Week 4

Medicine + Technology

The human body is one of the most intricate and fascinating working "machine" operating on earth today, and furthermore, anatomy and dissection of the human body is at the intersection of art and technology today. Medical technology is at the forefront of the technology race as its field is producing some of the newest and cutting-edge technology today.

The first significant text and illustrations of the human anatomy were done by Andreas Vesalius in his De Humani Corporis Fabrica (1543) in which he accurately illustrated and presented an elaborate depiction of the human organs and body structure like no one had done before. A few hundred years later, Henry Gray's Anatomy book would prove to be one of the most influential pieces on the subject and is still used today. The vivid illustrations and detailed descriptions would spark a shift in appeal towards beauty and the human body, and even today, although it was intended for the medical community, most artists who work with the human body use it.

A popular, yet unique, use of the human body in the art world is the exhibition called "Bodies" which display human bodily systems preserved with silicon posed in active positions. It is fascinating exhibition and I was lucky enough to get to visit the traveling exhibit in New York. The exhibit was like nothing I have ever seen and I will remember the remarkable exhibit forever. 

X-Rays are taken for granite in the 21st century, as they are used in a wide spectrum and variety of places from airport security to every established hospital in the world. But X-Rays have been one of the most influential inventions since the beginning of the 20th century both in the medical and artist world. CAT scans today are able to provide the doctor with a 3-D image of their patients anatomy and organs, a truly incredible phenomenon. Growing up, my father was a radiologist, a doctor whose practice is primarily reading and diagnosing X-Rays, so I would sit and watch him work with his technicians to take the MRI and CAT scans and then put the images up to light and diagnose his patients. Even as a little kid, I remember watching him scan through "sliced" images of a patients head to look for irregularities. The evolution of X-Rays has allowed for doctors and artists alike to get a better and better understanding of what the human anatomy looks like and the many different variations.  

Sources

 Gray, Henry Gray's Anatomy Descriptive and Surgical, 1896 13th edition. 

Savitz, Masha. "Deconstructing the Human Bodies Exhibit and Falun Gong Genocide." Oct. 14, 2014. http://cinemalibrestudio.com/clsblog/2014/10/14/deconstructing-the-human-bodies-exhibit-the-falun-gong-genocide/ 

"History of the X-Ray and Radiology." History. NDT Resource Center, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. https://www.nde-ed.org/EducationResources/CommunityCollege/Radiography/Introduction/history.htm

"CAT Scan vs. MRI." Diffen, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2015. http://www.diffen.com/difference/CT_Scan_vs_MRI

"Vesalius - Pages 3 and 4." Virtual Books: Images Only. British Library, 1543. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/ttp/vesalius/accessible/pages3and4.html#content

Week 3

Robots + Art

The Industrial Revolution and robotic functions following didn't allowed for creative output to flourish as the replacement of human function gave rise to mass production and assembly. While the industrial industry has mad our lives easier, Walter Benjamin claims in his Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction that "society has not been mature enough to incorporate technology."Although, society, according to Benjamin, gets more in touch and relative with technology in the 21st century. Robots were originally portrayed as violent and evil machines when they were first introduced to society but examples such as "WALL-E" or "Despicable Me" have many human qualities that make them loving and relatable. Once the robots become relatable, they can then become portray as human entities.

Wall-E shows how we can expand our creative outlook towards robots and maybe potentially one day creative a robot that could be relatable like a human. Rodney Brooks describes in his piece that robot "could have emotions" and could act like living creatures. This is interesting to consider as sometime in the future robots could be intermingling with humans without much distinction. Society in the future must shift their outlook and perception of robots to helpful aid and service from doom and destruction, or else there will be many issues when more robots become involved in society.

Society must adapt to the intervention of robots or else there it will be a difficult adjustment in the future, because robots will only become more and more integrated into everyday life in the future. If Humans do not adapt quickly, robots will begin to take more and more jobs and human society will be left without jobs support or quality of life. Robots are the future, humans must begin to adapt if they are want there to be as little of adjustment as possible.

Sources


Walter, Benjamin. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” 1936. Web.

http://www.reelz.com/trailer-clips/48113/wall-e-clip/

Brooks, Rodney.  “Robots will invade our lives.”  Online video clip.  Ted.   Ted, Sep. 2008.  Web. 17. Apr. 2015.

http://www.wired.com/2012/12/ff-robots-will-take-our-jobs/

Cobb, Russell. The Paradox of Authenticity in A Globalized World. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. 

Week 2: Math + Art

I thought Professor Vesna's lecture this week was very interesting discussing how Art and Math play off each other and allow one to let the other operate. As Professor Vesna says, Math is a study of the relationship between numbers; a "language" incorporating combinations, extrapolations, forms, structures, etc. And, speaking about visual art specifically, it is critical to be able to understand to some extend how spaces, numbers, structures work in accordance to each other if he/she wishes to create whatever he/she is attempting to make. The artist Michelangelo used mathematics to make sure his sculpture, "The David," was proportional and symmetrical. Simultaneously, Jackson Pollock is a good example of an artist that at first glance, looks like he has little symmetry or balance to his method, but the "fractals" are composed of a single geometric pattern repeated thousands of times at different magnifications." According to Discover Magazine's article, "Pollock's Fractals," Pollock was arguably the best artist in America, despite those the critics who believed a "monkey could do the same."

The mathematical "Golden Ratio" which was highlighted in Professor Vesna's lecture has been used in architectural structures since the Greeks. The ratio allowed for the Greeks to design the dimensions of their structures which would prove to be structurally sound and elegantly built, as some still stand today, such as the parthenon.  

"The Forth Dimension" by Henderson discussed a future with a so-called fourth dimension that would be the beginning of a new influence. The influence could allow for even a larger integration of art and mathematics. There are artists that have already began to touch on the "fourth dimension" in some aspects. Another reading that was very interesting was the "Vanishing Points and Looking at Art" article, which discussed the mathematics and vantage point an artist must use when attempting to imitate are real life view of a scene or object in the distance. When trying to portray it realistically, the artist must make sure to converge the parallel line at the vanishing point. In conclusion, art and mathematics would not be the same today if they weren't for each other and the future of the two coexistence is only going to grow.

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_(Michelangelo)#/media/File:David_von_Michelangelo.jpg

https://mattbutler247.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/jackson-pollock1.jpg

http://www.joshuagarity.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/goldenratio_parthenon.jpg

Henderson, Linda. “The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion.” MIT Press. 17.3 (1984): 205-10. Print.

"Vansishing Points and Looking at Art." http://www.cs.ucf.edu/courses/cap6938-02/refs/VanishingPoints.pdf

Ouellette, Jennifer. "Pollock's Fractals." http://discovermagazine.com/2001/nov/featpollock

 

Week 1: "Two Culture"

Discussing any two cultures can create a great topic for discussion, as they often have many physical differences but can be surprisingly similar in their practice, origins, or concepts. Snow believes that there that science and art (literary) cultures are on either end of the spectrum, but I see them as more similar than that concurring with Bohm on the subject of creativity. Both artists and scientist find great rewards for uniqueness and creativity within their practice. Art is clearly the more obvious creative outlet, but the best scientific discoveries and inventions in the world were products of unmatched creativity and relentless practice. There are many talented people in the world that have large capacities for pursuit of arts or sciences, but there are also individuals who are able to balance both ends of the cultures and merge them together to create brilliance. Kevin Kelly writes in his "Third Culture" article, "The purpose of science is to pursue the truth of the universe. Likewise, the aim of the arts is to express the human condition; [nerd] culture strays from both of these." Kelly's nerd culture is his term for his "Third Culture." An example of art and science combining together in the "Third Culture" to create greatness are concept cars. BMW created a concept car created using fabric as the exterior with the technology of the newest BMW.  

http://www.wired.com/2008/06/bmw-builds-a-ca/

UCLA is another good example of the "Third Culture" being exhibited on a daily base, as it is a competitive institution in every academic field, sport, and extracurricular activity. There is a clear distinction at UCLA between North (literary arts) and South (Science) campuses, yet the school demands every student to take classes for G.E.'s that don't necessarily pertain to their majors. This way, students become more versed in multiple topics and there is less of a distinction between Art and Science majors. I play baseball here at UCLA, so I do my best to balance my academic and athletics to do the best I can in both areas. 

NCAA Student-Athletes putting more emphasis on academics exemplifying the "Third Culture."

http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/baseball-student-athletes-show-significant-academic-improvement

UCLA South Campus shows how the campuses Art priority is displayed.

http://dancescapela.com/blog/

Resources:

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

Kelly, Kevin. "The Third Culture." Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2013. <http://www.sciencemag.org/content/279/5353/992.full>

http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/baseball-student-athletes-show-significant-academic-improvement

http://www.wired.com/2008/06/bmw-builds-a-ca/

http://dancescapela.com/blog/