Event Blog 2: Torrance Art Museum

http://www.torranceartmuseum.com

For my second event blog, I chose to attend a place that was close to home for me! Living fifteen minutes away from Torrance my whole life, I never knew that there was a museum that existed so close to me! Taking this course has allowed me to discover the Torrance Art Museum, a small city sponsored museum that has free admission! I learned a lot through the exhibits from this museum that correlated very nicely with the topics we've been discussing in this course. My favorite piece from the first exhibit was the Consensus piece, which is composed of wood connected by metal, with a jar of margarita in the center. This piece is representative of a balance that reflected the tensions between humans and factors such as social and physical environments. This piece helped reinforce the concept ofart and mathematics because you need mathematics in order to create and understand a balance that shows when one aspect is more heavily weighted than another, there must be some type of affect on the opposite side of the balance. The two cultures were intertwined very nicely to create a reflective and representative piece of art.

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>.

Week 5: Nanotech+Art; Space+Art

     Nanotechnology+Art

how-nanotechnology-could-reengineer-us.jpg

    As we learned in lecture this week, nanotechnology is how we are able to manipulate things on an atomic scale and according to Richard Feynman, it also allows the creation of new effects. The creation of new effects is where, in my opinion, the concept of art becomes intertwined with nanotechnology. As shown in the photo below, artists and scientists have used their skills to create what is known as the "assembler concept" to understand molecular schemes and how they work in a creative and artistic way. The photo represents a set of atoms which are normally invisible to the human eye. However, nanotechnology and art have teamed up to give atoms an existence in real space, allowing scientists and students to do more analysis and studies on molecules.

Smith_Nanotechnology3_305.jpg

   The "Art in the Age of Nanotechnology" article showcased many examples of art influenced by nanotechnology. I was amazed to read about the invention of Boo Chapple's audio speakers made of bones because it demonstrates how nanotechnology allows endless possibilities for creations of art. This blew my mind away because it is such an innovative and original idea that would not have been possible without nanotechnology, which gave me a new appreciation and interest in this field.

NOKIA002forweb1.jp  this photo is another creation of Boo Chapple. It is the creation of an edible phone.

Space+Art

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.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q99q5dV2ko

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.

constellation_north.gif

Citations:

• "An Eames Office Website." Powers of Ten Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2013. <http://blog.powersof10.com/>.
• "Art in the Age of Nanotechnology." Artabase. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2013. <http://www.artabase.net/exhibition/2104-art-in-the-age-of-nanotechnology>.
• "Constellations, Clusters of Stars, and Star Names." UNLV Department of Physics and Astronomy. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2013. <http://www.physics.unlv.edu/~jeffery/astro/constellation/constellation.html>.
• "Edible Cellphones." Edible Geography. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2013. <http://www.ediblegeography.com/edible-cellphones/>.
• "How Nanotechnology Could Reengineer Us." - Keithley Instruments Inc. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2013. <http://www.keithley.com/knowledgecenter/How-Nanotechnology-Could-Reengineer-Us>.
• "Nanotechnology Enables Real Atomic Precision." By Desktop Engineering. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2013. <http://www.deskeng.com/articles/aaasmb.htm>.
• Star Wars Episode VII Trailer 2015. Dir. Mr88668866. Youtube.com. Youtube.com, 10 Dec. 2012. Web. 27 July 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q99q5dV2ko>.
• "Wallcoo.net." Astronomical Art : NASA Discovery Space Shuttle in Mission 1920 1600 2. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2013. <http://www.wallcoo.net/cartoon/space_image_space_and_satellite/html/wallpaper2.html>.

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.

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. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKaWJ72x1rI

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. 

Citations:

• "Digital Quantification of Five High-Grade Prostate Cancer Patterns, Including the Cribriform Pattern, and Their Association With Adverse Outcome." Digital Quantification of Five High-Grade Prostate Cancer Patterns, Including the Cribriform Pattern, and Their Association With Adverse Outcome. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 July 2013. <http://ajcp.ascpjournals.org/content/136/1/98/F1.expansion.html>.
• Epipheo. "What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains [Epipheo.TV]." YouTube. YouTube, 06 May 2013. Web. 20 July 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKaWJ72x1rI>.
• Kelty, Chirs. "meanings of participation: Outlaw Biology?". 2010. Web. 19 July 2013.
• "Mimpeen." .blog-2010.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 July 2013. <http://mimpeen.blog-2010.com/The-first-blog-b1/Molecular-Cell-Biology-read-online-b1-p4.htm>.
• Vesna, Victoria. "Neuroscience-pt1.mov." YouTube. Uconlineprograms, 17 May 2012. Web. 20 July 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzXjNbKDkYI>.

Event Blog #1: First Visit to the Hammer Museum!

http://c299813.r13.cf1.rackcdn.com/HammerMuseum_1344351148_org.jpg

For my first event, I decided to visit the Hammer Museum because I've never been there and I've always wanted to, considering it's so close to UCLA! I even decided to take my best friend Lisa along with me so that I could get a different perspective on the art that I would see, which made the experience even more fun! The first exhibit we visited was the French artist Cyprien Gaillard's exhibit in which we saw his series Gates, which was made up of different manhole covers, as shown in the photo below. The different manhole covers helped me to understand the relationship between industrialization and its influence in art, which is a topic we covered in week two. This also helped inspire me to base my final project on this relationship of industrialization and art.

http://static0.artsy.net/post_images/5186890bbfc75a465f00002e/large.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. 

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>.

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.

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQgbBHvx2VWESfKzowzf9AbLXDR0zh5WZkIFGIOuvc8YmQMlLu66g

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.

http://www.colourbox.com/image/scientist-looking-through-a-microscope-in-a-laboratory-image-4409597?ver=a&utm_expid=22365066-12&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Di%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26esrc%3Ds%26source%3Dimages%26cd%3D%26docid%3DjEHCKeolLP6JsM%26tbnid%3D9ja6HezfSDrpzM%3A%26ved%3D0CAEQjxw%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.colourbox.com%252Fimage%252Fscientist-looking-through-a-microscope-in-a-laboratory-image-4409597%26ei%3DZkXeUbr-GaOXiAKp84DADA%26bvm%3Dbv.48705608%2Cd.cGE%26psig%3DAFQjCNHO2BKEln-fy5fhFVA5uq0jWz-3vw%26ust%3D1373607645992406

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.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6hn3sA0ip0

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>.

Week 2: Mathematics+Art; Robotics+Art

http://info.marygrove.edu/MATblog/bid/87874/Fac-e-ing-Mathematics-through-arts-integration

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. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr_xWfThjJ0

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.

http://islamic-arts.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Masjede_Shah_painting.jpg

http://img.dictionary.com/architecture-320698-329-400.jpg

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.

http://theresurgence.com/files/2009/06/25/20090625_the-industrial-revolution-welcome-to-the-machine-part-3_poster_img.jpg

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. 

http://walterbenjaminportbou.cat/en/content/walter-benjamin

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>.