Event 4: Natural History Museum

For my fourth event, I took a trip to our  neighbors at USC, and visited the Natural History Museum. The moment I walked in, I instantly noticed a huge dinosaur model that instantly grabbed my attention. I got really excited because thinking back to my childhood, dinosaurs were all I would draw, and I haven't visited this museum since the second grade.

The main portion of the exhibit featured life size replicas of various dinosaurs. In some of the glass panels in the exhibit, it explained the complete skeletal structure of various dinosaurs, making me think about just how similar we are to many prehistoric creatures. In another panel, they told me about our closest relatives to the dinosaurs are a lot of birds, and aquatic creatures such as the turtle. The museum was filled with a modeler's visualizations of a dinosaur based on bone discoveries, and we were essentially allowed to look at their research. All of the technology used to excavate these fossils transformed these fossils into pieces of art. In many scenarios, people think that art has to be an abstract, but it can also be representations of our past, present, and future. 

I thought that the exhibit was very interesting to look at as an adult. Its definitely a time that I will remember because I will actually remember everything that happened, and there just so many links to my childhood. There's a lot of information to be gained at these museums. They tell us about a life before ours, showcasing  other moments in history. 

Can't forget to take a picture looking like a T-REX with a T-REX !

Event 3: Getty

For my third event, I had the opportunity to take a short trip up to our local museum, the Getty. This was my first time going to this museum even though I am a Los Angeles local, and let me just say, the experience was amazing. The way the whole museum was built on a mountain, the tram, and the whole facility itself was just jaw dropping. I first walked into the Italian art in the Renaissance exhibit.

Walking through the exhibit, I was greeted by a large gold ornate model featuring Saint James Major. The gold backdrop made it pop out and capture passer's attention, and the placement of it in the room called for instant attention. 

I looked at this painting called Venus and Adonis, and the piece was huge! It took extra time looking at the fine detail that made up each pixel, and if I were this artist, I would have gone insane and the amount of realism that was depicted in this painting. I just love how paintings are able to become interpretations of artists imaginations based off these stories, as it depicts a story of sorrow as Adonis is killed on a hunt despite the plead of his lover, Venus, who stays behind. Of course, these paintings could have skewed representations of actual events, and its up to the audience to interpret and create their own meaning out if it. This is an intrinsic quality of humans; to be able to create connections to people by fire neurons in our brains; according to science.

The last piece I looked at before leaving was the Pair of Sphinxes on Scrolls. It was a composite piece, made up of a woman, and the lower limbs of a reclining lion. According to ancient mythology, these pieces were depicted as demons, and during the Renaissance, these were guardians to portals or tombs. I think it's astonishing to see that a single composite can create different meanings for different people. On top of that, this type of piece is made by infusing different cultures, the mind, and a piece of an individual's soul. The mind was clearly wandering free, and didn't fall to any type social norm.

I would definitely recommend going to the Getty. It was a great experience to look at some historical pieces. All the pieces can tell a very different story, and leaves your mind open to interpretation of our past, and opens up doors for your future of creativity.

Event 2: Griffith

For my second event, I decided to go to one of LA's most notorious view points & museums, Griffith Observatory. This was the first time that I was attending Griffith not for the view point, but for the knowledge and representations of the universe we live in.

I walked around the museum, and I instantly thought that the models were pieces of art. The most eye catching was the periodic table of elements. With buttons at the bottom, it was an interactive learning piece, specifically highlighting certain elements that are commonly found together in terrestrial objects, is an example that art can compliment, and highlights science as a form of a understanding, and organizing information. Unfortunately, these glass boxes did not contain a sample of uranium, which I was hoping to glance at.

As I walked to the lower part of Griffith, I found that the museum did a very good job at representing information about space was very well thought out. The museum is truly a great place to learn about our world and universe, and with the detail in models that they have, learning is only amplified because the incorporation of art, technology, and our understanding of space come into one place. Art comes in many forms and shapes, but sometimes we have to think about the literal representation that it brings to the plate, and how it can help us understand and visualize a concept. 

I would recommend going to the Griffith Observatory because there's just so much knowledge to be gained. I think that it be a bit overwhelming, but if you just gain insight on how insane our universe actually is, it makes you realize just how beautiful life truly is when art and science & technology work in harmony. 

Event 1: Hammer Museum

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit our local museum in Westwood, the Hammer. Unfortunately, security was a little strict and I did not get the chance to take a picture with the exhibits, or of the pieces themselves, so I hope that the images that I post will do justice. The two exhibits that I was able to see were Forrest Bess' Seeing Things Invisible, and James Welling's Monogram. I chose to visit these two exhibits because they were on loan, and if I were to come back another time, there would be the chance that I wouldn't be able to see these pieces again.

I started with the Seeing Things Invisible exhibit. The most captivating thing about this exhibit that I found was Bess' abstract vision of self surgery. He pushed idea of becoming a pseudo-hermaphrodite, and thought that he would achieve immortality as a result. To support his theory of eternal life as a hermaphrodite, Bess circulated a notebook to doctors. Looking more closely at his pieces, the relationship between medical advances and technology to express his vision. This concept is well visualized by his piece "The Greek" 1953. However, despite not being recognized for this ideal up front, he created symbolism that was both personal and universal.

After that, I explored James Welling's Monogram, which is an exhibit based on photography. I was immediately intrigued by the exhibit's description and the gradient design. The exhibit had a series of architectural pieces that pushed viewers to experience architectural photography in a new color scheme. The colors popped out very well because the images were shot were black and white. When I first glanced at the images, I couldn't help but to feel a bit confused about what to look at. The colors were beautiful, and made the image just seem to disappear in the background.. His pieces push the very concept of culture and personal memory in his pieces, making us question the paradigms of contemporary art. 

People should definitely take advantage of what UCLA has to offer, and thus I highly recommend going to the Hammer Museum. The exhibit combine art and science magically, and you can't help but to question your very understanding of art, and the role that science and technology play in this concept.

Week 9: Space and Art

The final topic of this course examines the link between space and art. As Professor Vesna in her lecture, space and art brings together every topic that we have previously discussed; math, biotechnology, nanotechnology, etc, because they are all applicable in space research.

To begin, we gained some insight on the perspective of the Universe in Charles and Ray Eames Power of Ten video. It gave us insight on how tiny we actually are compared to everything that exists. Eventually, if you go out of our galaxy, you can see that Earth can appear comparable to a tiny speck of dust in the when far away. It's actually quite interesting knowing how much real estate humans actually own in the Universe, and it's quite unimpressive. Yet, it's also interesting how today in astronomy, scientists have only been able to account for about five percent of the matter in the Universe even with the rise of discovering new planets. This phenomenon is based on the hypothesis of dark matter, which is thought to be matter that doesn't react to light, and accounts for all the gravitational effects on visible matter.

One of the most creative moves that scientists have made in astronomy has been relating star locations to real world objects. Star patterns or constellations such as the "Big Dipper" is among one of the most famous. They were given names in order to give the Earth a geographical location in space, navigation, myth, and storytelling. Many artists and scholars have been inspired and created amazing tales based on the stars.

Today, one of the most recognized works with space exploration and phenomenon is the Star Wars franchise. Created by George Lucas, it has become a nationally recognized film series based on science fiction and what he imagined to be the future of humanity and space. Of course, many other movies and shows such as Star Trek, E.T., and Aliens VS Predators have shown us how inspirational looking up at night can be. It's truly jawdropping thinking about how space travel can one day include lightspeed, an idea shown prominently in the Star Wars movies, and it inspires scientists to move forward to these ideas, and the stars.

Even though we have an idea of what is out there in the Universe, we don't have the tools to grasp the complete truth. Today, we have had many advancements in technology which has moved our understanding of space, but we have yet to travel outside our own galaxy and visually capture what lies beyond our own star (the sun). The image above was created with data that we collected on the Andromeda Galaxy.

To end, the advances in the space programs leaves us curious and hopeful for new discoveries in the near distant future, as we bring art and space together to visualize our reality.

Art & Nanotechnology

This week, we ventured into the world of nanotechnology and its participation with art. Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter on a molecular or atomic scale. This scale of work is so minuscule that it isn't noticeable by the naked eye, but when put into different fields such as science, technology, and art, it can make a huge difference in the way we perceive things. Nanotechnology is amazing because it is essentially the building blocks of bigger structures.

Dr. Ginzewski described that nanotechnology can be applied to creating new medicines, and treating diseases. Today, cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, and one of the optional treatments are known as "chemotherapy", which is also known as radiation therapy, and tries to target killing the cancerous nanoparticles in the body. However, this type of therapy attacks both healthy and cancerous cells. At the same time, nanotechnology tries to create protective cells that won't be affected by cancer.

Still, the concept of nanotechnology can be applied to the world of art. Many pieces take a considerably high amount of detail such as Georges Seurat's paintings of parks. If viewed closely with a magnifying glass, you can see the number of paint dabs, or even pixels that were involved in creating the image that we can recognize. For instance, if we just saw the painting for the bottom left half, then all we would see is a lake, but this painting is so much more! The nano-details that were involved in putting this together is beyond my skill, and sanity level.

Nanotechnology brings into perspective just how big our world actually is. It makes us dwell and think about the small pieces that make the big picture come together. Whether it is a solid color, or a gradient like the rainbow, it tells us that there is "more than meets the eye". In retrospect, nanotechnology has a huge potential  for the world of tomorrow. It opens the door to revolutionary ideas by creating a small piece of the big puzzle.

Citations:

"Nanotechnology." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Nov. 2013. Web. 23 Nov. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanotechnology>.

"Nanotechnology in Cancer Treatment." Nanotechnology in Cancer Treatment. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. <http://www.understandingnano.com/cancer-treatment-nanotechnology.html>.

"Art in the Age of Nanotechnology." Artabase. N.p., 5 Feb. 2010. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://www.artabase.net/exhibition/2104-art-in-the-age-of-nanotechnology>.

"Ray Kurzweil: A University for the Coming Singularity." TED: Ideas worth Spreading. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://www.ted.com/talks/ray_kurzweil_announces_singularity_university.html>.

 "Nanotechnology Explained." - IEEE. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.

Gimzewski, Jim. "Nanotech Jim Pt1." YouTube. YouTube, 21 May 2012. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.


Vesna, Victoria. "Nanotech Intro." YouTube. YouTube, 26 Mar. 2012. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.

Week 7: Neuroscience and Art

This week, we started to submerge ourselves in the world of the mind and human perceptions. Neuroscience is a intricate and complex study, and it continually tries to engage itself with the public on a regular basis. Neuroscience attempts to study and our individual minds, and evaluates our brains.

Are the color dots blinking, or are still?

Art often tries to take advantage of perception to create new works. In some cases, optical illusions can affect how we perceive these creative works by confusing our brain. In this example, our eyes try to trick our brain into thinking that the color dots are moving, or blinking, when they are actually staying still. The black and white spiral confuses our brain into trying to pinpoint the colored dots, and thus creates an illusion that makes us think harder than necessary.

LSD Painting

Professor Vesna talked a lot about hallucinogens used to create art by affecting our senses. This includes LSD, stimulants, and many other drugs, and they alter an individual's perception of the world around them. Many instances of using hallucinogens include impaired judgement, blurring visions, and color shifts, however these are just limited things I read through research.

"Beauty" on the Left, Beauty on the Right.

I think the most influencial perception we have in our lives is beauty. Today, the media plays a huge role in shaping our brains to think a certain way, and setting rules for "beauty". However, this ideal is wrong. We grow up in different environments, and our experiences shape our depiction of what beauty is. 

Citations:

"Acid Trip 1." Acid Trip 1. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.cowboybooks.com.au/html/acidtrip1.html>.

"Beauty Perception." Beauty Perception. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://beauty-perception.tumblr.com/page/2>.

"Neuroscience-pt1.mov." YouTube. YouTube, 17 May 2012. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzXjNbKDkYI>.

"Neuroscience Pt3." YouTube. YouTube, 16 May 2012. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5EX75xoBJ0>.

"How LSD Works." HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.howstuffworks.com/lsd.htm>.