Art and Maths

Have you ever thought that Math and Art, although regarded as a whole difference by some due to the contrast in their natures being creativity and logic, actually share similarity?

As a person who shows a propensity for both of these fields and has experiences in them, after sitting to think what common characteristics they have, I would say creating artwork and solving a mathematical problem share the same process of thinking.

To some people, the artwork is believed to be complete as a result of talents and dexterous skills. Yet, to me, it is the thinking process, in which a mere primitive concept is gestated and then nourished throughout attempts of trial and errors in order for other novel ideas to prevail, that defines my experience with creating artwork. Indeed, this process is what brings me closer to the eventual satisfying outcome that manifests pieces of ideas that I have discovered along the way, and this same process, to me, could also be found in Mathematics.

Solving mathematical problems, for some, is to apply existing formulas to reach the wanted solutions, just like the idea that you are endowed with talents and skills and you utilize them to create artwork. Yet, as I said, solving math means to me more than as such. It resonates with creating artwork in which the thinking process of me coming up with a series of various analyses and approaches for a problem is what defines the experience, and this commonality, once again, is what connects mathematics and art.

However, despite it playing a major role, this thinking process being discussed is not the one and only component that reflects the whole experience and speaks volumes to the similarity of Math and Art. On top of it, it is the same feelings that accompany when creating artwork and solving math that offers me a sense as to how closely similar they are. With me engrossing myself in a refreshing mind while doing them, and seeing what I accomplish as a result, I am driven by the feeling that I found when I do Math while delving into Art. With such a feeling, I can see how related they are in a different dimension.

Apart from the characteristics mentioned above, the courage to set the mere ideas in motion from scratch regardless of possible self-doubts about your ability and start approaching your inquiry from different ways is also what creating artwork and solving math share. That said, as the one who tries to apply the courage to conquer hard mathematical problems and defy self-doubts in order to create more artworks, I encourage you to do the same.

Munkhtaivan Erdenetsogt, Mongolia