Week 9: Space + Art

This week's topic was extremely fascinating, as I have always been interested in space, but never thought about its relation to art. One topic that I found interesting was buckyballs, which were not only found as a solid form in space, but were also studied by nanotechnologists. Nanotechnologists have been able to manipulate buckyballs due to their small size, leading to new discoveries. Because buckyballs are found in a solid form, "they may be an important form of carbon, an essential building block for life, throughout the cosmos" (Dunbar 2012). Buckyballs have also contributed to medicine, as the small size of the buckyball is used for targeted drug delivery (Azonano 2006). As shown, understanding the structure of the buckyball led to many important discoveries, from medicine to the formation of life.

A buckyball which is made up of 60 carbon atoms

(Gibney 2015)

NASA’s Art Program is one medium that space exploration is presented to the public. Artists work with astronauts and scientists to portray space exploration. There are 73 pieces of art, ranging from paintings to sculptures, that help portray space exploration. Without art, visualization of what space exploration is like would be difficult (Smithsonian 2015).

An example of an artistic representation of space exploration

(Smithsonian 2015)

Similarly, The Leonardo Space Art Project has a similar goal of portraying space activities through artists, writers, and composers. As Annick Bureaud states, "artists have been the fuel of space exploration, embodying in their art the dreams of humankind, making these dreams desirable for engineers to achieve" (Leonardo 1996). It is no surprise that art is extremely important in expressing space exploration.

Lastly, as Roger Malina states, "the space age was possible because for centuries the cultural imagination was fed by artists, writers and musicians who dreamed of human activities in space" (Leonardo 1996). Things that were once just ideas portrayed through artistic mediums such as film and TV are now becoming a reality. For example, as mentioned in lecture, the construction of a space elevator was mentioned in The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke (Vesna 2013). Currently, designs of the space elevator are being done by multiple companies (Anthony 2014).

An artist's representation of a space elevator

(Anthony 2014)

A different artist's representation of a space elevator 

(Price 2000)

Space exploration wouldn't be possible without space art. Without artists, portraying space exploration to the public would be difficult. As technology advances and new space ideas are formed by artists, we will continue to see art and science overlap. I am looking to forward to learning about new discoveries and advances in space exploration as artists and scientists continue to collaborate.

Illustration depicting the future of space exploration 

(National Geographic 2015)

Citations:

Anthony, Sebastian. "Google X Admits It’s Working on a Space Elevator, Teleportation, Hoverboards | ExtremeTech." ExtremeTech. 16 Apr. 2014. Web. 29 May 2016. <http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/180682-google-x-admits-its-working-on-a-space-elevator-teleportation-hoverboards>.

Azonano. "BuckyBalls - A Nanotechnology Building Block, How To Make Them, History, Properties and Applications." 2006. Web. 29 May 2016. <http://www.azonano.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1781>,

Dunbar, Brian. "NASA'S Spitzer Finds Solid Buckyballs in Space." NASA, 22 Feb. 2012. Web. 29 May 2016. <http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012/feb/HQ_12-057_Spitzer_Buckyballs.html>.

Gibney, Elisabeth. "Buckyballs in Space Solve 100-year-old Riddle." Nature.com. Nature Publishing Group, 15 July 2015. Web. 29 May 2016. <http://www.nature.com/news/buckyballs-in-space-solve-100-year-old-riddle-1.17987>.

Leonardo. "The Leonardo Space Art Project Working Group." 1996. Web. 29 May 2016. <http://spaceart.org/leonardo/vision.html>.

National Geographic. "Future of Spaceflight, NASA Missions Information, Future Missions Facts, News, Photos -- National Geographic." 2015. Web. 29 May 2016. <http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/space-exploration/future-spaceflight/>.

Price, Steve. "Audacious & Outrageous: Space Elevators." NASA Science. 7 Sept. 2000. Web. 29 May 2016. <http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2000/ast07sep_1/>.

Smithsonian. "NASA Art" Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service - About the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service's Exhibitions. 2015. Web. 29 May 2016. <http://www.sites.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibits/nasa_art/main.htm#top>.

Vesna, Victoria. Lecture. "Space + Art". 2013. Web. 29 May 2016.

Week 8: Nanotechnology + Art

It was interesting to learn how nanotechnology was present in everyday items such as the food we eat and in the diagnostic tools we use for different diseases. As we learned in lecture this week, nanotechnology is present in so many fields, including agriculture, science, medicine, and art. Nanotechnology is an important discovery that changed the world both socially and economically (Gimzewski 2012).

Nanotechnology can be found in the food we eat

(Cambrian 2015)

Christian Orfescu is an artist who is engrossed in the nanotechnology field. Not only does he design better lithium batteries using nanotechnology, but he also uses nanotechnology in his abstract artworks. The limitations that nanotechnology creates, limiting the dimensions of materials to 100 nanometers or less, inspires Christian to create art that has very unique colors and shapes. This is called "nanoart." He uses the famous scanning electron microscope in many of his works to not only produce his works, but also trigger curiosity in his viewers about nanotechnology (Feder 2008).

Nanoart by Christian Orfescu 

(Feder 2008)

Another example of the intersection of art and nanotechnology is the exhibit at LACMA called "NANO" created by Professor Vesna and Dr. Gimzewski. Although the exhibition is no longer on display, "NANO" was extremely impactful and used art to help the understanding of nanotechnology. The visitors of this exhibition interacted with many forms of art, such as captured images, shadows, and a computer design program, to understand how nanotechnology works (NANO 2003). Visitors were able to manipulate and move the molecules individually (Lovgren 2003).

The NANO exhibit at LACMA 

(Cortado 2004)

Lastly, something that I found extremely fascinating about how nanotechnology was used in art was in stained glass (Gimzewski 2012). The colors on stained glass are determined by the shapes and sizes of the nanoparticles. Gold and silver nanoparticles in the glass with different shapes and sizes are what creates the colorful artwork of stained glass. For example, gold particles that are 100 nm in size and are sphere shaped create the yellow color we see in stained glass. Silver particles that are 100 nm in size and prism shaped create the red we see in stained glass (Beckett and Gough 2015). 

Nanotechnology is used to create stained glass artwork such as this one

(Beckett and Gough 2015)

The shapes and size of nanoparticles to create different colors

(Beckett and Gough 2015)

Overall, I found this week's topics to be extremely interesting. I never knew the prevalence of nanotechnology in our world, ranging from medical diagnostic tools such as the PillCam to the artworks such as stained glass (Gimzewski 2012). Nanotechnology is a growing field that is undergoing so much research and innovation. I am curious to see what the future holds as nanotechnology continues to develop. 

Citations: 

Beckett, Brad, and William Gough. "Nanotechnology." 2015. Web. 23 May 2016. <http://nano--tech.blogspot.com/p/history.html>.

Cambrian. "Nanotechnology and Food." Nanoday. 02 Aug. 2015. Web. 23 May 2016. <http://www.nanoday.com/single/274/nanotechnology-and-food>.

Cortado, Rhea. "LACMA Exhibit Brings Together Science, Art." Daily Bruin. 12 Feb. 2004. Web. 23 May 2016. <http://www.darksideofcell.info/press/dailybruin.htm>.

Feder, Barnaby J. "The Art of Nanotech." Bits The Art of Nanotech Comments. 25 Jan. 2008. Web. 23 May 2016. <http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/25/the-art-of-nanotech/?_r=0>.

Gimzewski, Jim. “NanoTech + Art." Lecture. 2012. Web. 22 May 2016.

Lovgren, Stefan. "Can Art Make Nanotechnology Easier to Understand?" National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 23 Dec. 2003. Web. 23 May 2016. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/12/1223_031223_nanotechnology.html>.

NANO. "About Nano." 2003. Web. 23 May 2016. <http://nano.arts.ucla.edu/mandala/about.php>.

Week 7: Neuroscience + Art

Neuroscience is a complex field that is still undergoing research and development today. Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary science that overlaps with many fields, such as mathematics and linguistics. As we learned in lecture this week, neuroscience also overlaps heavily with art (Vesna 2012).

The overlap between neuroscience and art that stood out most to me in this week’s lecture was Brainbow. Brainbow allows scientists to distinguish neurons next to each other through the use of fluorescent proteins (Vesna 2012). Different derivatives of three primary colors (red, green, and blue) are used to distinctively flag each neuron (Than 2007). The flagging of individual neurons not only allows clear visualization, but also helps scientists identify and follow complex neural pathways (WennersHerron 2016). This flagging via fluorescent proteins is a use of art that heavily impacts the neuroscience field. The images from Brainbow are so unique and eye catching that they have earned awards in science photography competitions (Olympus 2007).

A photo of Brainbow

(Center for Brain Science 2007)

A clear picture of neighboring neurons depicted via different colors

(Center for Brain Science 2007)

LSD was a drug synthesized by Albert Hofmann. Another interesting topic covered in lecture was the use of LSD drugs as inspiration for many artworks (Vesna 2012). One example of an artist who took LSD while painting portraits of the doctor who administered the drug is shown below. Eight hours elapsed between the first and last portrait and it is very clear that the drug affected the way the artist portrayed the subject he was painting (Colman 2013).

A video showing the progression of the artists' portraits throughout 8 hours

(Colman 2013)

Portrait 20 minutes after the first dose of LSD

(Colman 2013)

Portrait 2 hours and 45 minutes after the first dose of LSD

(Colman 2013)

While many of these experiments were done in the past, back when LSD was legal, a recent viral post three years ago showed 11 self portraits by someone who took LSD. As shown below, the portraits evolved from a very clear image of a girl to a very abstract picture that included the body along with the head while all the other portraits didn’t. It is clear that LSD causes more creative and abstract art. This is an example of how science (the LSD drug) influences artists and art itself (Dainius 2015).

Self-portrait 15 minutes after taking LSD
(Leggett 2013)

Self-portrait 8 hours after taking LSD
(Leggett 2013)

Self-portrait 8 hours and 45 minutes after taking LSD
(Leggett 2013)

Overall, as shown by the two examples above, art influences neuroscience (Brainbow) and neuroscience influences art (LSD). This is a clear example of the merging of the two cultures into a third culture, as depicted by C.P. Snow, as science and art are being used together to create things influential to the health and art field (Snow 1959). With the consistent overlap between art and neuroscience, I am anticipating and looking forward to learning about future advances in different fields due to this overlap.

Citations
Center for Brain Science. "Brainbow." 2007. Web. 15 May 2016. <http://cbs.fas.harvard.edu/science/connectome-project/brainbow#>.

Colman, Dan. "Artist Draws Nine Portraits on LSD During 1950s Research Experiment." Open Culture. 15 Oct. 2013. Web. 15 May 2016. <http://www.openculture.com/2013/10/artist-draws-nine-portraits-on-lsd-during-1950s-research-experiment.html>.

Dainius. "Artist Used LSD And Drew Herself For 9 Hours To Show How It Affects Brain." Bored Panda RSS. 2015. Web. 15 May 2016. <http://www.boredpanda.com/lsd-portrait-drawings-girl/>.

Leggett, Tabatha. "11 Self-Portraits Drawn During An LSD Trip." BuzzFeed. 18 Nov. 2013. Web. 15 May 2016. <https://www.buzzfeed.com/tabathaleggett/self-portraits-drawn-during-an-lsd-trip?utm_term=.fg9gDnwqB#.gr6yG195e>.

Olympus. "Mouse Brain or Impressionist Painting? Olympus Names BioScapes Photo Competition Winners." 13 Nov. 2007. Web. 15 May 2016. <http://www.olympusamerica.com/oai_pressDetails.asp?pressNo=564>.

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

Than, Ker. "Brain Cells Colored To Create 'Brainbow'" LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 31 Oct. 2007. Web. 15 May 2016. <http://www.livescience.com/1977-brain-cells-colored-create-brainbow.html>.

Vesna, Victoria. Lecture. "Neuroscience". 2012. Web. 15 May 2016.

WennersHerron, Ashley. "'Brainbow' Reveals Surprising Data about Visual Connections in Brain." Http://research.vtc.vt.edu. 2016. Web. 15 May 2016. <http://research.vtc.vt.edu/news/2015/aug/31/brainbow-reveals-surprising-data-about-visual-conn/>.

Week 6: BioTech + Art

In lecture this week, we learned about different ways artists use biotechnology in their works. Joe Davis was one of the first individuals to explore this field by synthesizing DNA and inserting that DNA into the genomes of living bacteria. He used biotechnology to create many different artworks such as the Audio Microscope and Microvenus (Vesna 2012).

The Microvenus Project

(Genetics and Culture 2015)

The Microvenus icon 

(Davis 1986) 

The Audio Microscope

(Genetics and Culture 2000)

The works of Joe Davis and many other artists that used biotechnology bring up ethical debates and controversy. For example, Alba, the fluorescent rabbit, was created and noted as artwork that displays something that doesn’t exist normally. However, debates are brought up about the value of this piece of art and if it is ethical to use animals for things other than medical advancements (Genome News Network 2004).

Alba 

(Zimmer 2015)

Artistic media using technology represents the third culture that C.P. Snow discusses (Snow 1959). It represents the intersection between art and science, as artists are using science to create their pieces. With the development of technology, especially biotechnology, BioArt is becoming increasingly popular (Vesna 2012).

A collage of words that describe and represent Biotechnology 

(Dangi 2012)

Moreover, life is being used more and more as an expressive medium. I would consider life a valid expressive medium, as not only has it been done through Microvenus or Alba, but also because art and science are becoming inseparable with today’s growing third culture (Thrissur 2014). However, there should be restrictions for artists using biotechnology, as loosely using life as a medium can cause the creation of harmful organisms that may disrupt nature.

The film Jurassic Park is an example of how experimental science to create art can become detrimental to society. The experimenters in the movie recover dinosaur DNA and clone this DNA. They then insert the DNA into eggs in order to create dinosaurs (Iowa Public Television 2004). This fictional story is actually becoming realistic with the development of technology, shown through the successful cloning of a gaur. The endangered gaur's DNA was cloned and inserted into a cow's egg. Bessie, the cow, carried this modified egg and gave birth to the gaur. This successful experiment shows the wide application of genetic engineering occurring in our world (Appleton 2013).

Jurassic Park T. Rex

(Phillips 2015)

The potential dangers of bioengineering used in art should by no means limit human creativity, but rather encourage artists to express their creativity in a form that will not be detrimental to society so that they can continue to use biotechnology as a bridge between their creativity and their artwork.

Citations:
Appleton, Caroline. "The First Successful Cloning of a Gaur (2000), by Advanced Cell Technology" The Embryo Project Encyclopedia. 26 July 2013. Web. 08 May 2016. <https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/first-successful-cloning-gaur-2000-advanced-cell-technology>.

Dangi, Ritu. "Biotechnology." Engineers Garage. 2012. Web. 08 May 2016. <http://www.engineersgarage.com/articles/biotechnology>.

Davis, Joe. "Microvenus." Media Art Net. 1986. Web. 08 May 2016.<http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/works/microvenus/>.

Genetics and Culture. "Audio Microscope: Joe Davis." Genetics and Culture. 2000. Web. 09 May 2016. <http://geneticsandculture.com/genetics_culture/pages_genetics_culture/gc_w03/davis_audio_scope.htm>.

Genetics and Culture. "Microvenus: Joe Davis: Genetics and Culture." 2015. Web. 08 May 2016. <http://geneticsandculture.com/genetics_culture/pages_genetics_culture/gc_w03/davis_microvenus.htm>.

Genome News Network. "Transgenic Bunny by Eduardo Kac." Genome News Network. 2004. Web. 08 May 2016. <http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/03_02/bunny_art.shtml>.

Iowa Public Television. "Jurassic Park." Explore More Genetic Engineering. 2004. Web. 08 May 2016. <http://www.iptv.org/exploremore/ge/issues/issue6.cfm>.

Phillips, Ian. "These Great Sketches Show the 'Jurassic Park' TV Series That Sadly Never Came to Be." Tech Insider. 6 Sept. 2015. Web. 08 May 2016. <http://www.techinsider.io/jurassic-park-rejected-tv-show-art-2015-8>.

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

Thrissur, Ist. "Art and Science Are Inseparable, Says Mathematician." The Hindu. 04 June 2014. Web. 08 May 2016. <http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/art-and-science-are-inseparable-says-mathematician/article6084209.ece>.

Vesna, Victoria. Lecture. "BioTech Art Lectures". 2012. Web. 08 May 2016.

Zimmer, Marc. "Alba." Green Fluorescent Protein. 2015. Web. 08 May 2016. <https://www.conncoll.edu/ccacad/zimmer/GFP-ww/cooluses8.html>.

Event 1: LASER

I attended the Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous (LASER) event on April 21st. There were 8 speakers at this event who talked about their recent projects for 5-7 minutes each. Most of these speakers had projects that incorporated art along with science or technology, which was really exciting. I got to see a lot of overlap between some of the speakers' projects and what we learned in lecture. The speakers Taylor Aubry, Marco Pinter, Shannon Willis, and Toni Dove all had projects that really interested me and connected to the course material.

Taylor Aubry's project was called "The Future of our Energy Landscape: Could Plastic Solar Cells Meet our Energy Needs?" Taylor and her lab are working on creating electricity through the implementation of plastic solar cells. This is a perfect overlap between art and science, as these plastic cells can be used in artistic innovations, but science is what allows the plastic solar cells to generate electricity. The reason that we don't have plastic solar cells on our rooftops is due to the cost of creating them. However, mass production can be done to lessen the costs. Although this destroys uniqueness, as mentioned by Walter Benjamin, the production of these plastic solar cells may not be as costly (Benjamin 2008). As for now, an immediate use of these plastic solar cells will be for smaller projects such as wearable electronics. As they become more popular, we may one day see plastic solar cell rooftops.

Taylor Aubry talking about the future of plastic solar cells

Plastic Solar Cells

(Beach 2015)

Marco Pinter talked about his dissertation research at UC Santa Barbara. His work was on combining dance and technology to create sculptures and ordinary objects such as scarves that danced. I thought this was extremely unique, as it not only incorporated a form of art (dance), but also had an aspect of robotics to it as these objects would move on their own.

The artwork done by Marco Pinter where objects are moving on their own

Shannon Willis' work was about how she feels separated from her daughter. Her art was a compilation of different videos. These video clips were of her daughter and her watching those clips of her daughter. I thought her art was very abstract and unique. I could really feel the connection she has with her daughter while watching the video. This piece used technology and compiled different videos to create a work of art.

Lastly, Toni Dove talked about her recent project - an interactive narrative. There are 9 screens around the room with different projections on each. Furthermore, the main character on stage who is singing has a dress that is part robotic and can be projected on. This project incorporated art (music/costume/videos) and technology (robotics/projections) in a creative way and really complements what we have been learning in class.

Toni Dove talking about the robotic dress 

Overall, I really enjoyed the event. I learned a lot about recent projects that use art, science, and technology. I never knew how much technology and science was incorporated in art until after this event. C.P. Snow introduces a third culture, one that combines the sciences and art (Snow 1959). It became prevalent that this third culture C.P. Snow talks about is already being incorporated in our world today, as artists are using technology and science more and more in their projects.

Toni Dove and I at the LASER event 

Professor Vesna and I at the LASER event

Event Link: http://artsci.ucla.edu/?q=laser-leonardo-art-science-evening-rendezvous

Bibliography:

Beach, Greg. "Paper-thin Printed Solar Cells Could Provide Power for 1.3 Billion People." Inhabitat Green Design Innovation Architecture Green Building. 17 June 2015. Web. 04 May 2016. <http://inhabitat.com/paper-thin-printed-solar-cells-could-provide-power-for-1-3-billion/>.

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

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

"UCLA Art|Sci Center: LASER (Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous)." YouTube. Computing Technologies Research Lab Streaming, 21 Apr. 2016. Web. 03 May 2016.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCJcAFGckQg>

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

Week 5 Midterm Project: Wi-Swim

Link to PDF: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7PwYBTvXPHqWTJOMGRfMll4dDA