This painting depicts the quaint town in which the 31st President of the United States was born. Hoover was the Republican President during the first part of the Great Depression (1929-1933). He didn’t want the government to interfere because he thought the economy would naturally fix itself as it had in the Panic of 1873. Additionally, he believed in “rugged individualism,” a philosophy that said Americans working hard and efficiently would fix the ruined economic situation. Eventually, after angering the American public (i.e. Shantytowns were called Hoovervilles), Hoover tried to introduce some government help, but this meager aid didn’t make a difference. He built the Hoover Dam (which was originally called the Boulder Dam), but after the Bonus Army fiasco, he was elected out of office and FDR came to power. The painting has many spectacular details such as the acorns on the stylized burgundy tree in the left foreground, the small man with a prominent shadow gesturing to a humble cottage, two boys walking on a sidewalk in the upper middle left, and in the far left, a distant cemetery. These details are meticulously painted; for example, every blade of grass is defined and highlighted by white dabs of paint on the top. This is in the style of American Regionalism, which sought to glorify the American rural sprawl and American small-town values like honesty and hard work. Since this was made during the Great Depression, it wanted to praise Hoover’s “rugged individualism” and the legendary American past (i.e. moving West because of Manifest Destiny). It was a symbol of hope for poor Americans and could also be seen as propaganda for Hoover (“I’m a man from humble beginnings just like you”). Another example is Wood’s “American Gothic” which depicts a farmer and his wife in front of their rural dwelling.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grant_Wood_Birthplace_of_Herbert_Hoover_MIA_81105.jpg

       As for the painting, it has deep, rich tones to reflect the onset of autumn. The leaves of the trees (i.e. on the far right) are stylized and separated into distinct, unreal blocks of color that don’t form a representational tree; they are rounded blobs instead of individual leaves with patterns from oriental China. The curvilinear trees contrast with the boxy, rectilinear lines of the houses (like Dali’s “Cadaques”). It is the ideal, American town that is impossible to imitate in real life, and it has a dream-like quality. The light source is coming from the left because of the prominent shadows on the tree-lined path and the small shadow of the gesturing man. The darkness of the straight trail contrasts with the light green and blue of the stream on the left. The painting also has Birdseye perspective—you can see the whole sprawl of West Branch, including the cemetery and barn. In the center right, a small sign by the man reads “Birthplace of Herbert Hoover, First President of the U.S. Born West of the Mississippi.” There is also a large A on the cottage door (?). As for the lines of composition, there is a strong upwards thrust from the shaded path that meets and interferes with the curving lines of the emerald lawn (they balance each other out). Thanks for reading!

Three Gorges Dam, China http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Three_Gorges_Dam.jpg

Atacama Desert, Chile http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paranal_in_Atacama_desert.jpg

       The Castle of San Servando is a fortified structure next to the Tagus River and Alcántara Bridge in Toledo, Spain. Looking down on this marvel, one has a stunning view of La Mancha and the regal Academia de Infanteria building. Toledo, a city over 2,000 years old, is known for having three cultures (Muslim, Christian, and Hebrew) exist peacefully within its walls during the medieval period. Toledo originated during the Roman Era (i.e. there was an aqueduct and circus there) and became the capital of the Visigoth Kingdom (like the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa after 476 CE). Today, it has close, cobble-stoned streets and many old bridges and alcazars.

Sloping hill next to the Castle

       The actual Castle was probably built by the Visigoths, but when Alfonso VI took Toledo in 1085, he built a monastery upon the crumbling ruins. He dedicated it to Servando and German, Spanish saints who saved Alfonso’s life in battle. Alfonso VI (also known as Alfonso the Brave) reunited Castile and Leon and helped beat back the Muslim encroachment. Because of his suppression, a Muslim Almoravid army from Africa invaded Toledo in 1099. Due to this incursion, the Castle of San Servando was converted to a fortress to protect the susceptible bridge nearby. The Castle can be seen as a triumph of Christianity over Islam as Alfonso tried to forge a new Christian Kingdom in Spain. The building underwent construction until 1386, and today it is a hostel for young travelers (http://juventud.jccm.es/sanservando/es/index.html ).

Statue of Alfonso VI http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alfonso_VI_of_Castile_.jpg

      As for the architecture of the Castle, it has a central square surrounded by cylindrical turrets/towers for defense and because it is easier for archers to shoot and then seek refuge behind the large crenellations. The walls are made of rubble and stone, and there are horseshoe arches (reflecting the Arabic influence). The style is officially “Gothic,” but Toledo contains many other buildings that are “Mozarabic,” a style that incorporated aspects of Arabic and Christian architecture. San Servando was depicted in El Greco’s stunning View of Toledo (1596-1600) in the middle left. El Greco, whose real name was Domenikos Theotokopoulos, was a Cretan Mannerist painter who moved to Toledo in 1577. His paintings are characterized by exaggerated elements, blue, stormy skies, and elongated forms.

Horseshoe Arch http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Castillo_de_San_Servando_(Toledo)._Portal.jpg

View of Toledo, El Greco http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Greco Sources:  http://www.spain.info/en_US/que-quieres/arte/monumentos/toledo/castillo_de_san_servando.html  http://juventud.jccm.es/sanservando/en/index.html http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/379 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/14679/Alfonso-VI

Delta of the Volga River, Astrachan, Russia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Astrachan_Volgadelta.jpg

Lake Yamdroktso, Tibet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lake_Yamdroktso.jpg

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fibonacci_Spiral_GeoGebra.svg

       The Fibonacci sequence is a pattern of numbers that was identified and taught by Leonardo Fibonacci (1170-1250), a medieval Italian mathematician who also introduced Arabic numerals to Western Europe in his book Liber Abaci (literally translated as “the book of sideboard” in Latin). He studied under Arab Scholars, which was unique because most learning at this time was done in cloistered monasteries. His learning reflected the broader impacts of the Christian Crusades; Muslim learning came to the West in the form of copied and preserved manuscripts of ancient Greek and Roman writings. The actual numbers in the Fibonacci sequence are 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, etc. They are found by adding the two numbers before new digits to create a specific sum. For example, 1+1=2, 2+1=3, 2+3=5, etcetera. This sequence also hints at the Golden Ratio or phi, a number that is roughly equal to 1.618. It appears in the Fibonacci pattern if you divide one number by the next. The new quotients get increasingly close to phi the longer down the number chain you go. For example, 3/5=.6, 5/8=.625 and so on until 1.618.

Tomato flower with 5 petals!

Flower with 21 petals

       There are several other nifty number patterns in this sequence, and they reveal that many entities in everyday life are guided by underlying proportions. The Fibonacci integers are best known for being omnipresent in nature; the number of petals a flower has, the design of seeds in a sunflower, and the logarithmic spirals in a rhino horn are all explained by math. Because of these digits, nature is structured, ordered, and more easily explained. I took random pictures of flowers around my house and found that many of the buds/petals have 5 parts to it (a Fibonacci number!!) I also discovered that animals contain this special ratio as well. Dolphins’ bodies are arranged according to the Golden Ratio, with the tail, fins, eyes, and gills all interconnected. I even divided the length of my forearm by the length of my hand and it came close to phi (around 1.5 inches).

Again, 5 petals!

        Salvador Dali, a surrealist artist of the 20th century, was obsessed with the Fibonacci sequence and the work of Matilla Gyeeka in particular. He thought science was the way to understanding the works of God, although this view was the opposite of what most scientists thought at the time (i.e. Watson and Crick). Dali was fascinated by spirals, rhino horns, and double images; in his “Nature Morte Vivante”, the composition is based off highly structured geometric forms that utilize the Golden Ratio. The spiral in the lower left is the first painted double helix DNA strand in art. This painting is an example of Dali’s “Nuclear Mysticism” phase in which he broke objects down to their basic subatomic particles. Dali furthered explored the divinity of science and the spiral in his painting “Galacidalacidesoxyribonucleicacid.” On the left, a DNA spiral, the symbol of life, contrasts against the Arab soldiers (in a salt cube formation) about to shoot each other in the lower right. In the middle, the image of God reaching down to resurrect his son above Gala (Dali’s wife) unites the composition. Just for fun, I measured the lips of the Mae West sofa and found that the quotient was 1.5 inches!! Mathematics is truly amazing and the thought that all of nature is connected by a single strand of numbers is mind-blowing.

Nature Morte Vivante, Dali, 1956 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_Still_Life

Turf house, Glaumbær, Iceland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_turf_house

Bridge of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mostar