FIBONACCI-The Golden Mean

I once heard someone tell me that all art aspires to music. As if music was something else, something divine. We know that music is related to math. And math has inspired many intelectual pursuits. But it has also helped bring the divine into art. The numbers first came into written form and study in ancient India. It then came under study much later by Leonardo of Pisa AKA Fibonacci. Both saw a pattern repeated in nature and tried to break down and understand what they observed. I don't have the credentials or understanding of the mathmatical side to share what they concluded. But I recognize the pattern. I think we all recognize the pattern. I first saw it explained in art school as the Golden Mean. I have included the above examples as it was broken down to me. If we base our static composition off of the Golden Mean we will find that we will almost always end up with a pleasing composition. Like wise if we have a problematic composition using the Golden Mean can help show where the problems are. I think it shows us what is close to nature and what is not natural. This was ingrained into me just as value scales and color wheels were and has served me well.




This is another example of the Golden Mean in action. This piece entitled "the Roses of Heliogabalus" by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema,is one of the fewer well known pieces of art that is based off of the Fibonacci numbers. Click on the image and pay attention to how your eye travels across the piece, where it wants to linger and where it gets carried through.
Don't see it? How about this...




Beautiful! But watch this...





It works no matter how you flip it. This is just a great piece of art and I think the artist created a harmonious composition and used the characters and colors to heighten that effect as well as create tension and balance amongst the characters.