I understand the math but I have no idea how it connects to art or “aesthetically pleasing shapes”.
Every image I see looks like a spiral slapped randomly onto a painting, and sometimes not even the entirety of the painting. The art never seems to follow any of the apparent guidelines of the spiral. I especially don’t understand it when it’s put on a persons face.
I can see and understand the balance of artistic uses of things such as “the rule of 3rds” and negative space, dynamic posing, etc. However, I cannot comprehend how the golden ratio attributes anything to the said * balance * of a work of art.
I saw an image of Parthenon in Athens, Greece with the golden ratio spiral over it. It’s just a symmetrical, rectangular building. I don’t understand how the golden ratio applies to it.
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The golden ratio kind of just happens when you build things up proportionally. It is a side effect of having previous values being used to determine the next values.
Most people know that the ratio between consecutive numbers in the Fibonacci sequence approach the golden ratio – 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89. 89/55 = 1.618. But few people understand that it doesn’t matter what two numbers you start with, the ratio still approaches 1.618. Start with 1 and 5, or 3 and -124, or 492847491 and 0; you will always approach the golden ratio.
It just so happens that when people create stuff, we tend to do it with blocks. Whether it’s bricks or Sheetrock or windows or beams when building a building. Or it’s using a ruler and compass to draw a design. Or it is symmetry and perspective to layout a scene. We create in a way where the next steps rely on the previous.
So the golden ratio kind of just happens. It is rarely intentional. It is kind of like Pi – anything that involves a circle has ratios with Pi. Anything that involves iterations where you build on what already exists involves ratios with the golden ratio.
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