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." 

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.

 Creation of a Snowflake

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>.

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>.

WEEK 4: BIOTECH + ART

Joe Davis, a pioneer of biological art forms, was a scientist who really interested me this week. I have always been uncomfortable with manipulation of life as an expression of art, but I found Davis's projects strange yet innovative. Using genes as his "palette," Davis created all sorts of crazy things. In his project, "Microvenus," Davis embedded into bacteria an icon representing external female genitalia which also represented the female Earth. His goal was to send the human genome into space through bacteria as a protest again censorship of radio messages sent through space. I've learned about using bacteria duplication for medical purposes but never for expression of art. 

Davis had many other cool projects, like putting a map of the Milky Way into the ear of a transgenic mouse. Though projects like this seem small, it actually requires true scientific genius, for he has to take the map of the Milky Way and transform it into 100 base pair chunks. I really enjoyed Davis's achievements because he did not do anything drastic to the human body, but instead used small cells and his knowledge of of genetics to produce art in a way the world has never seen.

As enjoyable as Davis's work was, there should be a limit to how much science should be allowed to manipulate life as a form of art. Kathy High specializes in transgenic (gene transfer) rats and injected the rats with human DNA to make them prone to disease and tried to see if she can make them healthy as an experiment. High is said to bring empathy to art, and her work acceptable because she truly cares about her work and wants to prove that rats are not the dirty rodents they are thought to be. 

There were others, like Eduardo Kac, who created a fluorescent bunny ("Alba") by injecting GFP (the "glowing gene") into its DNA and called it art. Except for medical purposes, playing with a bunny's DNA is not necessary or morally right, especially since GFP was already used before by other scientists. There was also Marta de Menezes, who modified wing patterns on live butterflies, creating "art in nature." However, the butterflies ended up having holes in their wings, which I think is unecessary damage. Overall, biological art can be innovative and eye-opening, but it can also be damaging to life, and should have constraints.

Sources:

5 BioArt Pt2. Dir. Victoria Vesna. YouTube. YouTube, 17 May 2012. Web. 18 July 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdSt-Hjyi2I&list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7>.

5 BioArt Pt3. Dir. Victoria Vesna. YouTube. YouTube, 17 May 2012. Web. 18 July 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdSt-Hjyi2I&list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7>.

High, Kathy. "The Politics of Empathy." Embracing Animal. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute/iEAR Studios, n.d. Web. 18 July 2014. <http://www.embracinganimal.com/ratlove.html>.

Kac, Eduardo. "KAC." GFP BUNNY. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 July 2014. <http://www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html#gfpbunnyanchor>.

"Nature?" Marta De Menezes. Moshi Moshi, n.d. Web. 18 July 2014. <http://martademenezes.com/portfolio/projects/>.

WEEK 3: MEDTECH + ART

Interesting quote relating medicine and art

Victoria Vesna's lecture on medicine and technology was eyeopening. Medicine seemed too far in the science field to be in any way associated with art. I did not realize cadaver dissections, human anatomy, MRIs and X-rays could all be considered art. More surprisingly, according to Vesna in lecture part 2, medicine, along with using tools and technology, started off as an art form. It is hard to think that this development of art, technology, and medicine all evolved from war, a means of human destruction.

A scientist I took particular interest to was Professor Kevin Warwick, the world's first Cyborg. In his experiment, "Project Cyborg 1.0," he was "able to operate doors, lights, heaters and other computers without lifting a finger" by implanting a silicon chip transponder which emits signals to a computer. He then implanted a one hundred electrode array into his arm which emitted signals from his nervous system. With Warwick's achievements, I can see a future in electronic medicine where the disabled can function normally using signalling between an implantation and a computer.

Another person who really intrigued me was Orlan, who practiced performing arts of the body through numerous plastic surgeries. I have always been against plastic surgery (besides for medical purposes) because I saw it as fake and damaging to the human body. However, Orlan used plastic surgery as an art of self expression by surgically replicating  selected features from classical paintings of Botticelli, Francois Boucher, Leonardo Da Vinci, and more. I admire her courage to undergo so many surgeries and change her image, causing people to rethink what it means to be beautiful. 

The last person who really interested me was Diane Gromala, for she came off as quirky and weird, but her ideas were alluring. I loved her idea of "focusing inward" to touch on our "inner senses." Pain can drive people to insanity, which makes her achievements even more significant. Instead of trying to find more chemicals to put in the body, which often has side effects, Gromala invented virtual reality, a media form that acts as a meditation chamber, distracting the patient using art and relieving chronic pain. The virtual environment changes based on the patients' emotions, acting as both a scientific and artistic approach to medicine, something I find incredible.  

TEDxAmericanRiviera - Diane Gromala - Curative Powers of Wet, Raw Beauty

Sources:

Frank, Priscilla. "ORLAN Talks Plastic Surgery, Beauty Standards And Giving Her Fat To Madonna (PHOTOS, INTERVIEW, NSFW)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 29 Jan. 2013. Web. 9 July 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/29/performance-artist-orlan-interview-beauty-surgery_n_2526077.html>.

"Professor Kevin Warwick." Professor Kevin Warwick. The University of Reading, n.d. Web. 09 July 2014. <http://www.kevinwarwick.org/index.asp>.

"TEDxAmericanRiviera - Diane Gromala - Curative Powers of Wet, Raw Beauty." YouTube. YouTube, 7 Dec. 2011. Web. 09 July 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRdarMz--Pw>.

Vesna, Victoria. “Http://www.youtube.com/v/FIX-9mXd3Y4.” Lecture. Medicine pt3. Youtube, 22 Apr. 2012. Web. 9 July 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIX-9mXd3Y4>.

Vesna, Victoria. “Http://www.youtube.com/v/psjnQarHOqQ.” Lecture. Medicine pt2 . Youtube, 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 9 July 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psjnQarHOqQ>.

WEEK 2: ART, ROBOTICS, AND MATHEMATICS

What really amazed me this week was how crucial mathematics was to modeling and how it was able to advance art to another level. For example, Daina Taimina was able to crochet symmetric hyperbolic planes, a material representation that was once considered impossible. More particularly, Robert Lang revealed a world of mathematics and art that I did not know existed. To me, origami was just random paper folding to resemble real life animals or objects. However, Lang showed that there were mathematical patterns to origami, and by following four rules, we could fold anything to the smallest detail, even the scales on a fish. Furthermore, these techniques turned out to have applications in "medicine, science, space, consumer electronics, and more." Origami, a simple art form, combined with some math, has become an aid for solving real life problems.

The contrast between our perception of robots and Japan's perception of robots, as pointed out by Professor Kusahara, was an interesting comparison worth discussion. Western perception of robots as evil and scary has added to the gap between the arts and sciences because robots are considered purely scientific and useful in replacing human labor to boost industrialization. Like Walter Benjamin notes in his essay, mechanical reproduction has a tendency of stripping artwork of its "aura"; hence the de-aestheticization of robots.  In Japan, however, robots were percieved as friendly helpers, so engineers went out of the way to make the robots look amiable and cute. Thus robots became an integration of science and art, and "the border between the artist and engineer" was blurred. Robots could become our friends if we consider them works of art instead of labor machines.

As a scientist, artist, and inventor, Leonardo Da Vinci was living proof that mathematics and art reinforce each other. He was a well-rounded genius who was able to integrate both the arts and sciences in his paintings, works of architecture, mechanics, and human anatomy. His use of perspective and proportions gave his sketches scientific accuracy, and he was able to create the first prototypes of the airplane, calculator, submarines, and much more. 

The world is a complete mixture of mathematics, industrialization, art, and science working together. Many of our paintings are a collection of geometric shapes and mathematical proportions. Mathematical sketches become blueprints for scientific inventions which then become a subject of mechanical production. Without the combined effort of all fields, technological advancement would not exist. 

Sources:

"DISCOVERER OF HYPERBOLIC CROCHET." Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef. Institute For Figuring (IFF), n.d. Web. 4 July 2014. <http%3A%2F%2Fcrochetcoralreef.org%2Fcontributors%2Fdaina_taimina.php>.

Larson, Eric. "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." - Modernism Lab Essays. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 July 2014. <http://modernism.research.yale.edu/wiki/index.php/The_Work_of_Art_in_the_Age_of_Mechanical_Reproduction>.

"Leonardo da Vinci." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Mar. 2014. Web. 4 July 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci>.

"Renaissance Man." Leonardo da Vinci. Museum of Science, Boston, n.d. Web. 4 July 2014. <http://legacy.mos.org/leonardo/bio.html>.

"Robert Lang: The Math and Magic of Origami." YouTube. YouTube, 31 July 2008. Web. 04 July 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYKcOFQCeno>.

"Robotics MachikoKusahara 1." YouTube. YouTube, 14 Apr. 2012. Web. 04 July 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQZ_sy-mdEU#t=952>.