Logarithmic spiral in classic art.

[ates gulcugil]

Hi. I am Ates Gulcugil, a retired electronic engineer. I have been self-studying painting for three years now.

Jay Hambidge has shown us that Dynamic Symmetry was used in the Greek classical period for making compositions for temples and vases. With the exception of the simple usage of golden ratio for canvas dimentions and figure placement, it was believed that the technique had been lost until its rediscovery by him in 1920.

However I believe I have shown that the Rectangle of the Whirling Squares and the Logarithmic spiral which are part of Dynamic Symmetry have been widely and continuously used by artists from at least the 13th up to the 20th century. I believe this discovery will change our interpretation of many works of art.

If you would like to see my work please visit one of the addresses below.


www.atesgulcugil.com

http://atesgulcugil.tripod.com/

http://gulcugil.tripod.com/

[k4pka]

Wow, so your crap at coming up with good compositions and so are trying really hard to draw special lines that fit over master paintings to find out their secret??

Awesome!\w/

[the_allejo05]

I have that book..I think it is very good.... but is only a piece of the puzzle..remember that there are many kinds of rectangles.. also..a good knowledge of geometry will help there.... this is a good tool for composing..

[dischord]

Personally, I think this is bullshit and just a waste of time. You can make a great composition by starting with the letter C... or Q, or any you want. The logarithmic spiral is just special because you can fit it into any picture. I tried on some of my own pictures which were not based on it....and guess what? It worked.
What you should try to study is if that composition is most pleasing to the eye judged by tonnes of viewers.

I can't believe an engineer would think there is a shortcut to making great art. The spiral is just the cause of the old greek maths geeks trying to apply their nice curves on art, just like some artists have tried to make music from maths. It just doesn't work like that.

The one connection you could make, is that nature seems to use maths a lot (just look at the fractal cabbage (http://www.lps.ens.fr/~douady/Pyllotaxie/images_Romanesco/RomaB.JPG)), and what we percieve as beauty is inspired by nature. Because that has been all around us during the time our senses have been created.

[Gory]

I'm on dischord's side on this sort of thing.

A friend of mine went to study with a guy named Myron Barnestone in Coplay, PA to learn the golden section. What you have already is a very stripped down version of it. Most of the paintings that come out of his classes end up being very stiff and uninteresting because *everything* is plotted out exactly.

I've seen Barnestone in person examine paintings and drawings, and I'm pretty convinced it's bullshit.

The reason why this stuff appears convincing is because everything in nature is based off of the golden mean, so naturally when you do a representational painting it's going to appear to use the golden mean. I'm sorry to say, there is no secret formula to great paintings. There's success and failure. Everyone does the latter. Few are fortunate enough to achieve the former.

[senbdoij]

though fractal art is awsome
check it out on google web not image

[the_allejo05]

i still disagree..i think studying geometry..which i am... i think the use of compass and geometric knowledge expands the understanding of placement of things.. i think the series of exercises are rather helpful ..and yes math does help.. it is a tool..is not art.. im tired of "artists" saying is bullshit because they dont want to do a more serious study ..please look at the old masters..their knowledge of geometry was extremely high as well as their compositions.. i dont think is just doing it it..there are a lot of systems..and ways..is not only letters or a few diagonal things..their is more to it than that..

[JaCkinbOx]

The secret to making art visually interesting is all about the composition, but this doesn't necessarily mean it'll be technically impressive. That comes with skill.

[ates gulcugil]

Here's one logarithmic spiral did not fit, Raphael's The Alba Madonna.

http://www.atesgulcugil.com/raphael%20the%20alba%20madonna.htm

[k4pka]

Oh My God