Letters Remain

Tag: art

  • Genetic Programming and the Evolution of Mona Lisa

    Roger Alsing used a genetic algorithm to create a brilliant approximation of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa using only 50 semi-transparent polygons, evolving over approximately a million generations. You can see the end result, after 904,314 generations here, but even after roughly 100,000 generations the image is impressive. I loved scrolling through the pictures, slowly seeing…

  • Applying Mathematics to Escher’s Print Gallery

    Prentententoonstelling—or Print Gallery—is a recursive M. C. Escher drawing. For Mathematics Awareness Month 2003, Escher and the Droste Effect delves into the mathematics behind one of Escher’s more intriguing pieces. The following from the published article. [Prentententoonstelling] shows a young man standing in an exhibition gallery, viewing a print of a Mediterranean seaport. As his…

  • The 50 Best Works of Art

    The Telegraph has compiled a nice list of The 50 Best Works of Art (and how to see them) Zen garden, Ryoan-ji Temple (late 15th century) Kyoto, Japan Getting there: bearable This is the most celebrated example of what in Japanese is called a karesansui, or “dry landscape”. Since it consists of nothing but raked…

  • Mona Lisa: The Science Behind That Smile

    Why does the woman depicted in the Mona Lisa appear to be both smiling and not smiling at the same time? The smile part of the Mona Lisa’s face was painted by Leonardo in low spatial frequencies. This means that when you look right at her mouth, there’s no smile. But if you look at…

  • Owen Wilson – Life Imitating Art

    ‘The Suicide of Genius: Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson in Life and Art‘ is an article pointing out the similarities between the troubling events in Owen Wilson’s troubled life and his on-screen roles in Anderson’s films. Owen Wilson, the eponymous free spirit and troubled hero of Wes Anderson’s films, has struggled with what appears to…