Friday, August 8, 2014
Sunday, August 3, 2014
EC EVENT 2: MATH + WAVES + SOUNDS
On the 30th, I attended Professor Vesna's lecture regarding the combination of math, sound, and waves. We were asked that if no one was there to hear a tree fall, does it still make a sound? This lead to the question: what is sound? Some people said it was based on vibrations through air but we concluded that sound is a relationship between an object and its listener. Still, many sounds are imperceptible to the human ear, but that doesn't make it any less of a sound than the things we hear. In fact, humans are imperceptible to most of what happens in the world, from the footsteps of microscopic creatures to the hum of celestial bodies based on orbital hum.
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| Chladni Figures |
An interesting art form I learned about was cymatics: the visualization of sound by vibrating medium. Jurist, musician, and physicist Ernst Chladni was actually the first person to show that sound has the ability to make geometric patterns with matter. For example, if we vibrate an elastic plate with sand on it, the plate will vibrate as a whole, but also in sections like a wave. Some parts will oscillate up and down (anti-nodes), while some parts won't vibrate at all (nodes). The sand will collect where the nodes are and create beautiful patterns.
I was also very fascinated by the works of John Cage, who was famous for his composition of 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence.
The art of this piece isn't in the silence, but in the ability for people to notice the other sounds around them that they don't usually hear. I find genius in Cage's idea because he was able to use something so simple, and teach people to be more aware of their environment.
Other interesting topics:
Max Neuhaus: artist who projected sound underwater
Can ears blink? Can we temporarily "not hear?"
Noise Cancellation:
A microphone can play inverse of the sound it receives creating destructive interference and canceling the sound.
Sono, a noise cancellation device
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| UCLA's very own anechoic chamber |
Sources:
"John Cage - 4'33"" YouTube. YouTube, 1 Oct. 2010. Web. 02 Aug. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY7UK-6aaNA>.
Pettersson, Peter. "Science Mysteries." Cymatics - The Science of the Future?World-Mysteries.com, n.d. Web. 02 Aug. 2014. <http://www.world-mysteries.com/sci_cymatics.htm>.
Plafke, James. "Sono, a Noise Cancelation and Isolation Device That Sticks on Your Window.
ExtremeTech." ExtremeTech. Ziff Davis, 8 Nov. 2013. Web. 02 Aug. 2014
<http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/170649-sono-a-noise-cancelation-and-isolation-device
that-sticks-on-your-window>.
Malter, Erich. "John Cage :: Official Website." John Cage :: Official Website. John Cage Trust,
2013. Web. 02 Aug. 2014. <http://johncage.org/>.
"Max Neuhaus." Max Neuhaus. The Estate of Max Neuhaus, n.d. Web. 02 Aug. 2014. <http://www.max-neuhaus.info/drawings/waterwhistle/>.
EC EVENT 1: CLOUD CHAMBERS
My favorite was his rendering of the black hole, which was also generated through code. The black hole also had wave-like sounds, which goes back to my previous post on "Senses + Perception," where I noted that even space makes sound. His black hole was somehow mesmerizing, especially with the way the blue, pink, and red spun into each other, and the spirals in the middle. I enjoyed the way he combined physics, code, and art all together and his work is inspiration for the kind of work i would like to do in the future.
Video: Black Hole Rendition
O'Leary also showed us and interesting exhibit in the Griffith Observatory called the "Cloud Chamber" that was his inspiration for his project. The exhibit consists of matter running in a box, and cosmic rays, sun particles, and radiation magnetizes the vapor as it passes the chamber and is able to "render the invisible" as O'Leary strives to do with his work. Embarrassingly, I must have missed this exhibit when I went to the Griffith Observatory, but it definitely seems like a magical process worth seeing.
Going off the theme of "rendering the invisible," O'Leary also went to look at a dark matter detector, or "time projection machine." The machine contained thin threads of steel that were supposed to catch the dark matter as it passed by causing electrons to fire off. His photograph of the machine is a beautiful capture of science, and truly looks like a time machine out of a science fiction movie.
Sources:
"Christopher O'Leary." Christopher O'Leary. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 July 2014. <http://cargocollective.com/chrisoleary/>.
"Datamoshing." Know Your Meme News. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 July 2014. <http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/datamoshing>.
"Edge of Space Mezzanine." Griffith Observatory. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 July 2014. <http://www.griffithobservatory.org/exhibits/bedgeofspace.html>.
O'Leary, Christopher. "Black Hole Animation." Vimeo. N.p., 2013. Web. 29 July 2014. <http://vimeo.com/64747163>.
"The Allen Telescope Array." SETI Institute. SETI Institute, n.d. Web. 29 July 2014. <http://www.seti.org/ata>.
EVENT 3: SENSES + PERCEPTION
I attended Professor Vesna's lecture on the 28th regarding senses and perception. We started off watching a video called Solipsist, directed by Andrew Huang. Solipsism is the theory that the self all that can be known to exist. The video shows different people attempting to connect with each other, but ultimately remaining separate. I can't help but disagree with solipsism in a way because, though we only know our own mind, I feel that all living things are scientifically connected; we all started from the same seed and branched out into our separate species. Nevertheless, the video is comprised of amazing graphics and artwork.
Video: SOLIPSIST
Regarding our sense of sight, I was interested to learn of an experiment where scientists were able to visually reconstruct images people have seen by reading their brain activity. They used an MRI scanner to measure blood flow through the brain's visual cortex. If we can extract images from the brain, maybe it's possible to extract memories or dreams too.
The lecture elaborated a lot on our sense of hearing and sounds in life. Acoustic ecology is the study of streams in the environment and how living things interact with the environment.We were given a bunch of audio tracks recorded from different places of different animals interacting with their environment. These sounds give us a way to hear mating calls and how living creatures communicate.
I thought the most interesting part of the lecture was the video about hearing small sounds. Using an anechoic chamber where walls are insulated and there is no echo, Jem Stansfield is able to hear a snail slithering across the ground, which he described as a "crisp packet rustling [its] way around the world." He is also able to hear maggots and the footsteps of a centipede. The video showed me how besides our world, there are also other worlds that we are not aware of, and frankly, everything makes sound. Our ears are just not sensitive enough to hear them.
Here is a video showing the sounds of space that I thought was pretty interesting. We would think space would be quiet, but indeed, everything has sound.
Sources:
Coxworth, Ben. "Scientists Reconstruct Visual Stimuli by Reading Brain Activity." Gizmag. Gizmag, 23 Sept. 2011. Web. 30 July 2014. <http://www.gizmag.com/reconstructing-visual-stimuli/19934/>.
"How Loud Is a Slithering Snail? - Bang Goes The Theory - Series 6 Episode 2 - BBC One." YouTube. YouTube, 19 May 2012. Web. 30 July 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ4Bh2RkQhM>.
Huang, Andrew. "SOLIPSIST." Vimeo. Vimeo, LLC, 2012. Web. 30 July 2014. <http://vimeo.com/37848135>.
"NASA Space Sounds." YouTube. YouTube, 10 Feb. 2012. Web. 30 July 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MmWeZHsQzs>.
Sondhi, Jason. "Solipsist by Andrew Huang | Experimental Short Film." Short of the Week. Short of the Week, n.d. Web. 30 July 2014. <http://www.shortoftheweek.com/2012/03/05/solipsist/>.
EVENT 2: LACMA
I found a work by Piet Mondrian called "Composition in White, Red, and Yellow." Piet Mondrian was mentioned in our "Math + Art" lecture, and many of his works consists of simple black lines creating a tile-like collage of squares and rectangles. Though these simple lines seem irrelevant, it is crucial to notice his use of math in his work ( the perpendicular lines, the use of geometric shapes to create art), which may be why he was noticed in the first place. Going off of geometric shapes, I also found a work by Wassily Kandinksy who overlapped circles, lines, and color, and created a piece of art that was both dynamic and interesting. The overlap of color created different shades and shapes within the circles.
The "Bone Chaise Longue" by Joris Laarman is a combination of biotech and art. Using the structure of bone tissue for optimal strength and Ray Eame's "La Chaise chair" as a precedent, Laarman created his own "chair" that also has the scientific rendering of bone tissue.
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| "Molecule TGE" |
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| "Nocturne Radio" |
The last exhibit I want to share was the "Nocturne Radio" which is not only a dazzling piece art, but was also a functional radio in the 1930's, representing "speed, control, and progress" during the depressing era. The radio also exudes geometrical design that is popular in modern art.
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| My friend and I enjoying the "Urban Lights" |
"Bone Chaise Longue by Joris Laarman." Droog Studio. Droog, n.d. Web. 30 July 2014. <http://studio.droog.com/studio/all/smart-deco-i/bone-chaise-longue-by-joris-laarman/>.
Kudler, Adrian Glick. "9 Things to Know About the Huge Proposed LACMA Redesign." Curbed LA. Vox Media Inc, 1 May 2013. Web. 30 July 2014. <http://la.curbed.com/archives/2013/05/9_things_to_know_about_the_huge_proposed_lacma_redesign.php>.
"Los Angeles County Museum of Art." Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Museum Associates, n.d. Web. 30 July 2014. <http://www.lacma.org/>.
Poundstone, William. "Bluin Art Info." Walter Teague’s “Nocturne,” an Icon of Coolness. Louise Blouin Media, 3 Mar. 2013. Web. 30 July 2014. <http://blogs.artinfo.com/lacmonfire/2013/03/03/walter-teagues-nocturne-an-icon-of-coolness/>.
"The Art Story.org." Piet Mondrian Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works. The Art Story Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 July 2014. <http://www.theartstory.org/artist-mondrian-piet.htm>.
EVENT 1: GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY
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| Me hanging out with Einstein |
The Griffith Observatory was one of the most aesthetic experiences I ever had and is the perfect example of the integration of space and art. Beyond its architectural beauty, it is a public monument filled with astronomical treasures. Right at the start to greet its visitors is "The Astronomer's Monument," which honors the six astronomers: Hipparchus, Nicholas Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Isaac Newton, and William Herschel. Both Copernicus's heliocentric model and Newton's laws have been mentioned in our lectures as great foundations of the science world.
Right as I entered the doors I came across this gigantic pendulum which actually demonstrates the Earth's rotation. A 240-pound brass ball hangs from the ceiling and swings at a constant direction as the Earth turns beneath it. As the day passes the pendulum knocks over pegs in the pendulum pit one by one showing that the ground is indeed turning though we don't feel it. The exhibition is beautiful to look at, a worthy center piece, yet also displays a great phenomenon of our universe: the spinning of our planets.
One of the most iconic exhibits I saw was the "Tesla Coil." Named after the genius engineer, Nicolas Tesla, the Tesla Coil aimed to transmit electricity through air, and was essentially the first step towards wireless technology. I actually got to see the Tesla Coil at work, and it is quite amazing, sending out blue-purple lightning-like discharges, emitting loud electric noises, and lighting up a sign connected to its alcove.
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| The space behind me is actually the amount of sky underneath one fingertip. This puts into perspective how large our universe actually is and how insignificant we actually are relative to everything else. |
I would definitely recommend this site for it is mind blowing both aesthetically and scientifically; not to mention, the night view is to die for. I couldn't describe all the amazing exhibits I saw in one post, so it is best to go in person.
Extra links worth viewing:
Sources:
"Exhibits: Hall of the Eye." Griffith Observatory. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 July 2014. <http://www.griffithobservatory.org/exhibits/bhallofeye.html>.
"Exterior Exhibits." Griffith Observatory. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 July 2014. <http://www.griffithobservatory.org/exhibits/bexterior.html>.
Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles - A Virtual Tour. Matthew Field, 2009. Web. 29 July 2014. <http://www.mattfield.com/griffithobservatoryvr/tour.html>.
"Tesla Coil Griffith Observatory Los Angeles California HQ HD." YouTube. YouTube, 24 Feb. 2014. Web. 30 July 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOkAEvcO7aQ>.
"W.M. Keck Foundation Central Rotunda." Griffith Observatory. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 July 2014. <http://www.griffithobservatory.org/exhibits/brotunda.html>.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
WEEK 5: SPACE + ART
As mentioned before in this course, war is the catalyst for many of our technological advances and with space is no exception. It is saddening that war fuels our perseverance and determination, but nevertheless, because of the cold war, we have achieved amazing things from satellites, circling the earth, to the first man on the moon. The worst part of exploring space travel is the sacrifices we make (all the unplanned deaths) when spacecraft launching goes wrong (Apollo 1, Space Challenger, etc). The world should thank Laika for being the test run and paving the way for human spaceflight, because without her, there may have been even more sacrifices.
History aside, I want to explore the art that has been inspired by space travel. The artists in the exhibition, Dancing on the Ceiling: Art & Zero Gravity, explore the metaphorical theme of transcendence and the concept of zero gravity (or weightlessness). Chris Doyle has skateboarders flying weightlessly through structures. Xu Zhen uses performers who look like they're falling to try to portray the defiance of gravity and laws of life; suspended in space and time. In a world of war and struggle, much of the art is about escaping the stress; if gravity represented pressure then the lightness represents freedom from care. The exhibition not only evokes the golden age of space exploration but also creates an imaginative realm for people to escape psychologically, to feel "weightless."
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| FLOAT! Thinktank 21 |
Just as space exploration has inspired art, art has also inspired space technology advancement in ways we could never imagine. After Arthur C. Clarke's novel, The Fountains of Paradise, NASA is actually considering constructing a space elevator in the next century. After the release of Star Trek, we now have tricorders, jet injectors (inspired from hypospray), optical tweezers (inspired from tractor beams), and more. This just goes to show how far imagination can take us, how art can turn into reality, and how anything could be possible with the combination art and science.Sources:
"Audacious & Outrageous: Space Elevators." NASA Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 July 2014. <http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2000/ast07sep_1/>.
Briggs, Josh. "Top 10 'Star Trek' Technologies That Actually Came True."HowStuffWorks. InfoSpace LLC, 10 Nov. 2009. Web. 26 July 2014. <http://www.howstuffworks.com/10-star-trek-technologies1.htm#page=3>.
Dir. Victoria Vesna. Space Pt4. YouTube, 30 May 2012. Web. 25 July 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5ClKO6AJPo>.
Forde, Kathleen. "Dancing on the Ceiling: Art & Zero Gravity." Dancing on the Ceiling: Art & Zero Gravity. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, n.d. Web. 26 July 2014. <http://zerogravity.empac.rpi.edu/>.
"Laika." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 July 2014. Web. 26 July 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laika>.
WEEK 5: NANOTECH +ART
Taking quantum chemistry this summer, I'm familiar with the "quantum effect," and indeed, like Richard Feynman says, there is "plenty of room at the bottom." The hardest thing to realize is that the world is mostly just open space and that everything that looks solid is actually just tiny particles connected together. When we really look into these tiny structures, that is when the magic of science truly happens.
Nanotechnology is prominent in our every day lives to create color, patterns, and other special effects. When people think of color they think of different pigments. However, the medieval stained glass artisans created ruby red windows by trapping gold nano-particles in a "glass matrix." Likewise, they created yellow by using silver nano-particles. The science of color is behind the size of these particles, the way they interact with the glass, and the way it absorbs and reflects light. Nanotechnology is also the reason why we have sunscreen, cosmetics, and why geckos can climb walls. Amazingly, they are part of us without us even noticing. By studying the nano-structure of gecko feet, maybe one day humans can climb walls too!
The most magical part of nanotechnology is self-assembly: the way the world just created itself without anyone to put things where they're supposed to go. The beautiful crystal structures of snowflakes are also the products self-assembly. With the freezing of water around dust particles and the randomness of temperature and humidity, what look like white blobs of snow are actually ice structures of beauty.
TED: Paul Rothemund details DNA folding: Here Paul Rothemund talks more about nano-particle structures, DNA origami, and molecular programming.
Sources:
Beckett, Bradley, and William Gough. "History." Nanotechnology. Blogger, n.d. Web. 26 July 2014. <http://nano--tech.blogspot.com/p/history.html>.
Dir. Dr. Gimzewski. Nanotech Jim Pt1. YouTube, 21 May 2012. Web. 26 July 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7jM6-iqzzE>.
Dir. Dr. Gimzewski. Nanotech Jim Pt5. YouTube, 21 May 2012. Web. 26 July 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OWc8nmHJmY>.
Paul Rothemund: DNA Folding, in Detail. TED, Feb. 2008. Web. 26 July 2014. <http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_rothemund_details_dna_folding#t-856965>.
Watch: Creation of a Snowflake. The Weather Channel, 26 Feb. 2014. Web. 26 July 2014. <http://www.weather.com/video/watch-creation-of-a-snowflake-45078>.
Saturday, July 19, 2014
WEEK 4: NEUROSCIENCE + ART
We know neuroscience and art are connected when our own "Father of Neuroscience," Ramon y Cajal, started off wanting to be an artist. Cajal, best known for his discovery of neurons ("mysterious butterflies of the soul") as the foundation of our nervous system, started off scribbling on paper, books, walls, gates, and all other surfaces. However, his curiosity lead him to take interest in light microscopes, and he was soon dedicated to improving cell staining techniques and drawing the intricate designs he saw under the microscope. According to Cajal, only artists are attracted to science, which I can connect to, as an engineer who also wanted to be an artist at a young age. 
Brainbow intrigued me as a fun integration of art and neuroscience. It is a process of labeling each nerve cell with a different color in order to track pathways of different regions in the brain. Not only does it help with the study of cerebral functions, but it also produces beautiful rainbow images that are almost like abstract paintings.
What shocked me the most this week was the experiments with the psychedelic drug, LSD. Albert Hofmann's self experiment with the drug caused him to experience hallucinations and distorted vision. Interestingly enough, the drug caused the brain to produce wonderful images of the imagination filled with vibrant color that could essentially be viewed as art. Part of art is like bending reality, which is what LSD does to the human mind. I thought Project Mkultra, even though it was for research purposes, went beyond the boundaries of science by using people's minds as experimental pawns. Like biotech, there comes a limit to how much science should meddle and I think, in general, playing with LSD is too dangerous to be worth experimenting on human bodies.
Sources:
"Brainbow." Center for Brain Science. Center for Brain Science, 2007. Web. 16 July 2014. <http://cbs.fas.harvard.edu/science/connectome-project/brainbow>.
Melissa. "Project Mkultra: One of the Most Shocking CIA Programs of All Time." Gizmodo. N.p., 13 Sept. 2013. Web. 18 July 2014. <http://gizmodo.com/project-mkultra-one-of-the-most-shocking-cia-programs-1370236359>.
Parrish, Michael. "Santiago Ramon Y Cajal: "The Father of Neuroscience" - Brain Connection." Brain Connection RSS. Posit Science, 2013 Feb. 6. Web. 18 July 2014. <http://brainconnection.brainhq.com/2013/02/26/santiago-ramon-y-cajal-the-father-of-neuroscience/>.
Vesna, Victoria. "Neuroscience-pt1.mov." YouTube. YouTube, 17 May 2012. Web. 18 July 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzXjNbKDkYI>.
Vesna, Victoria. "Neuroscience-pt3.mov." YouTube. YouTube, 17 May 2012. Web. 18 July 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzXjNbKDkYI>.
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