Week 4: MedTech and Art

The human body and genome has always been a fascination to us as humans because we want to explore what makes us function and live on this Earth.  Some of the art that is contrived from our bodily function is beneficial and inspires technology to help people who have disabilities or create drugs to help those with diseases (http://www.gene-sis.net/artists_fontcuberta.html/), and some art is exploratory and can seem a bit off, like the body part jewelry that is made by Emily Watson. (www.metalemily.com) The jewelry is shaped to look like human body parts and while it is inventive, there is much more that has been done through medicine and art.

Ever since the exploration and discoveries of DNA and its double helix structure, there seems to be a growth in medical technology and the investment of science within medicine.  The investment that science has put into the double helix structure has been matched by the art aspect of the same structure. (The Economist, http://www.economist.com/node/1730781) The discovery of the DNA structure has been around for more than two generations now, but it is still a large part of modern day art because as said before in other blogs, “Art has long borrowed images and inspiration from science and technology.” (The Economist)

But modern medical and technological art isn’t just about exhibits and paint displays.  There is functional works of art that help better the lives of people.  Audio feedback and braille development is a large key to helping better the lives of those with disabilities.  Large companies, like Apple, are coming up with Bluetooth linked braille displays that work with cellphones, which I believe to be a huge innovation to better the lives of the blind. (http://www.apple.com/accessibility/ios/braille-display.html) The next step could be a sonar or echolocation type device that can send messages to the brain of the blind to help them see to a certain extent again.  The human mind can take technology to unlimited possibilities and art can inspire new innovations in medicine.

Art is even a form of medicine in today’s world.  Doctors are using art as a release of stress and a way to look into the psychological problems that are hurting the patients on an emotional level.   Patients become more aware of themselves due to their ability to draw and reflect on why they drew certain things. (http://www.healthandhealingny.org/complement/art_history.asp)

 References

Watson, Emily. "Metal & Enamel Jewelry." Emily Watson | Metal & Enamel Jewelry | Home Page. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.metalemily.com/>.

"Genome Research." Genome Research RSS. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.gene-sis.net/artists_fontcuberta.html/>.

"Back to Bases." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 26 Apr. 2003. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.economist.com/node/1730781>.

"Braille Displays." Apple - Accessibility - IOS - Braille Displays. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.apple.com/accessibility/ios/braille-display.html>.

"Art Therapy." Center for Health and Healing. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.healthandhealingny.org/complement/art_history.asp>.

 

Week 3: Robotics and Art

Robotics has always been a fascination in the world of art due to hits futuristic nature and the unknown that it presents to the world.  Robots are defined by what humans can make them do, just like how an art piece is defined by what perception or feelings are put into the paint style or image drawn.  Because robotics are a sole invention of the creative human mind, there lies many emotions and concerns with the production of robots. 

I, Robot. 2004.

This is seen in the main conflict of the movie I, Robot that came out in 2004. (Proyas)  A brief description of the movie is that the human world and interaction with others is almost completely controlled by robots and the robots being used are smart and have an adaptive capability that allows them to become smarter through experiences.  The robots believe that humans are the problem in society and end up trying to turn the tides and take over the city where the movie is.  This artistic view of mass production of robots and their intelligence is a view of negativity.  The robots are seen as the destruction to human society, but there is one self-aware robot that acts more like humans and is seen as the hope of the movie.  As Hod Lipson says the future of robots are they being self-aware and adapting to environments. (Lipson) The art behind self-aware robotics is that they constantly doing their own experiments and getting results and changing based on those results.

Robot creating a sketch drawing

Robotic arts are based on kinetic art, which is the use of machines or technology to express an artistic idea whether it is using computers or stationary machines. (Art Radar)  But robotic arts are more than just what we can do with mechanics, its what we can do with programming.  There are robots being made that can paint or create art themselves, which is flipping the role of how we see robotic art. (The Local) To think that the day would come where robots would be painting classic arts is amazing.  As you can see, the internet world and computing world is expanding, which is creating an increase in robotics and also an increase in production, making the robotic world a hot topic for artistic showmanship. (Norman, 2015)

The possibilities made by human engineering and robots.  Robots creating art.

References

 

Lipson, Hod. "Building "self-aware" Robots." TED. 2007. Web. 19 Apr. 2015. <http://www.ted.com/talks/hod_lipson_builds_self_aware_robots>.

I, Robot. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. :, 2004. DVD.

"Art Radar." Art Radar. 9 May 2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2015. <http://artradarjournal.com/2014/09/05/what-is-robotic-art-art-radar-explains/>.

"Painting Robot Sparks 'what Is Art?' Debate." The Local. 23 Oct. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2015. <http://www.thelocal.de/20131023/52543>.

Norman, Jeremy. "Relating the Rapidly Changing Present to the Distant Past as Far as Book History Is Concerned." Relating the Rapidly Changing Present to the Distant Past as Far as Book History Is Concerned. Web. 19 Apr. 2015. <http://www.historyofinformation.com/narrative/index.php>.

Week 2: Math and Art

"After a certain high level of technical skill is achieved, science and art tend to coalesce in esthetics, plasticity, and form. The greatest scientists are always artists as well." –Albert Einstein

I have learned through the combined works of math and art that there is much higher correlation between the two then we can determine by just seeing an artwork for what it is.  The design that goes into the art is much more detailed than what is believed to be.  Artists all grow up with the same urges that scientist do, even as a child.  They want to explore new things and what to experiment with different materials or ideas to create an object or art that is deeper than just paint on a canvas or sketches on a paper.  The use of angles and the interaction, stated by Nathan Selikoff, of lines and shapes are what basically make up any art, and the make-up is derived from mathematical operations.  In the Flatland novel, shapes, length, or thickness determined the characteristics of people, which are all measures that we can determine by visuals.  In example, a longer line on a stick figure makes the ‘person’ taller than a shorter line.  The relationship between math and art is embedded in our thoughts.

  M.C. Escher used geometric adjacency to make tiled works of art that fit into each other perfectly, but the shapes did not have to be regular shapes, as seen in his works with forming reptiles. 

Reptiles, 1943

Development 1, 1937

The relationship of art with mathematics runs deep because each different class of knowledge is very much intertwined.  You cannot make art without lines, polygons, or use of common mechanics of math, as seen in the Grasp Pendulum.

Grasp Pendulum, 2010

Also, math cannot be separated with art

because math innovations are brought out by the creativity and natural curiosity of humans to explore our surroundings and record it.  Also, the visual representation of math can give mathematicians a view on a problem that they have never seen before or realized. (Schattschneider, 2003)

The “Tiles in the Albambra” artwork can be dissected into mathematical influence by how it was constructed.  The lines that

Tiles in the Albambra, 1936

end each polygon meet and become one with the next polygon, so there is a combination of colorful art display, but also a pattern that is enrich and the human eye likes to look at.

Works Cited

 "Nathan Selikoff". web video. 2015. <nathanselikoff.com>.

Abbott, Edwin A. Flatland. Princeton University Press: Princeton, New Jersey. 1991.

"Grasp Pendulum". photograph. Ottobock Headquarters: Berlin, Germany. 2010. <artcom.en/department/art-en/>.

"Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher". web and photographs. Platonic Realms. 1997-2015. <http://platonicrealms.com/minitexts/Mathematical-Art-Of-M-C-Escher/>.

Schattschneider, Doris. "Mathematics and Art- So Many Connections". web. Moravian College. 2003. <http://www.mathaware.org/mam/03/essay3.html>.

Week 1: Two Cultures

The split into two cultures of art and science has been seen physically as the campus of UCLA.  While walking through the campus you must make a decision on where your future lies as a student.  Either you choose to go south, and become a part of the science culture, or you go north and become part of the arts culture.  C.P. Snow speaks of this separation of society and it is physically shown within the geographic distribution upon the UCLA campus. 

North Campus,

http://guesthouse.ucla.edu/location.php

The northern campus is seen as the artistic, idealist, and free part of the campus and the landscape suggests the same claims.  There are many sculptures that have open-ended meanings and views along with plenty of trees and swirling paths.  On the other hand, the south campus has much more geometric patterns to its structure.  There are more straight paths and symmetry that relates to the factual, methodical views of science.  The separation leads to misunderstanding of the other culture, and assumptions are made out of lack of knowledge, as also stated by C.P. Snow.

South Campus,

http://www.ust.ucla.edu/ustweb/Projects/PROJECTS/ucla/SCSC_01_big.jpg

The future of the two cultures is in the motion of mixing though for a third class.  There is gaining motive for artists to want to venture into the world of science to get ideas and expand their works into a more modern world. (Wilson) With technological advances and science development increasing, the 21^st century is going to need artists who can depict the science innovation within the scheme of arts. 

Window, http://dartmed.dartmouth.edu/spring11/html/art_of_medicine.php

            Coming from a farming family, my parents grew up in a simpler culture and   Now with my experiences at UCLA, it is easy to see the difference between the cultures of cities and countryside, or rural and urban.  It is interesting to see how the quick moving atmosphere of the 21^st century can be captured by the Western pastime of arts and literature.

raised me with the same family values and characteristics that are a part of the country culture.

References

 Snow, C. P. “Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution.” Reading. 1959. New York: Cambridge UP, 1961. Print.

"UCLA South Campus." Photograph. 2011. <http://www.ust.ucla.edu/ustweb/Projects/PROJECTS/ucla/SCSC_01_big.jpg>.

"Murphy Sculpture Garden at UCLA." Photograph. 2013. <http://guesthouse.ucla.edu/location.php>.

"Window." Photograph. Dartmouth Medicine. 2011. <http://dartmed.dartmouth.edu/spring11/html/art_of_medicine.php>.

Wilson, Stephen. "Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology." Reading. 2000. NYC. Print.