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.