Event #2

http://www.artpractical.com/
feature/the_cheese_stands_alone/

There were many interesting pieces in the Hammer museum in Westwood, Los Angeles, California on May 6th, 2016. This was my first trip to the museum even though its right down the street, and with lots of cultural diversity throughout the museum, there were many pieces that I found interesting in regards to the theme of our class, art and science. 

http://the-artists.org
/artist/jackson-pollock

Now a days when we are on planes traveling we spend our time watching movies and television shows, but in a piece by Ilene Segalove she depicted something different. In place of where a typical movie screen would be on a plane it was replaced with a piece of art by Jackson Pollock, "Lavender Mist." I found this intriguing because of its modern twist on arts influence on people. Now we are so absorbed in the hustle and bustle of modern technology of movies, television shows, and video games that we have forgotten some of the great pieces that lead to where we are now in art. Jackson Pollocks piece was known by many, but now a days many people probably wouldn't be able to speak of the piece.

I thought of the piece by Segalove as showing what the culture was at that moment in time. Traveling by plane was still a fairly new process at this time and combining it with a an iconic piece of art showed how this was a privilege, a piece of art. In contrast with current times however flying is a common thing in most peoples lives and we have changed the previous outlook on it. This contrast was eye opening and I enjoyed getting this perspective. 

Week 9: Space and Art

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/20341

7-this-amazing-map-shows-just-how-little-of-

our-galaxy-weve-explored-so-far

In this weeks lectures we learned about space and art, but this topic embodies many science related themes that we have learned about throughout this quarter. Space is a terrific piece to use for art because of its endlessness. We have only explored a small portion of the solar system since Neil Armstrong landed on the moon in 1969 yet there is still so much more left to discover. The video "Powers of Ten" that we viewed in lecture is very eye opening about how much there is out there we don't know about.

http://starwars.wikia.com
/wiki/Millennium_Falcon

Many movies have ventured into the realm of what is possible in outer space; for example the Star Wars movies are an example of movies that artistically captures all the possibilities that space and technology have to offer. In a very possible future, there is travel between galaxies and planets in a matter of moments on their starships. In comparison to a spaceship which currently takes three days to travel 240,000 km, they are very fast. 

http://starwars.wikia.com
/wiki/Droid/Legends

Another technological advancement seen in Star Wars that is currently being worked on is droids/robots. In the movies they are many machines that are referred to as droids. Many know them as "R2-D2" or "C3P0" and these bots help the protagonists as well as the antagonist pursue daily tasks, specifically in doing jobs that were either to menial or dangerous for humans. This is similar to our lesson on robotics where we learned about what the possibilities in the future are like. Star Wars looked into these possibilities and found a way to incorporate them long before we have made the current progress.

"Ask an Astronomer." Cool Cosmos. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2016. <http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ask/174-How-long-does-it-take-to-travel-to-the-Moon->.

"Droid." Wookieepedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2016. <http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Droids/Legends>.

EamesOffice. "Powers of Ten™ (1977)." YouTube. YouTube, 26 Aug. 2010. Web. 25 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0>.

Vesna, Victoria. "Space + Art." Lecture Part 4. Online, Los Angeles. 25 May 2016. Lecture.

"Starship." Wookieepedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 May 2016. <http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Starship>.

Nanotechnology and art

http://www.nanowerk.com
/nanotechnology-in-food.php

Nanotechnology is in everything around us, but most of the time we had no idea because the atoms are so small that most of the time we aren't even told they are there. Personally speaking I had no knowledge of what nanotechnology was and how it affected our lives.

http://www.topnanotech.com/
articles-and-researches/essential-
facts-about-nano-foods/

The first revolutionary idea that involved nanotechnology, was from Eric Drexler who had the idea of "The Assembler," which takes Fords creation of the assembly line that we learned about in our robotics section of this class from week 3 and applies it on the molecular level. It would take the atoms and molecules that make up objects and rearrange them to make new things. This didn't work however because Drexlers process was incredibly slow in comparison to the real Assembly line that Ford created that takes two and a half hours.

https://www.alova.com/
chocolate-slim-shake.html

Nanotechnology is now in a majority of products that we use in our daily lives, but we don't always know it is there. Its small size has enabled nanoparticles to inconspicuously appear in things like our food, one product for example is the "SlimShake" and is a meal replacer advertising weight loss. This replacement is made of silica nanoparticles and is coated in chocolate flavoring. These particles could be harmful because nobody exactly knows the effects they have on the body and digestive system. Products like this show why we need to monitor these items because of possible risks they have in effecting our lives.

"Ford’s Assembly Line Starts Rolling." History.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2016. <http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fords-assembly-line-starts-rolling>.

Gimzewski. "Nanotech for Artists Part 1 - Dr. Gimzewski." Nanotech + Art. Online, Los Angeles. 19 May 2016.

Gimzewski. "Nanotech for Artists Part 6 - Dr. Gimzewski." Nanotech + Art. Online, Los Angeles. 19 May 2016.

"Molecular Assembler." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 May 2016. Web. 20 May 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_assembler>.

Vesna, Victoria. "Lectures Part 1." Robotics + Art. Online, Los Angeles. 19 May 2016. Lecture.

Neuroscience and Art

http://www.cbsnews.com/picture
s/cocaine-a-brief-history-of-blow/

The evolution of use of cocaine and LSD is interesting. With doctors and writers using both as medication in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, it is interesting to see how its use has changed. 

As we learned in lecture cocaine was used in almost everything as medicine because people believed it was beneficial. Sigmund freud is one doctor who not only used cocaine for medicine but recommended it and had patients use it. It wasn't until one of his patients passed during a procedure due to an overdose where he began to question the abilities of this drug. It wasn't until 1914 that the drug was viewed as dangerous by the FDA in the US. 

http://www.zoomdout.com/home/
bicycle-day-2014-albert-hoffmans
-lsd-potion-documentary

http://65.61.18.138/in_history/cocaine/

Another popular drug that was widely used in medicine before its effects were known to the public was LSD. LSD stands for Lysergic acid diethylamide, this is a powerful hallucinogen but before this was known it was used for medical use as well. It wasn't until Albert Hofman took a second look at his medicine and self medicated where he entered a psychedelic high, which is modernly called a "trip." It wasn't until 1962 when the government first recognized this drug as harmful.

Since these times there has been a lot of research as to how these drug are harmful to our health; cocaine use can cause irritability, restlessness, paranoia, and many other things and LSD brings long term hallucinations that last with the user years after their last trip. Even though these drugs are harmful to our health, they allow people to see life through a new perspective. Its uniqueness is very valuable in a sense that it is a one of a kind experience that no body else gets to experience but you.

"Cocaine Timeline Info." RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2016. <http://www.narconon.org/drug-information/cocaine-timeline.html>.

Erowid. "Erowid LSD Vault : Timeline." Erowid LSD Vault : Timeline. N.p., 10 Feb. 2015. Web. 12 May 2016. <https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/lsd/lsd_timeline.php>.

"Lysergic Acid Diethylamide." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 12 May 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysergic_acid_diethylamide>.

"Sigmund Freud." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 May 2016. Web. 11 May 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud>

Vesna, Victoria. "Lecture 3." Neuroscience and Art. Online, Los Angeles. 11 May 2016. Lecture.

Week 6: Biotechnology and Art

http://vampirestudygroup.com/blood
wars/scienceprotocols/

This week we learned about the use of biotechnology in art; this controversial topic brings up many ethical questions. With advancing technology, artists have the ability to genetically create and modify things into unique pieces of art, but are they crossing the line and taking on a role that does not belong to them?

From the perspective of an artist using this medium I can understand their excitement and the purpose of many of their creations. Kathy High is one artist who used human  white blood cells in "Blood Wars" in a competition of survival of the fittest. Like dog fighting, "Blood Wars" takes white blood cells and have them fight for superiority until only one type of blood cell is left. This shows how different blood cells are more developed than others and just what their abilities are.

http://www.teknemedia.net/
magazine_detail.html?mId=7740

Another artist that uses biotechnology in art pieces is Orlan, her piece the "Harlequin Coat", which is a coat of colored pieces of skin. She achieves these color by modifying the genetic makeup of many different races of people. This causes controversy because her use of human skin for something other than it should ever be intended for, but her ability to manipulate human skin cells and change the color of different races is incredible. 

http://www.wired.com/2004/10
/jacket-grows-from-living-tissue/

Since artists are working with live cells however, many uncontrollable errors or occurrences can arise. Two artist who experienced issues with their piece was Oron Catts and Ionat Zurr with their piece "Victimless Leather." While on exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, their piece which was composed of mouse tissue had to be killed because of its rapid growth. The piece was deemed uncontrollable and had to be stopped from growing which is something many people fear when people take over the role of creator. 

It’s issues like this make people question how far is too far when it comes to our developments in biotechnology. We may have control over what we do with biotechnology, but we don’t always have control over the growth of these living cells. There needs to be limitations to our abilities or else one mistake may be disastrous. 

Citations

"Dog Fighting." ASPCA. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2016. <http://www.aspca.org/animal-cruelty/dog-fighting>.

Miranda, Carolina A. "WEIRD SCIENCE: BIOTECHNOLOGY AS ART FORM." Artiness.com. N.p., 18 Mar. 2013. Web. 5 May 2016. <http://www.artnews.com/2013/03/18/biotechnology-as-art-form/>.

"ORLAN - Harlequin Coat." - FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology). N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2016. <http://www.fact.co.uk/projects/sk-interfaces/orlan-harlequin-coat.aspx>.

Vesna, Victoria. "Part 3." BioTech+Art. Online, Los Angeles. 5 May 2016. Lecture.

Vesna, Victoria. "Part 4." BioTech+Art. Online, Los Angeles. 5 May 2016. Lecture.

As I arrived at the Getty, I looked around in awe of all  of the different places to go. This was my first visit and I was shocked to see this niche of cultural hidden in a place that has been so close to me for so long. Being unsure of where to go I grabbed a map and began to wonder throughout the exhibits and I noticed many things that I thought could correlate to some of the topics we have discussed thus far. When I was exploring some romantic sculptures and I noticed the detailed muscles and facial structures I knew that correlated to week four’s discussion of medical technology and art. With that being my first example I decided to dive farther and see what else I could find that related to our theme, but something a bit more modern. 

As I made my way to the garden I noticed an exhibit entitled "In Focus: Electric!" This caught my eye because of the way the photographers have viewed light and electricity as form of art. This reminded me of week three’s focus on robotics and art. Some might be confused about his this relates to robotics, but with pieces focusing on how life is attached to a power grid this exhibit shows the correlation of robotics and art. 

One piece that caught my eye was "After Electric Dress A Positive 4", this piece shows an image of a woman wrapped in lights and her silhouette illuminates from where the lights would be. This piece reminded me of a robot or cyborg in the sense that the lights are engulfing the human being and are showing how humans are trapped in electricity. In a sense, this piece shows how even humans are becoming robotic due to the use of technology that we are so unraveled in. This image is fifteen years old and since the production of this work, I could only imagine how much things have changed since this piece was produced. People are becoming more engrossed with technology and electricity and in this piece of art I see the human becoming the robot.

Midterm

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwIiycUjj-F-S182MUZndkM3MXc/view