Kandinsky, Mathematics in Art and the odd fact about the funny number 9.

9


In two weeks time the Guggenheim (New York) will have a show on Kandinsky. If you have the opportunity then do not miss it!

Apart from being in love with Kandinsky’s colours.. (the way he framed landscapes in his own tilted fashion was genius in itself), when I gaze at his geometric works I often can’t help but think instantly of math. I sometimes cease to see shapes but have a rush of thoughts with numbers… triangle 5..acute angle linear relationship dissecting relationships, proportion (there is a flood of these thoughts concerning mathematical relationships).

Not many of us stop to take note of just how much math there is in Art. Architects know this well. No one can study math nowadays without learning about fractal geometry and the intense and infinitely complex beauty these formulae create. Who knows what the future of computing will allow us to see.

I’ll end by sharing an odd mathematical fact which my mother taught me years ago. It’s not often I hear people repeating it but I’m sure your mathematician friends either already know it or will be very amused by it. It concerns the funny number nine. As a rule… the sum of the product of any number multiplied by 9 is 9. It works like this (I’ll give you two examples):

1. 9 x 9 = 81, 8 + 1 = 9.

2. 9 x 4896 = 44064
4+4+0+6+4 = 18
8+1 = 9

Have fun!