Week 9: Space + Art

I liked how this week's lecture on space has tied together all the previous topics covered in class. It makes sense though, since space exploration is the largest technological challenge humanity has faced so far, and thus it requires all of humanity's collective knowledge together in collaboration to tackle it.

B.E. Johnson said "Knowledge - technology and the recording of it, art and the expression of it - is the most important gift to our future and to our heritage. We have come far and have far to go. Knowledge building upon knowledge" (Leonardo Space Art Project). This statement conveys the above idea that space brings together all the other topics we have covered.

Mankind has always been fearful of and intrigued by the unknown. Space is a vast dark enigma, the biggest unknown in the modern day. It is the new unconquered frontier.

The Cold War sparked the Space Race between America and Russia. What started as rush to develop better delivery systems for nuclear warheads became a competition to prove superiority in space exploration. The tension between America and Russia was responsible for accelerating developments in space exploration.

The Space Race was highly publicized by the media and played a large role in American pop culture. Pop culture's imaginings of space exploration has driven scientific pursuits, and scientific discoveries have inspired artists' expressions of space exploration. Here we again see knowledge building upon knowledge.

The enigma of space freed artists' imaginations from the confines of life on Earth. Space provided another realm in which their imaginations could go wild. Space exploration inspired many facets of pop culture including but not limited to The Jetsons, Star Wars, and Star Trek. Star Trek imagined portable communicators, Bluetooth, flat-screen TVs, tablet computers, hypospray, and medical tricoders. All of these technologies are no longer just science fiction in today's society.

The Enterprise from Star Trek

As more technological developments are made in space travel, it will be more available to the general public. At the current rate of development, I believe that space travel will be available to the wealthy members of the public within our lifetimes, and not long after that space travel will be no less common than air travel. SpaceX is making large strides in developing reusable rockets for economic commercial space travel. Maybe even space elevators will also become a reality. I am very excited to see what's to come!

SpaceX Falcon Rockets

Space Elevator

Works Cited

Enterprise. Digital image. Geeky News. 31 May 2015. Web.

Falcon Rockets. Digital image. NASA Space Flight. Web.

Fleming, Nic. "Should We Give Up on the Dream of Space Elevators?" British Broadcasting Corporation 19 Feb. 2015. British Broadcasting Corporation. Web. 31 May 2015. <http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150211-space-elevators-a-lift-too-far>.

Howell, Elizabeth. "Virgin Galactic: Richard Bransonu's Space Tourism Company | Space.com." Space. Purch, 6 Mar. 2015. Web. 31 May 2015.

“Leonardo Space Art Project Visioneers.” Leonardo Space Art Project. MIT Press, 1996. Web. 31 May. 2015.

O'Connor, Stuart. "How Star Trek Predicted the Future - Tech Digest." Tech Digest. Tech Digest, 6 June 2014. Web. 31 May 2015.

Obayashi Corp. Space Elevator. Digital image. Space. 31 May 2015. Web.

Race for the Moon. Digital image. History of Space Travel. Web.

Wall, Mike. "Japanese Company Aims for Space Elevator by 2050 | Space Elevators & Tethers | Spaceflight & Space Technology | Space.com." Space. Purch, 23 Feb. 2012. Web. 31 May 2015.

Event 3: Hammer Museum

Over the past four years, I have passed the Hammer Museum numerous times, but I have never gone inside to explore its wonders until I attended Arts Party 2K15: Transferal on May 12, 2015. When I entered the museum, I noticed that people were spinning around in unusually shaped chairs that resembled tops. These "Spun" chairs were part of the exhibit Provocations: The Architecture and Design of Heatherwick Studio. Thomas Heatherwick is the British designer behind these pieces of art. The development process of the rotation-molded "Spun" chairs probably involved math and engineering to account for the rotational symmetry of the chair and stability under rotation to ensure that the occupant does not fall off. Thomas Heatherwick is known for employing new engineering methods, technology, and materials in his art. I had the chance to spin around in these chairs and it was quite a fun and unique experience. 

Theo had a virtual reality exhibit that used an Oculus Rift headset, headphones, and a Leap Motion attached with a long party balloon. This exhibit allowed the user to have a colorful, interactive, and immersive virtual reality experience. The Leap Motion tracked the location of your hands and fingers. When you held out your hands in front of you, you could see virtual models of your hands. You could use your hands to draw in your virtual environment and you could also make it rain bananas, pineapples, and confetti. Inside this extremely colorful world, you were situated either in the middle of the ocean or in the sky. This is a prime example of the merging of art, technology, and science. It was truly a unique and awesome experience.

Oculus Rift Display Projected onto the Wall

Theo was also leading some visitors in constructing intriguing balloon sculptures with rubber materials.

How to Balloon

I also had the opportunity to witness some of the Hammer's current exhibits. My favorite was Chris Gaines's Number and Trees. These works were comprised of patterns drawn on grids on acrylic sheets layered over an image of a leafless tree. The patterns on the grids are colored and represent the branching structure of the tree in the background. Each colored cell on the grids also contains a hand-painted number determined by its location in the grid. By combining math and art, Gaines created systematic and mesmerizing masterpieces. His works demonstrated how math is evident in nature and reminded me of week two's lecture on math and art. 

Numbers and Trees II, Spike #4

My experience at the Hammer Museum was amazing, and I would absolutely recommend everyone to go, especially since it is within walking distance of UCLA. You have no excuse not to visit!

Works Cited

"Charles Gaines: Gridwork 1974-1989." The Hammer Museum. Hammer Museum. Web. 27 May 2015.

Gaines, Chris. Numbers and Trees II, Spike #4. Digital image. The Hammer Museum. Web.

"Provocations: The Architecture and Design of Heatherwick Studio - Hammer Museum." The Hammer Museum. Hammer Museum. Web. 27 May 2015.

Event 2: Museum of Jurassic Technology

I visited the Museum of Jurassic Technology on May 9, 2015. Below are a picture of me in the gift shop and a copy of my receipt, since they, unfortunately, do not allow photography inside the exhibits. 

The inside was dimly lit and the atmosphere was spooky. Somewhat like the feeling you have when watching the Twilight Zone. It didn't help that there was a constant sound of metal wind chimes, which turned out to be an array of bells on a rotating apparatus powered by a motor that would rotate periodically. The layout was very much like a maze and it gave off a very mysterious vibe. 

This museum had a plethora of interesting exhibits. One that caught my eye in particular was Art in the Eye of a Needle by Hagop Sandaldjian. He is an Egyptian-born Armenian American micro-miniature sculptor. His most notable works are nano-scale sculptures in the eyes of needles, which ties in with week eight's lecture on nanotechnology. His art requires insane precision and patience. Sandaldjian worked extremely slowly under a microscope and had to time his motions in between heartbeats to maximize his control. The ability to manipulate matter with such precision at that scale is awe-inspiring.

Napoleon

In the eye in the needle stands the colorful statue of Napoleon on a large pedestal.

The Micromosaics of Henry Dalton also tie in closely with nanotechnology and Art in the Eye of a Needle. Dalton was an English scientist and artist who was passionate in science but especially microscopy. He also had an amazing eye for aesthetics. His micromosaics were intricately crafted under a microscope from up to one thousand diatoms and individual butterfly scales. 

Micromosaics of Henry Dalton

Another exhibit that caught my attention was Dreams of Earth and Sky by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, a Russian school teacher who first imagined space travel and life in space. This ties in with week nine's lecture on space. His ideas provided the foundation for modern space travel and inspired space pioneers after his time. His work was also the foundation of rocket theory, and he created the idea of artificial satellites. The Museum of Jurassic Technology displayed Tsiolkovsky's highly technical notes on space travel. His notes were very interesting and contained many detailed sketches of rockets and vessels for sustaining human life.

This was a very interesting experience, and I would recommend the Museum of Jurassic Technology, but bring some friends so it doesn't feel as spooky.

Works Cited

Dalton, Henry. Micromosaics of Henry Dalton. Digital image. Museum Of Jurassic Technology. Web.  

Sandaldjian, Hagop. Napoleon. Digital image. Museum Of Jurassic Technology. Web. 

Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin. Tsiolkovsky Rocket Designs. Digital image. Urbana High School. Web.  

Event 1: College Night at the Getty Center

I went to College Night at the Getty Center on April 27, 2015. This was my first time at the Getty Center, and I was amazed its beauty. 

Here is a picture of me with two Getty curators. 

The two special exhibits that were on display that day were J. M. W. Turner: Painting Set Free and Light Paper Process: Reinventing Photography. Of these two, the Turner exhibit intrigued me more. Turner is a masterful British Romanticist landscape painter who focused on oil and watercolor paintings. His works have a hazy, semi-abstract style. I believe that the hazy appearances give his work a mysterious and sublime feel.

In the piece below, Turner employs techniques discussed in week two's lecture. Although the lines of the structure on the right are somewhat hazy, you can make out that they converge to a vanishing point in the distance. The reflections of the fire in the water and the wall are also really well done, demonstrating turner's understanding of how light bounces off of different surfaces. Turner's masterful use of perspective and his unique artistic style brought his pieces to life.

Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons

Many of Turner's paintings, such as the one below, featured sail ships as an homage for they were soon to be replaced by their steam powered counterparts. 

St. Mawes at the Pilchard Season

Later in his life after he moved to away from marine subjects to the newly constructed railways that guided the locomotives. Turner was most probably inspired by the industrial revolution, which occurred during his lifetime.

Rain Steam and Speed - The Great Western Railway

Aside from the Turner exhibit, I also enjoyed the figure drawing workshop guided by Artist Marissa Magdalena with a live model.

Finally, listening to the live music of the Eva B. Ross Foundation was the perfect way to end the night. It was an amazing experience, and I would definitely recommend this event to everyone.

Works Cited

 "Joseph Mallord William Turner." Artble. Artble. Web. 26 May 2015.  

Turner, Joseph Mallord William. Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons. Digital Image. Web. Digital image. Artble. Web.  

 Turner, Joseph Mallord William. Rain Steam and Speed - The Great. Digital image. Artble. Web.  

 Turner, Joseph Mallord William. St. Mawes at the Pilchard Season. Digital image. Artble. Web.  

Week 8: NanoTech + Art

Nanotechnology deals with a realm completely outside of natural perception and intuition. Our understanding of physics for explaining the behavior of matter at the large scale differs from the laws of physics that governs matter at the nanometer scale. Since nanotechnology deals with such an abstract realm, the imagination of artists is required to help visualize and understand what is occurring at the "bottom." Many visualizations of the nanometer realm are abstractions based on models created from proven theories. The inventions of the scanning tunneling microscope and atomic force microscope have allowed us to accurately visualize matter at the atomic scale. Below is a scanning tunneling microscope image of graphite.

STM image of graphite

The ability to visualize and manipulate matter at the atomic scale gave artists a new medium for expression. Below are two pieces of nano art.

Stadium Corral by Crommie, Luz, and Eigler

Media: Iron on Copper

Carbon Monoxide Man by Zeppenfeld and Eigler

Media: Carbon Monoxide on Platinum

What caught my attention in this week's lecture was the ability to alter a substance's color by manipulating the size of its nanoparticles. The same material can have different properties at the nanometer scale from their properties at the conventional scale. The knowledge of this fact opens many doors for the applications of nanotechnology. I was unaware of and surprised by nanotechnology's prevalence in industry and my own everyday life. One common application is the use of silver nanoparticles' antibacterial properties in modern sportswear.

Socks with silver nanoparticles for killing odor-causing bacteria

Nanotechnology has also been applied in numerous other fields including but not limited to medicine, electronics, foods, fuels, space, and textiles. Nanotechnology is a young field and its potential has not been determined yet, allowing artists and scientists alike to dream of new discoveries, theories, and inventions.

Works Cited

 Feynman, Richard. "Plenty of Room at the Bottom." American Physical Society Annual Meeting. American Physical Society. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. 29 Dec. 1959. Lecture.

Gimzewski, Jim, and Victoria Vesna. The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of Fact & Fiction in the Construction of a New Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://vv.arts.ucla.edu/publications/publications/02-03/JV_nano/JV_nano_artF5VG.htm>.

 Jackson, Alan. "TEACHER’S GUIDE ATOMIC SCALE MICROSCOPY/POWERS OF TEN." Teacher's Guide to Atomic Scale Microscopy and Powers of Ten. Web. 24 May 2015.

 "MADE IN IBM LABS: The World's Tiniest Art on Display." IBM News Room. IBM. Web. 24 May 2015.

 "Nanotechnology Applications: A Variety of Uses." Nanotechnology Applications. Hawk's Perch Technical Writing, LLC. Web. 24 May 2015.

 "What Is Nanotechnology?" What Is Nanotechnology? United States National Nanotechnology Initiative. Web. 24 May 2015.

Week 7: Neurosci + Art

Aristotle believed that the brain was simply a cooling system for blood and that all thought occurred in the heart. Later on, it was discovered that the brain was the primary organ that processes thought and regulates the other organs. The brain determines who you are as a person and was thus labeled as the most important organ in the body. This discovery immediately caught the attention of scientists and artists alike. Advances in technology allowing for the closer study of the brain and the nervous system inspired people to create art based on neuroscience. Greg Dunn, an artist and a neuroscience PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania, studied the complex structure of neurons with a microscope.  In particular he was passionate about minimalist Japanese sumi-e style paintings. Art and science together provoked him to creating his beautiful and mystifying  paintings of neurons.

The Simple Life by Jan Zaremba

Cortex In Metallic Pastels by Greg Dunn

Neuroscience has given people a better understanding of why we perceive things a certain way. It helps us comprehend the emotional effect that art has on us. Art and science come together in consumer marketing. Based on a psychological study by Andrew Elliot at the University of Rochester, the color red evokes stronger and quicker responses from people. Red is the color that most effectively catches our attention and that our brain associates with danger, compelling us to take action. Sale signs are red because our attention is drawn toward the sign and the action it compels is the purchase of the product.

Red Sale Signs

Different colors evoke different emotions and prime our mind to think a certain way. Most people associate red with provocation, blue with security, purple with sophistication, green with health, yellow with warmth, orange with fun, brown with nature, black with prestige, and white with purity. This understanding allows artists to evoke specific emotions in their audience. Additionally, this information is used heavily in logo design and consumer marketing. 

Works Cited

Dunn, Greg. "Gold Leaf." Greg A Dunn Design. Greg A Dunn. Web. 17 May 2015.

Elliot, Andrew J., and Henk Aarts. "Perception of the Color Red Enhances the Force and Velocity of Motor Output." Emotion 11.2 (2011): 445-49. Psycnet.apa.org. American Psychological Association. Web. 17 May 2015. <http://psycnet.apa.org/>.

Frank, Priscilla. "Neuroscience Art: Greg Dunn's Neurons Painted In Japanese Sumi-e Style (PHOTOS, INTERVIEW)." The Huffington Post 23 May 2012. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. Web. 17 May 2015. 

Khan, Humayun. "Why All Sale Signs Are Red: The Science of Color in Retail – Shopify." Shopify. Shopify, 28 Mar. 2014. Web. 17 May 2015.

Williams, Ray. "Mind Control: Neuroscience in Marketing." Psychology Today. Psychology Today, 27 Mar. 2012. Web. 17 May 2015.

Wright, Angela. "Psychological Properties Of Colours." Psychological Properties Of Colours - Colour Affects. Angela Wright. Web. 17 May 2015.

Zaremba, Jan. "Sumi-e." Jan Zaremba. Jan Zaremba, 2010. Web. 17 May 2015.

Week 6: BioTech + Art

DNA is the universal, enigmatic language that describes life on Earth. This blueprint of life is the perfect guide for artists to use to explore the human condition and life in general. The discovery of DNA and the sequencing of the human genome showed society that humans are not that different genetically from our phenotypically different animal, plant, and microbial brethren. It has changed both religion and art.

Fragment of the Human Genome

Mouse and Human Genetic Similarities

The remarkable similarities of our biological inner workings and the interchangeability of our genetic code allowed Eduardo Kac's transgenic projects, most notably Alba, the fluorescent bunny created using the green fluorescent protein from the jellyfish species Aequorea victoria.

Alba, Eduardo Kac's fluorescent bunny

This project brought the public's attention to genetic modified organisms, while corporations that handled genetically modified products tried to keep it secret since they knew that it would spark public concern. They feared that public debate about the ethical and health concerns of genetic modification would lead to regulatory legislation. 

Stelarc's Third Ear

Stelarc pushed the boundary even further and modified his own body through a surgically implanted third ear on his left arm. Although he did not modify his own genetic code, his project evokes shock and creates debate on whether it is ethical to surgically modify one's body beyond restorative and cosmetic purposes and to genetically modify humans at all. With advances in genetics, the concept of designer babies is becoming frighteningly close to reality. Andrew Niccol's movie Gattaca explores the idea of being able to genetically manipulate newborns to have desirable characteristics, such as beauty, intelligence, lack of genetic disorders, and immunity to disease. There are many foreseeable benefits accompanied by just as many or even more ethical concerns. Is it ethical to save people from genetic defects, or is it God's will for them to suffer? What defines a defect? Can genetic inferiority be defined as a defect? Can you design your child to be far superior to its peers? Can we play God? We need artists to explore this field and cause public debate, so that society can figure out where to draw the line for when this technology becomes reality. 

Works Cited

Gattaca. Perf. Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law. Columbia Pictures Corporation, Jersey Films, 1993. Film.

Gallagher, James. "'Designer Babies' Debate Should Start, Scientists Say." British Broadcasting Corporation 19 Jan. 2015. British Broadcasting Corporation. Web. 10 May 2015. <http://www.bbc.com/news/health-30742774>.

Kelty, Chris. “Meanings of Participation: Outlaw Biology?”. Web. 5 Nov. 2012.

Levy, Ellen K.. “Defining Life: Artists Challenge Conventional Classifications.” DESMA 9. Web. 2 Nov 2012.

Jones, Robert. "Bioinformatics and Comparative Genomics." MacDevCenter. O’Reilly Media, Inc., 29 June 2004. Web. 10 May 2015. <http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2004/06/29/bioinformatics.html>.

"Stelarc // Ear on Arm." Stelarc // Ear on Arm. STELARC. Web. 10 May 2015.

Telegraph. "Scientists from 1,000 Genomes Project Have Identified 95 per Cent of Genetic Variations." The Telegraph 27 Oct. 2010. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Web. 10 May 2015. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/8092027/Scientists-from-1000-Genomes-Project-have-identified-95-per-cent-of-genetic-variations.html>.