Week 4: MedTech + Art

As someone interested in the healthcare field, I volunteer frequently in the hospital and am constantly surrounded by medical technology. Even so, the overlap between MedTech and art never occurred to me. Professor Vesna talked about how anatomy, surgery, and different scans (MRI, x-ray, and CT) are all forms of art (Vesna 2012). Casini even compares an MRI to a portrait of oneself – “I argue that MRI has a ‘look’ in the same way that the portrait has— that is, it has the capacity of being performative, thus resisting its being regarded as a transparent window onto the self” (Casini 2011). A very clear combination of MedTech and art is Diane Gromala’s use of virtual reality, biofeedback, and mindful medication to relieve chronic pain (Gromala 2011). After learning more about the intersection of art and MedTech, I started to realize how prevalent it is in our world today.

An MRI Machine 

(Ferro 2013)

Virtual reality goggles that can be used to relieve chronic pain

(Buro 2015)

Growing up in a suburb of Chicago, I visited the Museum of Science and Industry on field trips. I remember being fascinated that the bodies displayed at Body Worlds were of preserved specimens (Institute for Plastination 2016). I was surprised to learn during lecture this week that this plastination technique was developed in 1977 (Vesna 2012). The exhibit is a perfect example of how MedTech and art intersect, as the use of plastination can help us understand the human body and even educate young minds.

Body Worlds Exhibit

(Kidd 2014)

Furthermore, when visiting New York, I saw graffiti art that represented an EKG reading. This example shows that not only can art influence MedTech, but also that MedTech can influence art. A metaphor has been made about this popular symbol, saying the artwork by EKG (the artist’s pseudonym) brings life to New York City.

EKG's Street Art

(Sparks 2013)

An EKG Machine

(Datex 2016)

Lastly, the admissions process into medical school exemplifies the intersection of art and MedTech. Many medical schools are now valuing applicants with a humanities background because it “emphasiz[es] more ‘right brain’ characteristics.” Furthermore, “It seems that students with more ‘right brain’ qualities–related to imagery, visual and drawing skills–have begun to emerge as more successful in today’s digital, image-based world of medicine.” Because medicine is becoming more image-based, as image technology such as the MRI and x-rays are evolving, medical schools are looking for people that will contribute to this developing world. This shows how art is connected to MedTech and is even recognized by the people who choose our future doctors. 

Even medical school admission teams realize the intersection of art and MedTech

(Doyle 2015)

Citations

Buro. "Qantas and Samsung to Offer In-flight Virtual Reality Experience." News, Fashion, Culture, Lifestyle. 1 Feb. 2015. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://www.buro247.me/lifestyle/technology/qantas-and-samsung-virtual-reality.html>.

Casini, Silvia. “Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations Between Science and Arts.” 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

Datex. "Datex Ohmeda EKG MachineIN STOCK." Datex Ohmeda EKG Machine by Datex Ohmeda. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <http://www.ekgmachinesforsale.com/datex-ohmeda-ekg.html>.

Doyle, Jimmy. "Five Questions to Ask during Your next Visit to the Doctor's Office." WorldCare. 25 Nov. 2015. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <http://www.worldcare.com/five-questions-ask-next-visit-doctors-office/>. 

Ferro, Shaunacy. "GE's Silent MRI Scanner Has Hit The Market." Popular Science. 12 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-09/silent-mri>. 

Glatter, Robert. "Can Studying Art Help Medical Students Become Better Doctors?" Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 20 Oct. 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertglatter/2013/10/20/can-studying-art-help-medical-students-become-better-doctors/#12ce20551b3f>. 

Gromala, Diane, perf. Curative Powers of Wet, Raw Beauty. 2011. Video. 24 Apr 2016. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cRdarMz–Pw>.

Institute for Plastintination. "Original & Copycat." Exhibitions. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <http://www.bodyworlds.com/en/exhibitions/original_copycat.html>. 

Kidd, Cassandra. "We Are All Human: ‘Body Worlds’ Comes to Milwaukee." Marquette Wire. 21 Feb. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <http://marquettewire.org/3858050/journal/we-are-all-human-body-worlds-comes-to-milwaukee/>. 

Sparks, Heather. "Taking the Pulse of the City With Graffiti Artist EKG - Facts So Romantic - Nautilus." Nautilus. 1 Nov. 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://nautil.us/blog/taking-the-pulse-of-the-city-with-graffiti-artist-ekg>.

Vesna, Victoria. Lecture. Medicine . Youtube, 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep0M2bOM9Tk>.

Week 3: Robotics + Art

Sleep Dealer is a film about how technology is used to replace migrant workers. The main character, Memo, is a sleep dealer, someone who is connected to cables in Mexico and controls the actions of robots in the United States. Memo works tirelessly for his family, but it gets to a point where he works overtime on many days. Memo saw many others get harmed by a poor connection or by being too sleep deprived while working. However, he continued because he wanted to support his family.

Wires connected to the Sleep Dealers that control the robots in the US

(Sleep Dealer 2015)

Sleep Dealer Factory

(Moura 2012)

Dr. Vesna talked about robotics and art, and how art was used to help create these powerful machines (Vesna, 2012). The creator of these robots had a vision of a world where there were no migrant workers, but rather workers controlling robots remotely. In fact, so many of these identical robots were created to the point that it was impossible to distinguish the new robots from the original. Douglas’ article, which states that, “there is no clear conceptual distinction now between original and reproduction in virtually any medium based in film, electronics, or telecommunications” (Douglas 1995) The fact that the robot became so standardized complements the fact that the demand for cheap labor led to the mass production of robots. The production of these robots was probably inspired by art like that of theater or in Marry Shelley’s Frankenstein novel (Vesna 2012). The robots were not distinguishable from one another, which relates to the reading by Walter Benjamin about the destruction of the uniqueness of through mass production (Benjamin 2008).

Robots used in Sleep Dealer

(Pestañín 2014)

Industrialization in the movie impacted society in two ways. First, it showed that robotics could lead to efficiency in the United States, which was true in the real world. On the other hand, it shows that robots can be harmful to society. In fact, physicist Steven Hawking said “Computers will overtake humans with AI at some within the next 100 years. When that happens, we need to make sure the computers have goals aligned with ours," (Gaudin 2015). Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, stated that, “With artificial intelligence, we are summoning the demon” (Mack 2014). It is important to find a balance between robotics and human control. Additionally, as portrayed in Sleep Dealer, mechanization can be dangerous and should be controlled to prevent sacrificing the individuality of humanity.

What we think of as "robots" 

(Robot 2012)

A portrayal of when artificial intelligence becomes dangerous

(Terminator 2016)

Citations:

Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.

Davis, Douglas. “The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction.” The MIT Press, 1995. Web. 17 Apr. 2016. <http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1576221 uid=3739560&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21101286048881>.

Gaudin, Sharon. "Stephen Hawking Fears Robots Could Take over in 100 Years." Computerworld. 14 May 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2016. <http://www.computerworld.com/article/2922442/robotics/stephen-hawking-fears-robots-could-take-over-in-100-years.html>.

Mack, Eric. "Elon Musk: 'We Are Summoning the Demon' with Artificial Intelligence." CNET. 26 Oct. 2014. Web. 17 Apr. 2016. <http://www.cnet.com/news/elon-musk-we-are-summoning-the-demon-with-artificial-intelligence/>.

Moura, Hudson. "Nothingness in Alex Rivera's Sleep Dealer: An Analytical Essay." Reflection & Film. 5 Jan. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2016. <http://reflectionandfilm.blogspot.com/2012/01/nothingness-in-alex-riveras-sleep.html>.

Pestañín. "Sleep Dealer (2008)." 22 Mar. 2014. Web. 17 Apr. 2016. <http://www.masalladehollywood.com/index.php/criticas/839-sleep-dealer-2008>.

"Robot MiP Blanc WowWee." Acheter Un Sur Robot Advance. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2016. <http://www.robot-advance.com/art-robot-mip-blanc-wowwee-1281.htm>.

"Sleep Dealer." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Sept. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_Dealer>.

"Terminator Genisys (2015)." Dailymotion. 2016. Web. 17 Apr. 2016. <http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2xs9ll>.

Vesna, Victoria. “Robotics.” Cole UC online. Youtube, 9 April 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2016. 

Week 2: Math + Art

Before watching Dr. Vesna’s lecture, I never thought about how much mathematics and art were connected. I thought of them as completely different subjects. However, I soon learned that math actually has a huge impact in creating more realistic art such as using perspectives, vanishing points, and the golden ratio (Vesna 2012). In the reading “The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art”, Henderson talks about how artists are now furthering art even more via mathematics by going beyond the three-dimensional art that has been portrayed for centuries. The fourth dimension changes art so much, similar to how the introduction of perspectives, vanishing points, and the golden ratio changed art in prior centuries (Henderson 1984). This fourth dimension illustrates the continuous progression of art through its relation to science and math. Furthermore, the reading “Flatland” taught me that we cannot replicate and understand the world beyond what we can physically observe, similar to how someone who lives in a flatland cannot understand a three dimensional world. Therefore, we can potentially use mathematics to portray the complex higher dimensions through art that we otherwise would not be able to do (Edwin 1884).

What we think of as "Math"

(Woodie 2015)

What we think of as "Science" 

(Introduction to Science 2016)

What we think of as "Art" 

(Art 2016)

Using the Golden Ratio in Art - A combination of Math & Art 

(Nyberg 2013)

The Vitruvian Man by Leonardo DaVinci was a very familiar drawing that I’ve seen numerous times throughout my educational studies. This helped me understand the impact of mathematics in art and science because the proportions of the human body through geometry is what influenced many artists and architects in the 20th century (Vitruvian Man 2014). The human proportion perspective, in addition to the drawing, influenced artists such as Piet Mondrian and Charles-Edouard Jenneret (Vesna 2012).

The Vitruvian Man

(Vitruvian Man 2014)

This week, I learned about the huge influence that math has in the creation of different artworks and architecture. Without mathematics, our drawings would not be as realistic and expressive as they are today. Although we may not clearly see the juxtaposition of mathematics, art, and science right away, it clearly exists, as shown by the impact of mathematics on art and even the use of the human body as a proportional guide for many art pieces. Therefore, this juxtaposition of art, math, and science is necessary in continuing the development of art and architecture. It is unfortunate that art is not as central as it should be in our educational curriculum (Rehmeyer 2009). Perhaps with more awareness of the impact of art and its overlap with other subjects such as math and science, schools will incorporate art more into their curriculum. 

Using Math to Create Art

(Rehmeyer 2009)

Citations:

Abbott, Edwin. “Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions.” N.p., 1884. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. <https://cole.uconline.edu/content>.

"Art." Connecticut College. 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2016. <https://www.conncoll.edu/academics/majors-departments-programs/majors-and-minors/art/>. 

Henderson, Linda. “The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art.” N.p., 1984. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. <https://cole.uconline.edu/content>.

"Introduction to Science." Imperial College London. 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2016. <http://www.imperial.ac.uk/evening-classes/autumn-spring-courses/courses-available/introduction-to-science/>. 

Nyberg, Jeanette. "Golden Ratio for Kids." Craftwhack. 07 Feb. 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2016. <http://craftwhack.com/golden-ratio-for-kids/>. 

Rehmeyer, Julie. "When Art and Math Collide." Science News. 16 Jan. 2009. Web. 11 Apr. 2016. <https://www.sciencenews.org/article/when-art-and-math-collide>. 

Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov.” Cole UC online. Youtube, 9 April 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmq5B1LKDg&feature=player_embedded>.

"Vitruvian Man." Leonardo Da Vinci's Life. 2014. Web. 11 Apr. 2016. <http://www.davincilife.com/vitruvianman.html>. 

Woodie, Alex. "Deep Gooses MySQL Performance with New Database Math." Datanami Deep Gooses MySQL Performance with New Database Math Comments. 07 Apr. 2015. Web. 11 Apr. 2016. <http://www.datanami.com/2015/04/07/deep-gooses-mysql-performance-with-new-database-math/>. 

Week 1: Two Cultures

C.P. Snow introduced the idea of two cultures: the cultures of literary intellectuals and of natural scientists (Snow 1959). He soon introduced the idea of mixing the two cultures into a third culture that combines the sciences and the arts (Vesna 2001).

As an Economics and Biology major, I constantly travel between North Campus and South Campus. North Campus courses focuses on the arts and humanities while South Campus majors focus on the sciences and mathematics. It is interesting how UCLA divides these two cultures geographically and students who decide that they want to pursue careers that mixes the two cultures are traveling between two polar ends of the campus. I am that student that constantly travels between campuses.

UCLA Broad Art Center: Building where many North Campus classes are taught.

(UCLA Broad Art Center 2012)

Young Hall: Building where many science courses are taught.

(Young Hall 2007)

Brockman describes the “third culture” as not the combination between literary intellectuals and natural scientists, but as scientists being the intellectuals and interacting with the public (Graham-Rowe 2011). Despite Brockman’s definition of a third culture, I find myself relating more with Snow’s definition of how the two disciplines have the ability to mix and create a third culture. I see myself constantly using knowledge I learn from my science courses as well as my humanities courses in my future career.

Wilson brought up the issue of a gap in understanding between scientists and the public. In fact, Wilson brings up that to face this challenge, “artists have also begun collaborating with scientists in creative and instructive ways.” (Wilson 2000). This is exactly showing how art and science are meshing into a third culture, a culture where there is an intersection of the two fields. Studies have shown that art is a great way to teach science, as it eliminates the fear of incorrect answers and boosts confidence (Krigman 2014). By combining these two cultures, a huge impact can be made on educating students. In fact, it made me realize that this may even allow us to teach higher level science courses earlier due to being able to use art to simplify things.

(Using Art to Teach Science 2012)

Before this course, I wasn't aware of the concept of “Two Cultures." I knew a division existed between the arts and sciences, but was never actively aware of this division. This third culture opens up countless possibilities in not only the career field but in how students connect different subjects. These new ideas benefit me in that I will continue to follow my passion of impacting the healthcare field through business and perhaps one day, land a job that constantly meshes the two cultures into what we now know as the third culture.

Citations:

Graham-Rowe, Duncan. "John Brockman:Matchmaking with science and art." Wired. 03 Feb. 2011. Web. 3 Apr. 2016.

Krigman, Eliza. "Gaining STEAM: Teaching Science Through Art." U.S. News. 13 Feb. 2014. Web. 3 Apr. 2016. <http://www.usnews.com/news/stem-solutions/articles/2014/02/13/gaining-steam-teaching-science-though-art>.

Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge UP, 1959. Print.

UCLA Broad Art Center. 2012. Los Angeles. Urban Simulation Team. Web. 3 Apr. 2016. <http://www.ust.ucla.edu/ustweb/Projects/PROJECTS/ucla/broad_img3.htm>. 

Using Art to Teach Science. 2012. Web. 3 Apr. 2016. <http://adventuresinmommydom.org/science-sunday-combining-science-and-art/>.

Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." Leonardo. 34 (2001): 121-125. Print.

Wilson, Stephen D. “Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology.” College Art Association Meetings. New York, New York, 2000. Print.

Young Hall, UCLA. 2007. Flikr. Web. 3 Apr. 2016. <UCLA Broad Art Center. Los Angeles. Urban Simulation Team. Web. 3 Apr. 2016. <https://www.flickr.com/photos/spiff11/508181800>.