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>.