| http://www.southbaydigs.com/south-coast-botanical-gardens/
For my final event, I decided to visit the South Coast Botanic Garden in Palos Verdes! This place was absolutely amazing, I was very shocked because I did not expect it to be as big and diverse in plants as it was! There are over 2500 species of plants from various parts of the world, and there are also sightings of many different bird species you may catch if you're able to visit! Science is a fundamental part of botanical gardens, as I saw when I visited this one in particular, because with science, botanists are able to name the different plants and group them together in different ways. They used concepts in genetics and studies in phylogenetic trees to help them come up with the names of these plants. The names of these plants are based on the families, genus, phylum, and other groups that it belongs to and is categorized with.
This photo is a personal picture I took of a desert plant I thought was very pretty and interesting.
This is a photo of me in the South Coast Botanic Garden
Among the various science aspects of the botanical garden that I found, I also explored the artistic opportunities that were available to visitors. For example, there are many different events held throughout the summer, one being the "Oriental Impressionistic Watercolor" event, where visitors can learn to create pictures of nature from an artist named Hisako Asano. Events like these offered at the South Coast Botanical Garden allowed me to draw on the relationships between science and art because it showed me how something that is maintained and nurtured through the use of science, in this case, the many plants and flowers of the botanical garden, could inspire creations in art.
I think that everyone should take a visit to the South Coast Botanic Garden, especially now during the summer. It has a small lake that you can sit by and enjoy, as well as plenty areas of shade where you can relax and enjoy the weather. This is a place to be surrounded by beauty and peace, here is a look inside:
Citations:
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Saturday, August 3, 2013
Event post #3: South Coast Botanic Garden
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Event Blog 2: Torrance Art Museum
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| http://www.torranceartmuseum.com |
This is my friend Robert, who is enjoying the art!
The second exhibit of Color Consciousness is inspired by the relationship between color and human psyche. This exhibit was a great way to help me get an understanding of neuroscience and art because it included great examples of how these two work together to make great creations.
This photo represents how our brain may interpret various visions differently. For example, the different color schemes shown here in this piece of art of the different shades and tones of each person allows one to make different interpretations of the photo. In the top right photo, the difference between the colored side versus the black and white side of the woman's face may cause different moods that a person may apply to the photo. This is a very scientific idea that is expressed in art, and it helped me to see how neuroscience and art can come together to study things such as the science between color and the reaction it causes in human brain.
My visit to TAM was a great experience and I would recommend it to all of you because it is free and interesting! It is not a very large museum, however, I think the select pieces are each individually unique and worth the visit. I am hoping to use the concepts that I learned from the art pieces I viewed in my final project to help me come up with an invention that artistically involves neuroscience and mathematics.
Citations:
- "ART MATH=X." Plus.maths.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2013. <http://plus.maths.org/content/artmathx>.
- "Color Psychology." About.com Psychology. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2013. <http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/a/colorpsych.htm>.
- Landau, Elizabeth. "What the Brain Draws From: Art and Neuroscience." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 28 July 2013. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/15/health/art-brain-mind>.
- TAM. Digital image. The Torrance Art Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.torranceartmuseum.com/artists.php>.
- "The Torrance Art Museum." The Torrance Art Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2013. <http://www.torranceartmuseum.com/artists.php>.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Week 5: Nanotech+Art; Space+Art
Nanotechnology+Art
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| how-nanotechnology-could-reengineer-us.jpg |
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| Smith_Nanotechnology3_305.jpg |
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| NOKIA002forweb1.jp this photo is another creation of Boo Chapple. It is the creation of an edible phone.
Space+Art
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| Space Satellite CG art images EF08#SI0279.JPG
Advances in technology have lead to the great creation of the spaceship, which has opened up the world of space to humans. Thanks to technology, we are able to explore a new world of the unknown, something that is very fascinating and exciting! Since there is so much mystery about life and existence apart from Earth, people have begun to use their imaginations to come up with what may or may not be out there. I thank technology because it has brought creativity to movie makers, for example, the series Star Wars, which is based off of characters and inventions from different worlds.
Inventions, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, has allowed us to view things outer space. For example, my favorite thing to look at are stars. The photo below shows constellations, which represents how art can be used to interpret space.
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Friday, July 19, 2013
Week 4: Biotech+Art;Neuroscience+Art
This week's topics of biotechnology and neuroscience in association with art has opened up my eyes to relationships of these two cultures that I have never noticed before! After reading "meanings of participation: Outlaw Biology?", I learned that the vast amount of research and discovery that medical technologies have provided for our society is what lead to the abundant amounts of art that we find in books. As the article points out, medical technologies have made it possible for researchers to observe many patterns in genomic sequences, which have lead to a better and clearer understanding of genetics. This has lead to a creation in many other forms of researching genetics, which could be seen as artistic creations because people have come up with different forms of mapping out sequences, which gives alternatives in visualizing research, allowing people to learn in different ways. Thanks to the advances in research made today, I have been fortunate as a student to have access to books made with art that helps me understand chemistry, biology, and many other subjects.
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| http://mimpeen.blog-2010.com/The-first-blog-b1/Molecular-Cell-Biology-read-online-b1-p4.htm |
 This photo of patterns seen in prostate cancer is made possible through medical technologies. |
| http://ajcp.ascpjournals.org/content/136/1/98/F1.expansion.html
Professor Vesna's lecture on the topic of neuroscience and art brought up an interesting question, which was whether the advances in medical technologies have helped "expand our consciousness", or whether it is turning us, in a sense, into the machines by taking away or ability to think for ourselves and do the thinking for us. I personally think that technology is potentially harming our abilities to think for ourselves because it is giving people the option of throwing critical thinking and analysis out of the window to depend on technology to get the work done for them.
This video is great evidence as to how technologies can take away from the advantages of the neuroscience in humans. This can be applied to medical technologies specifically, because with more artistic developments that are created in order to understand sciences and mathematics comes more independence humans become on their short term memory, an idea explored in the video. Humans are able to access answers to what is unknown to them without having to contemplate on what they learn and thus without having to work their short term memory. This results in humans not being able to learn something with complete understanding, something that is bad because our brains are not making the most of use the neuroscience in our systems that allows us to become more intelligent.
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Event Blog #1: First Visit to the Hammer Museum!
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| http://c299813.r13.cf1.rackcdn.com/HammerMuseum_1344351148_org.jpg |
this is the pamphlet I received for the Cyprien Gaillard exhibit
The next exhibit that we visited was the Quincy Jones exhibit, which was my favorite for the day. Quincy Jones was a successful architecture who was known for the intricate designs that he put into his buildings. This exhibit opened my eyes to the world of creativity that opens up due to the relationship of science and art! This world of creativity is seen in Jones' work, as shown in the photos I took below because his drawings and sketches of the buildings he was going to make was an artwork of their own. However, he used science and mathematics in order to make these drawings turn into real life. I really admire Jones' work because it is so unique and innovative.
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| http://www.eichlernetwork.com/sites/default/files/imported/images/socal/garycooper_10.jpg |
My visit to the Hammer museum was a very memorable and enjoyable one, especially because it was exciting to see pieces of art that I could use to better understand what I have been learning in this course. I would recommend everyone to go to the Hammer museum, not just for better understanding and interpretation of the topics covered in this course, but for leisure as well! It is a very peaceful environment and you can just walk around and enjoy the beautiful sights that surround you.
Citations:
- "A. Quincy Jones - Exhibitions - Hammer Museum." A. Quincy Jones - Exhibitions - Hammer Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 July 2013.
- "Encore Performance: The Gary Cooper House - Page 2." Eichler Network: Home of CA-Modern Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 July 2013. <http://www.eichlernetwork.com/article/encore-performance-gary-cooper-house?page=0,1>.
- "Hammer Museum." Hammer Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 July 2013. <http://hammer.ucla.edu/>.
- "Hammer Museum Los Angeles." Pictify. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 July 2013. <http://pictify.com/user/HammerMuseum>.
- "Your Post Has Been Published." Artsy. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 July 2013. <http://artsy.net/post/daniellerago-cyprien-gaillard-uncovers-la>.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Week 3: MedTech+Art
This week's topic of medical technologies influence art concepts really interested me, because it allowed me to see things in my own major that I was never able to reflect on before. For example, being a science major, I never appreciated the connection there is between art and the chemistry problems that I had to do and understand. Donald E. Ingber's "The Architecture of Life" allowed me to see this connection because he talks about organic structures of chemicals and how the concept of self-assembly allows the study of a chemical's real three dimensional shape. Here we see art and science coming together because the discoveries of science can lead to artwork created and inspired to give precise images of what a chemical's structure is.
Medical technologies have influenced this type of art because it can give more advanced images of a chemical's structure, which can allow scientists and doctors to do further studies. The advances in medical technologies has also helped me personally as a student because things such as the microscope has allowed me to view certain species in my biology labs, which helped me to illustrate my own perception of them. This is helpful in small species because it allows one to draw details that others may not be able to see, which could also lead to more studies on various subjects.
Medical technologies have influenced this type of art because it can give more advanced images of a chemical's structure, which can allow scientists and doctors to do further studies. The advances in medical technologies has also helped me personally as a student because things such as the microscope has allowed me to view certain species in my biology labs, which helped me to illustrate my own perception of them. This is helpful in small species because it allows one to draw details that others may not be able to see, which could also lead to more studies on various subjects.
As Professor Vesna discussed in lecture, using art can lead to a better understanding and knowledge of studies in science. For example, she talked about how drawing the human body in a very detailed manner helped her to understand the more advanced art created from medical technology. The video below shows how medical technology has allowed scientists to study processes that go on in our bodies, in this example, the process of mitosis. Thus, medical technology influenced art in inspiring the creation of videos to be made to explain these processes. This video helped me to understand our topic this week because I actually use this form of art to help me understand science ideas that I cannot visualize on my own.
Citations:
- Ingber, Donald E. "The Architecture of Life." Scientific American, Inc., 1997. Web. 11 July 2013.
- Ndsuvirtualcell. "Mitosis." YouTube. YouTube, 04 Aug. 2011. Web. 11 July 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6hn3sA0ip0>.
- "Rob Garrod's Astrochemistry Pages." Rob Garrods Astrochemistry Pages. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 July 2013. <http://www.astro.cornell.edu/~rgarrod/research/complex-organic-molecules/>.
- "Scientist Looking through a Microscope in a Laboratory." Image of '' N.p., n.d. Web. 11 July 2013.
- Vesna, Victoria. “Medicine and Art: Part 2.” YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded>.
Friday, July 5, 2013
Week 2: Mathematics+Art; Robotics+Art
My reflection on this week's topic of mathematics and arts begins in Professor Vesna's lecture when she
talks about how the connection of mathematics and arts is what contributes to the connection between arts and science. Professor Vesna's example of the artist Joe Tob shows how the mathematical idea of "Linear Perspective" contributed to the art that he made, in that he was able to manipulate the way he drew his projects to allow viewers to see a three dimensional object on a surface that was flat. M.C. Escher's finding of the "The Logic of Space" also allows artists to use art to create perspectives of their artwork that make it seem more realistic and art pieces that contain illusions. Over time, the idea of linear perspective and mathematics in relation to art has been expanded, and now we have technology that makes it easier to combine math and art. The photo above shows how the mathematics of computers enhances the art of the faces drawn. Programs such as Photoshop were used to make even further advances in the sketches made by hand because as you can see, the edited faces look more real and less like drawings. This photo allows me to understand the influence of mathematics in art and science because it shows how the technology created through mathematics opens up these two cultures by giving them more tools to improve and make further creative choices on.
Mathematics has contributed to the art form of films, in which there are many movies based on math. For example, mathematics serves as the basis for the film "21, where we see how people can use it to help them win money in gambling. Films, such as "21" helps me to see how mathematics has influenced art because it shows how art can be used to explain math and creatively express it.
In my opinion, architecture is a great example of mathematics+art because you need mathematics to create the beautiful monuments, buildings, and skyscrapers that we have today.
The second part of this blog is about the impact and influence of industrialization on art and science, in which we see that industrialization could allow art to be refined, reproduced, and progressed. For example, as Professor Vesna talked about in lecture, machines were built so that books could be reproduced. This had an impact because it allowed literature to be reached out to many people, allowing others to become more educated because they are given the materials needed to learn more about other topics.
In Walter Benjamin's opinion, he thinks that industrialization and the creation of machinery ruins the authenticity of art, as stated in "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction". I disagree with his point of view, because I think that the authenticity of an artwork will always be preserved in the original piece, and that any further reproduction of an original piece simply allows more exposure to the piece so that its creation may be shared with others around the world. I think that the advances in machinery and industrialization has made it possible for the advances in art. It allows artists to have many other options and tools to create their work. Having more advanced tools does not mean that one must forget about the more simpler way of doing things, however, it may make things easier, which isn't necessarily bad. I think that industrialization has given limitless possibilities for artists in the art they have the ability to create.
Citations:
- "Imam (Shah) Mosque in Isfahan, Iran." Islamic Arts and Architecture. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 July 2013.
- "INTRODUCTION." Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 July 2013.
- "MAT Blog." Fac(e)ing Mathematics through Arts Integration. N.p., 11 Oct. 2012. Web. 05 July 2013.
- Vesna, Victoria. "Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov." YouTube. YouTube, 09 Apr. 2012. Web. 05 July 2013.
- "Walter Benjamin." A Portbou. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 July 2013.
- YouTube. Dir. Kevin Duong. YouTube. YouTube, 28 Feb. 2010. Web. 05 July 2013.
- YouTube. Perf. Victoria Vesna. YouTube. YouTube, 15 Apr. 2012. Web. 06 July 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRw9_v6w0ew>.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Week 1: Two Cultures
Hello, my name is Nicole Nguyen, and this week's topic of "Two Cultures" is something that is very applicable to my life. I was born and raised in California by my mother who is from Vietnam. Growing up, I was used to living between two different cultures, the American culture that I was living in and the Vietnamese culture that I was being taught by. At home I would speak vietnamese to my family and as soon as I stepped away from my house, I was speaking english. This exposure to two cultures in my personal life helped contribute to my interest in learning about other people and where they come from so that I can learn and share experiences.
School is another aspect in my life where the concept of two cultures exists. I can either obtain a Bachelors of Science degree or a Bachelors of Art degree. At UCLA, there is a pretty clear set of courses that divides students working towards a science major compared to students working toward a major geared towards the arts. For example, science majors require certain series that need to be completed and because of this, students pursuing science majors normally see the same people in their classes. Students pursuing art majors have more variations in the courses they take, and may have less redundancy in the people they see in their classes.
This logo refers to students majoring in the sciences
This logo refers to students majoring in arts and architecture
I definitely agree with the perspective of C.P. Snow in that there are two cultures, one being that of the arts and the other of the sciences. However, this perspective has allowed me to further contemplate on whether these two cultures must always be distinct. In other words, I think that there can be gray areas in which a person can be both artistically AND scientifically cultured. I do not think that people are limited to being categorized into simply one of these two cultures, which is something that I was able to discover with Kevin Kelly's article about the third culture. He speaks about how the new culture of technology has allowed the overlap of science and art to be shown. Kelly's perspective that the progress in science is necessary for there to be progress in technology is one that I agree with because technology cannot fix everything and may be very prone to error. Therefore, it is important to remember the two cultures and use it as a foundation to help create and enhance future cultures to come.
This photo represents how science and art can overlap and create many new cultures.
Citations:
- Kelly, Kevin. "The Third Culture." Science Mag. Science 13, Feb. 1998. Web. 25 June 2013. <http://www.sciencemag.org/content/279/5353/992.full>.
- Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. Cambridge [Eng.: University, 1959. Web.
- Williams, Christopher M. "A Dangerous Divide." The New York Academy of Sciences. Science & the City, 24 July 2009. Web. 25 June 2013. <http://www.nyas.org/Publications/Ebriefings/Detail.aspx?cid=74e271bd-4ba6-47cd-8f0a-add2ef8234cd>.
- "Bachelors of Science." Bachelors of Science RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 June 2013.
- YouTube. Uconlineprogram, 30 Mar. 2012. Web. 25 June 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNI7dF3DIAM&feature=player_embedded>.
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