Week 9: Space & Art

I was particularly excited to study this specific unit on “Space & Art” when I enrolled in DESMA 9 because I’ve always been fascinated by the unimaginable aspects of outer space and moreover, the idea of tracing the limits of outer space (or lack thereof…). I thought Professor Vesna’s choice to start off her lectures by showing us the “Powers of 10” video was a really strategic move, because I think that that video successfully remind us of just how SMALL we really are – in comparison to the rest of the gigantic universe. As demonstrated in the “Powers of 10” video, the universe is an extremely complex place – whether we’re looking at it in terms of the size of planet Earth, the Milky Way, OR even in terms of the size of our human cells (“Powers of 10”). By studying outer space, we are able to come to a better understanding of “space,” “size,” and “distance” on several different scales.

Hubble Space Telescope
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html 

I was really interested in Professor Vesna’s discussion of using animals to explore outer space because I think that this idea (once again…) brings up a lot of ethical questions concerning animal rights. (I also touched upon these ethical questions in my blog post for the “BioTech & Art” unit.) Professor Vesna specifically mentioned the Russian dog Laika, who became known as the “Space Dog” seeing as she was the first living animal to enter into orbit (Vesna, “Lecture: 8 Space Pt3 1280x720”). I found an interesting TIME article on Laika, which described the dog as “a stray, picked up from the Moscow streets just over a week before the rocket was set to launch” (Latson). In all honestly, it was hard for me to read through this article because it described Laika’s mission as “a guaranteed suicide mission,” despite the mission’s purpose (which was to test for the safety of human travel into outer space).  Obviously, this mission broaches upon several extremely sensitive ethical questions – but in the end, Laika’s story should not be forgotten seeing as her risky mission probably helped SAVE several human lives.

Remembering Laika

http://www.wallstreetotc.com/remembering-laika-sad-orbit-launch-story-57-years-later/211880/ 

Speaking of the “risk” involved with traveling to outer space, one of my favorite space-related movies, Apollo 13, does an excellent job of demonstrating the dangers of space travel. Directed by Ron Howard, Apollo 13 follows a group of astronauts into outer space and once they enter into orbit, they experience technical difficulties with their spacecraft causing their immediate (and dangerous…) return to planet Earth. 

Apollo 13: Cover Art

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112384/ 

Here is a clip from Apollo 13: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAmsi05P9Uw

Event #2: "Movement" Exhibit @ The CNSI Art Science Gallery

Last week on Tuesday, May 12th, I went to check out the "Movement" exhibition at the CNSI Art Science Gallery. Initially, I thought that this specific exhibition was really cool, seeing as all of the artwork on display was created by fellow Bruins and each display was significantly different based on each artist's individual perception of the notion of "movement." Essentially, all of the artwork on display had something to do with the concept of movement; however, all of the pieces were different in the sense that some were videos, some were paintings & drawings, and others were interactive games. 

One of my favorite pieces of artwork on display was Christina Kong's "The Brain Book," which was a flip-book illustrating the human brain's many functions. Using post-its and a pen, Christina created a brain and divided it into several sections for the purpose of showing exactly where our human functions originate. The piece was interactive, seeing as it encouraged viewers to "flip through" these different sections of the brain to see what function corresponds with its location. Christina's approach to this relatively scientific topic was fun and engaging, but moreover, it allowed for easy understanding of this otherwise difficult-to-remember science. In order to flip through Christina's "Brian Book," I actually had to wait in line because so many other people were fascinated by her approach. 

Like Christina, I too have always been very interested in animation and how important ongoing movement is in terms of creating a cohesive story and/or image. The brain, which pieces together these still images, creates a moving picture in our minds - despite the fact that we KNOW we're looking at a bunch of still images. In this way, our brain deceives us, causing us to think that we're actually looking at a moving picture - it's like an optical illusion! Although I didn't get to meet Christina, I would've loved to have complimented her "Brain Book" and to have gotten to opportunity to ask her more about how this idea developed.

In the end, I really enjoyed attending this exhibition at the CNSI Art Science Gallery. I was extremely impressed by the work of my fellow peers at UCLA and furthermore, I really enjoyed seeing how many different ways the scientific notion of "movement" can be conveyed in the form of art. 

Week 8: Nanotech & Art

This week’s lesson on Nanotechnology & Art was a little more difficult for me to understand, especially given my English major background and limited knowledge regarding the patterns and presence of atoms and molecules. Rather than studying Chemistry in high school, I chose to specialize in Biology and Oceanography – and thus, I wasn't extremely familiar with the topics being covered this week. 

"Nanoparticles"
http://www.nano-xpert.com/nanoparticles.html

I was, however, fascinated by Dr. Gimzewski’s discussion of Nanoparticles and how they remain “one of the biggest areas of business in terms of commercial products in the market today” (Vesna, “Lecture: Nanotech Jim pt3”). Dr. Gimzewski sparked my interest when he showed us pictures of the Roman goblet and other ancient materials consisting of nanoparticles, prompting me to research other images of ancient artwork (i.e. ceramics, plates, sculptures, etc.) consisting of evident nanoparticles. Below is an image of a glazed ceramic piece with contains “embedded copper and silver nanoparticles” (“Instant Insight: Science and Art in Harmony”).

"Science & Art in Harmony"
http://www.rsc.org/Publishing/ChemTech/Volume/2007/10/Science_art_in_harmony.asp

I also came across an extremely interesting article entitled “Nanoparticle Emissions from Traditional Pottery Manufacturing,” which explores the risk of firing ceramics due to their release of concentrated amounts of “airborne particles that are harmful to human health” (Voliotis). As I was reading this article, I couldn’t help but think about how interesting it is that such particles are no risk when they are compounded into an object; however, they can cause diseases (i.e. lead poisoning) when they are broken down into smaller pieces and inhaled by human beings. 

On the other hand, as Dr. Gimzewski mentioned in Part 3 of his lecture, Nanoparticles can also serve positive purposes – as in the case of “Nanosilver Socks,” which can eliminate odors and moreover, contain and reduce sweating (www.nanosilver.eu).

"Nanosilver Socks"
https://www.nanosilver.eu/Tema/Why-Nanosilver/Magical-Socks-Nanosilver-with-Silver-Nanoparticles

"Antimicrobial Socks"
http://www.sterishoe.com/foot-care-blog/toenail-fungus-treatments/antimicrobial-socks/

Overall, I was pretty shocked to learn about the several ways in which nanoparticles can both harm and HELP humans. If channeled correctly, nanoparticles and microbial bacterias can truly reinvent objects in demand as more efficient and quite honestly, more useful (as in the case of 'Nanosilver Socks').

Week 7: Neuroscience & Art

I was especially interested in Professor Vesna’s discussion of Franz Joseph Gall’s contributions to the idea of “Phrenology,” seeing as I’m actually learning about Phrenology and Physiognomy, as represented within the Victorian and Romantic periods of English Literature in my Senior Capstone for my English Major. In my class (entitled the “The Brontës in Context”), we’ve traced the artistic portrayal of phrenology in Victorian novels such as Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights in the hopes of showing how serious Victorians were regarding their beliefs that the outside of the human body reflected in the inside of the human body. For example, in all three of these Victorian novels, it is suggested that that the size of one’s skull reflects back upon one’s intelligence (Armstrong). Furthermore, several critics have explored the “Brontë Brow” (i.e. each novel’s attempt to classify characters as either “high brow” or “low brow”) as evidence of phrenological beliefs during the 19th century (Shrewsday).

Victorian Constructs of Phrenology

http://victoriancontexts.pbworks.com/w/page/46571834/George%20Combe%20and%20Phrenology

Beyond this week’s discussion of Gall’s notion of Phrenology, I was also very interested in our discussion of Carl Jung’s notion of the Collective Unconscious — “a form of the unconscious common to mankind as a whole and originating in the inherited structure of the brain” (Britannica - “The Collective Unconscious”). While it’s difficult to provide scientific proof for the Collective Unconscious, it’s definitely interesting to think about commonalities between humans and their thought processes. To think that ALL of us have the same “core” of unconscious thoughts (as denoted by mythical archetypes and the structure of our brains) is an extremely powerful idea.

What is the Collective Unconscious?

http://www.templeilluminatus.com/group/carl-jung-s-red-book/forum/topics/what-is-the-collective-unconscious

After researching further into Jung’s idea of the Collective Unconscious, I found this really interesting video by Daniel Vondráček on Vimeo entitled “The Collective Unconscious.” In the video, he describes the Collective Unconscious as a “type of connection” where “every person shares his individual process of thinking.” Although it’s performed in another language, there are subtitles for clarity.

"The Collective Unconscious" - Daniel Vondráček

https://vimeo.com/19837398 

Click here to see the video: https://vimeo.com/19837398 

Week 6: BioTech & Art

I actually had a difficult time getting through some of this week’s material — specifically the material focusing on Kathy High’s contributions to BioArt as discussed in Part III of Professor Vesna’s lecture. Having always been semi-opposed to animal testing (depending upon the ethical necessity for it), I found it a little difficult to view pictures of her work with transgenic rats in her “Embracing Animal” exhibit. When researching the exhibit further and attempting to learn more about her “HLA-B27 model rats,” I saw that High’s exhibit was defined as “a lab environment for observation, and experimental playground for people to feel the tension of exchanges, transitions and trans-play.” (KathyHigh.com — Project: “Embracing Animal”)

"Embracing Animal" Exhibit (#1)

http://kathyhigh.com/project-embracing-animal.html

"Embracing Animal" Exhibit (#10)

http://kathyhigh.com/project-embracing-animal.html

While I appreciate High’s “empathetic treatment” of rats (i.e. providing them with good food, adequate play time and lots of human attention), I also find it difficult to watch animals being pent up in cages and so clearly out of their element (Vesna, “Lecture: 5BioArt Pt3”). Personally, I admire her efforts to learn more about autoimmune diseases using these transgenic rats; however, I don’t necessarily agree with the need to feature this research as a visual spectacle — with the intention of displaying images of theses animals during their “moments of death and dying” (KathyHigh.com — Project: “HLA-B27”). While some people may be interested in seeing such images, I found some of these images to be a little disrespectful to that particular animal’s life — which was sacrificed in the name of biological research to prolong human life. Regardless, I will continue to research her work to make myself as informed as possible on this matter before developing any further judgements of her research. 

"HLA-B27" Rats

http://kathyhigh.com/project-HLA-B27.html  

This notion of displaying biological research concerning transgenic animals as a “visual spectacle” made me think about the upcoming movie, Jurassic World. While the movie is clearly a fictional film (in addition to the previous Jurassic Park films released by Universal Pictures), I think that it clearly demonstrates the consequences of putting transgenic research on display. In the movie, scientists open up a theme park which displays genetically-modified dinosaurs and most recently, genetically-modified hybrids — but in the end, the dinosaurs outsmart the humans and thus, catastrophe ensues.

Jurassic World: Cover Art
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0369610/

Here’s the trailer for Universal Pictures’ Jurassic World:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFinNxS5KN4

While it’s difficult to place limits on human research (especially when it comes to research in the name of human health), it’s becomes even more difficult when other life forms are involved. I think that BioArt will always be a controversial topic, but I think that the restrictions (or lack thereof) concerning the display of such art/research is just as controversial.