Art Life Live

Connecting Challenges

The Golden Mean
and what that means
in Science, Math and Music

Assignment 1 – Knowledge

Objective:

To become familiar with The Golden Mean and the vast number of ways it is found in nature, science, math and music.

Assignment:

Describe and educate yourself and others about:

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Media


--Click to download file--

List of works designed with the golden ratio

Learn, apply and excel with Phi, the Golden Ratio

The Golden Ratio

Songwriting and the Golden Mean

The Golden Ratio - The Mystery of Phi



Audio:

All Things Considered - The Golden Ratio






Assignment 2 – Comprehension

Objective

To demonstrate your understanding of what The Golden Number / Fibonacci series is, describe how our world is shaped by this single number, and how that influences our lives.

Assignment:

Write a poem sharing your thoughts about beauty in the world. Find or Create 3 examples of Art/ Architecture that contain Golden Mean or Fibonacci number examples and 3 that do not. Combine these into a digital or print collage.


Provide short answer responses sharing your opinions about the following:

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Assignment 3 – Application

Objective

To demonstrate how Golden Means / Fibonacci numbers impact the world of architecture, nature, art, design, musical forms, and your life.

Assignment:

Using the tools we have provided thus far, locate 6 objects, designs, products, or songs / compositions where significant changes occur in time at Golden Mean intervals.s

Example: the song is 3:06 minutes long, or, 186 seconds x .618 (Golden Number)

What happened at the 1:55 mark? What is the significance?

Analyze how the environment / market / application of these examples WORKS / improves / or complicates our daily lives. Do you have suggestions for improvement? Include them.


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Here is an example of design using a Fibonacci sequence:

Media

The Golden Mean

“Nature by Numbers”



Music and the Fibonacci Series and Phi


Learn, apply and excel with Phi, the Golden Ratio

Assignment 4 – Analysis

Objective

Analyze why nature and the human eye and mind favor the Golden Mean / Fibonacci series. Are all of these occurrences just serendipitous or there are explanations for their mutual identity?

Assignment

Dr. Ralph Johnson, the guest focus of this unit, is also an art collector – he writes and plays great music with Earth, Wind and Fire and others, but he also values visual art. Look at the documents and listen to the audio on the media page.

Challenge

Now, here is your challenge: Dr. Johnson values, collects and creates art. If it doesn’t communicate it is not art! He is a consummate performance artist who loves to share that with others. Listen to two or three Earth, Wind & Fire songs? Do you find examples of the Golden Mean being used? Examine selection from Dr. Johnson’s Art collection. Are there examples of the Golden Mean being used? What do you think it is about the Golden / Fibonacci series and the intersections with art, architecture, music and life that attracts us as humans?

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Media


What Is Beauty - A Plastic Surgeon's Perspective


What is Beauty



Philosophy Talk – What is Beauty

Assignment 5 – Synthesis

Objective

Connecting analysis and synthesis

Deliverable

Visual presentation (overhead / digital / print / original)

Assignment:

Take the large amount of information provided thus far and synthesize it into a presentation by creating something that demonstrates your understanding / interpretation of the Golden Mean / Fibonacci Series and beauty.


-- or --


Create comparisons between Golden Mean and non-Golden Mean examples and how they successfully or unsuccessfully communicate – what works and what doesn’t.


For example: here is what a 7-year old created in less than 10 minutes on a computer:

How many “Golden Sequences” can you find?

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Assignment 5 – Synthesis – Extra Credit

Assignment:

Before we get to our final step, for those who found being inside with a professional drummer interesting, here, from Dr. Johnson’s “Drum Exercises for the pop, funk and R&B player” are two more exercises you may “perform” for extra credit. Drummers practice, and practice some more to make this look easy. Dr. Johnson says:


“Once you have mastered (previous exercises) on the snare drum, try “orchestrating” it by playing all of the accents on the toms (right-hand accents on the floor tom and left-hand accents on the high tom). The first line, for example, would be played as follows:> Finally, add the hi-hat (syncopated left foot – stems down) on the “and” of each beat. The second line, with a syncopated left foot would look like this:

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Assignment 6 – Evaluation

Objective

Do “Golden / Fibonacci” numbers / designs / concepts make a difference in how we view and function in our world?

Assignment:

Based upon evidence present in this unit, please share your opinion about whether you see / recognize / utilize concepts / objects / tools related to “Golden / Fibonacci” numbers in your life and whether that makes a difference for you or others. What have you learned ?


  • Write a 2-page, single-spaced written or digital document. Add any extra documentation if you wish.
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