An Interdisciplinary Study of an Archetype: Across Cultures and Disciplines
Year: 2003 Authors: Ann Hanson; Paula Frohele; Carol Haliday-McQueen; Renee Hansen
Core claim
The spiral functions as a shared natural, mathematical, and symbolic form that reveals deep synchronization between the arts and sciences.
Topics
interdisciplinary study, spiral archetype, cross-cultural symbolism, arts and sciences
Domains
geometry, mathematical properties, pattern analysis, film, visual art, poetry
Methods
collaborative research, grant-supported study, media presentation, cross-disciplinary analysis
Media
CD, movie clips
Paper text
The text below is the locally extracted OCR/Markdown version of the paper. Raw PDF files remain local and are not published here.
ISAMA The International Society of the Arts, Mathematics, and Architecture BRIDGES Mathematical Connections in Art, Music, and Science
An Interdisciplinary Study of an Archetype: Across Cultures and Disciplines
Ann Hanson¹, Paula Frohele², Carol Haliday-McQueen³, Renee Hansen⁴ ¹Science and Mathematics Dept ²Film Dept ³Art Dept ⁴English Dept Columbia College 600 South Michigan Chicago, IL 60605
In order to do an interdisciplinary study, it is necessary to find a subject covered in multiple disciplines. In this presentation, we will explain how the group was formed, how we chose the topic, and how we worked together. The result of our work is a CD which will be shown along with several movie clips.
An interdisciplinary group of artists and educators in the sciences, humanities, and the arts – now called the Spiral Group – was awarded a grant by Columbia College, Chicago to study an archetype as it manifests itself across cultures and disciplines. The group chose not to spiral as an archetype because the members found it to be the pattern often repeated in the arts and sciences. The group found that “spiral” appears as an indigenous form in nature, science, and math; it is also seen as a symbolic and archetypal form in the arts. The group then began the study with an exploration of the mathematical principles/properties of the spiral. The Spiral study demonstrated that there is a profound synchronization between the arts and sciences. The spiral, deeply rooted in the construct of the universe, is often used to suggest growth, harmony, and rhythm in poetry, narratives, film, and art. The study demonstrated how the spiral is not only used across artistic disciplines but across cultures as well.
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