherently attractive. Olsen demonstrates that phi shows up in spirals of DNA, in human proportions, in icosahedrons, and so many other places. His handsome and accessible book is an exercise in an appealing numerology."
Recently I ordered this book from Amazon called The Elements of Dynamic Symmetry. It is heavy on math and quite deep. I am not certain I need to go over the top anal about this, but I want to incorporate this idea into my work further.

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