Τετάρτη 30 Δεκεμβρίου 2009

The science of art

The other day i was watching a video in youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CwICXwLBmo&feature=SeriesPlayList&p=81D26D4A47388279 )and i was pretty amazed.I know that music taste is something subjective, but i think that only the trully beautiful music is the one that stays forever.And this is objective.Only objectively beautiful music lasts.
But the question is what makes a music objectically beautiful?Watching this video , anyone can agree that this piece of art is beautiful.And visiting Acropolis in Athens anyone also can agree that these buildings are beautiful.Some say that the latter are beautiful, because (as with other monuments), they were built based on some certain proportions, which are the number symbolized as π and φ.The value of the first one is 1,618 and the value of the second one is 3,14.If somebody puts all the measures of the pyramids or acropolis in a computer, and compare its proportions, he can always find these numbers appearing.
So , one can say that the creation of these monuments were either built based on the knowledge that these number give perfect results, either these numbers are the natural results of perfectness and absolute beauty.Did their creators made art scientifically or they were just making perfect art?
The answer in this question is that whatever happened, it didnt matter, and its not important for us to know, because they are the different side of the same object.Perfect art can be scientifically explained, but can science create perfect art?in other words, were Ictinos and Kallicrates mathematicians or artists?
The same thing can someone wonder about music.I dont know if anyone has tried to analyze these shapes that we see in the video, and check if the numbers of proportions of the shapes were found to be the same as in the pyramids or the parthenon, but i know that if there was perfect music, from thousand years b.c. that everyone agreed about its perfectness, probably if it was analyzed in a way, it would give us the numbers π and φ.
I wonder if someone can do the opposite thing.To make music from these bar graphs!(i dont know if someone has ever had this idea before, and i mean making music from numbers, but i think that if this is doable, i think that these bar graphs are the key to do it.They are simple, and they reflect with the most simple and objective way what we hear and when we hear it.It is music in a shape!