“Married to Math” is a film made as if it were a mathematical equation with unknown expressions of value being moved towards a solution. Created by Nina Zaretskaya, founding director, Art Media Center, ‘TV Gallery,’ this documentary presents three mathematicians from the former Soviet Union who released the artistic expression of their youth after the distraction of their training in formal mathematics.

One of the intriguing things about this film is that it starts with a visual and auditory mystery, or series of mysteries. A grand flourish of orchestral music leads the viewer to the opening credits within which lay clues of what is to follow and what then unfolds is a visual and auditory presentation without apparent narrative.

The music gives way to a strong visual image as a voice speaks of scientists making a great discovery. As the speaker continues, the images and music flow, and the viewer at first wonders how the images are related to the narration only to discover that the narration is a fictive discussion of a fantastical universe of “mirror worlds and alternate realities.” The music and images continue as the dialog ends and a new voice begins to tell the real story of the images. It is the introduction of the first of the mathematicians being featured in the film.

“Married to Math, How Three US Mathematicians from Ex-USSR Gave Birth to Something Extraordinary“ is the story of three artists who initially subsumed their artistic talent to pursue a decidedly non-artistic course of study in formal mathematics. The viewer hears Yana Semenovich’s story (left) of making the decision to forego her love of art for mathematics, and the first element of the “equation” of this film is uncovered. The vivid visual expression of her artistic talent is at her core with mathematics being a distraction of which she became free.

“Nina Zaretskaya puts the viewer into the heart of a creative process that presents, elaborates, and solves this equation.“

Alexey Shor (right) is the next element of this unfolding equation of sight and sound. A child math prodigy with strong musical creativity, he chose mathematics as his primary focus but with music as his very strong alter ego. When the opportunity arose to remain a mathematician or to make music his life rather than a hobby, he chose music and the viewer is swept into the musical creations of this prodigious artist.

The last element is Asya Semenovich (left), a writer, with a talent for math, who chose math for the unfettered freedom of expression that it allowed in a country where the government restricted the free-range of creative written expression. Math was her outlet for her creative talent until she was able to escape the restrictions of government and focus all of her energy on her life-long passion for writing.

Nina Zaretskaya puts the viewer into the heart of a creative process that presents, elaborates, and solves this equation. The viewer has been drawn into the seemingly unconnected images, music, and narration as they are revealed as elements defining the equation of the film. Ms. Zaretskaya has crafted an exceptional film that not only presents the creative foundations of the artist/mathematician’s vision but is also an expression of that creative foundation.

Editor’s Note: (left) Seascapes, composed by Alexey Shor, performed by Haik Kazazian (solo violin), Sergey Smbatyan (conductor), Roma Tre Orchestra.

Married to Math — a note from Nina Zaretskaya, film producer: “This 16 minute video film is based on the geometric art works of Yana Semenovich (2009 – 2019), the classical sounding music of modern composer Alexey Shor (2014 – 2018), and the mirrored worlds of Asya Semenovich’s science-fiction novel The Fire of the Dark Triad (2019) which uncannily prophesied the emergence of our current COVID-19 pandemic.”

What a smart connection between math and art! Math is with us from the moment we are born to the moment of our death. We count everything and everywhere, though, sometimes, we don’t suspect we are counting.

I like the presentation of each character, his or her history, the art, and the connection with math. It is a romance to connect paintings + music + stories! And there is love everywhere! I feel and smell love in each episode of Nina’s movie. It looks gorgeous, it sounds gorgeous, and the stories captured my heart.

I just watched Nina Zaretskaya’s newly re-edited version of her film Married to Math. With a few simple tweets, here and there, Nina enhanced its beauty and power, as only a true artist can do, by 1000%.

Married to Math is a thrilling 17-minute cinematic journey infused with beautifully composed eye-popping images and heaven-bound music driven by personal real-life narratives, all deliciously wrapped in a mesmerizing otherworldly story from Fire of the Dark Triad.

Now it’s your chance to watch this video as it is making the rounds at various film festivals. It is truly awesome!

The way I understand this film is that it presents several people who are heavily involved with 2 interests that are very different in the limits of thinking/imagination. These people are unique because they ‘live’ comfortably in 2 worlds without seemingly any contradiction: the worlds of Math/Science and the world of ‘Art.’

M/S have a rigorous and unyielding basis of fact; Art is/can/should be performed without ANY restrictions or rules. Exact opposites. The characters are unusual because they can co-exist ‘inside’ both disciplines, without any apparent difficulty. M/S have rules that cannot be ignored; Art best exists without any boundaries.

It’s just my opinion, but some of the artworks shown seem to have machine/computer-generated images…especially the ‘symmetrical’ pieces. Creativity, artistry & imagination are NOT precluded by the use of ‘unnatural’ means of production. An artist uses his hands and his mind… but, it doesn’t make an artwork less ‘artsy’ if a machine under the control of a person is used to generate an image, etc.

The artwork shown was quite interesting & stimulating, as was the musical accompaniment… certainly well worth experiencing!

Hi,

Thanks for sharing this. I am fascinated by the art, the music, the novel and the artists’ life stories. The drawings and figures are very complex. I have never seen so much ‘entropy’, for lack of a better word, in the images.

Just watched MARRIED TO MATH – stunning! Fabulous! Totally wonderful!

Nina, you have been working on this in the past year? It is wonderful! Congrats on getting it into film festivals!

Totally interesting, loved it entirely!

I have just finished watching the short movie Married to Math: one of the most enlightening cultural experiences I’ve had in years. This film works on several levels at once. But in its essence, it is a movie about synthesis. At the most basic level, it is the story of three Russian émigré scientists who, after moving to the United States, synthesized the experience of two great cultures in their work. On a higher level, it is a film about the synthesis of art and mathematics achieved through the outstanding music of Shor and the visually astonishing works of Yana Semenovich, perfectly framed by the mind-blowing narrative from the work of Asya Semenovich: her book Fire of the Dark Triad is a perfectly timed, incredibly smart page turner — a real must-read! And finally, the film itself is a splendid example of the synthesis of high culture, science and art.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It weaves a beautiful common thread through the fate of three brilliant people, gifted along multiple dimensions but choosing math as their first path in the ex Soviet Union. Only later do they express their creativity in other realms, art, music, literature. A very timely lesson to learn… It beautifully stages the artwork of the protagonists and thus gives a picture of the rational and the emotional, on the background of politics and … life.