daniellerDESMA9

Image 1: Sputnik - Engineering a World First       When I think about space and art, I think infinite imagination. Before the age of space exploration, artists and the general public had no real choice but to rely on their imagination for what existed in space.  The Space Race began in the late 1950's sparked an era of space related fantasy fiction.  People were enamored with ideas about space exploration, particularly the entertainment community.  As Vesna highlighted in lecture 6, television shows and movies such as The Jetsons, Lost in Space, Star Trek,  had a tremendous influence in popular culture. Shows like this, are another example of how science and technology has influenced the art realm. Image 2: The Jetson's: George with Elroy's Space Cubs troop where they've become lost on the moon       Chesley Bonestell, an American artist thrived in his artwork during the space race. Much like the entertainment cu...

Image 1: Waiting Laptops, 2016 Image 2: Waiting Laptops, 2016       I attended Judith Hopf's exhibition at the Hammer Museum on Thursday, June 1st.  Before attending, I researched her work and was intrigued by the notion she was particularly interested in the influence of technology on our behavior [2]. Throughout many of the units in this course, we have observed this phenomenon, which drew me to visit her exhibit.       Judith Hopf is a German artist whose art work aims to challenge her viewers to "consider current political and economic contexts within which the international contemporary art world operates"[1]. Much of her work also aims to bring liveliness of inanimate objects.  She is a keen observer of how humans operate, especially in modern day, and she expresses her views in her artwork.  She brings inanimate objects and materials to life and presents them in a relatable form.  "She encourages us to slow down, look, an...

Image 1:  Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France.      Coming into this unit, I had very minimal knowledge about the nature of nanotechnology and its influence on the science and art communities.  Nanotechnology goes a step further than traditional forms of technology,  allowing for further collaboration between science and art.  Artists can utilize nanotechnology to "investigate phenomena occurring beyond our human capacity to sense, and to amplify these interactions in such a way that they are able to be effectively experienced at the human scale" (Anonymous, 2010).       In Dr. Gimzewski's third lecture on Nanotechnology for Artists, he introduced nanoparticles. Nanoparticles have a wide range of uses and came to light Roman Times. Nanoparticle coloration, depend on the form and size you can create a wide variety of different colors which "give the stained glass this marvelous quality that can't be achieved using regular pigments"...

Image 1: Dr. Albert Hoffman's Discovery of LSD        Art is perceived by the fascinating and intricate functions of the human brain. I found a greater connection between neuroscience and art, than I did with biotechnology in art. More specifically, I found this connection with neurochemistry.  In Vesna's third lecture, she discussed the influence of hallucinogenic drugs such as Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD).  LSD was first brought to life by Albert Hoffman in 1938.  While in his lab, he "perceived an uninterrupted dream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors"(Hoffman). Image 2: Psychedelic Medicine       As a psychology major, I found it very interesting to learn that LSD was once used to treat psychosis through psychedelic psychotherapy.  I further researched Humphry Osmond's findings on LSD and it's affect on alcoholics and it was found that approximately 45% of the alco...

       Just as technology has expanded the minds and opportunities for artists, biotechnology has had similar effects, however in a different aspect in my opinion.  Artists over the past few decades have reportedly been spending just as much time in the laboratory  as the studio, working with biotechnologists, working with human tissues and DNA samples. (Miranda). Image 1: Joe Davis, Audio Microscope        Joe Davis, the pioneer of bioart, worked with several  molecular biologists and who taught him about genomes, the genetic material of an organism.  Davis tried to convince them to synthesize DNA and insert them into genomes of living bacteria.  His ideas led him to the audio microscope which translated light information into sound in order to hear living cells.  He also performed studies examining how E-coli bacteria responds to jazz music. To me, I see Davis's work as experimentation between biology and techn...

Image 1: Display of Exhibit      On Tuesday, May 9th, I attended Eli Joteva's Graduate Solo Show here at UCLA.  She had a very unique style of art and I enjoyed listening to her speak about her inspiration behind her artwork.  Her  display was a beautiful combination of art, science and technology.   Image 2: Projected Photograph of Dream-Wave Portrai      When you first walk into her exhibit, displayed on the wall on th e left hand side, was a photograph of a dream-wave portrait, as shown to the left. I asked her about her inspiration behind this photograph and she mentioned that she had been studying gamma and beta brain waves and the formulation of memories.  She also shared that her dreams have been behind the inspiration of most of her artwork.  Joteva was very interested in how people think about their dreams and their future dreams; how people see their future. As you turn the corner to the right, there are ...

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Image 1: Plastic Body (Medicine Pt 3) I grew up surrounded by the medical world, being that my mother is an Emergency Room physician. I currently work in the Emergency Department and I am exposed to modern medical technologies all the time, such as X-rays and CT scans. In Vesna's third lecture, I was fascinated to learn plastic surgery was not a modern phenomenon. "Physicians in ancient India were utilizing skin grafts for reconstructive work as early at 800 B.C."  Also, plastic does not necessarily mean artificial, rather it means to give something form, derived from the Greek word  Plasticos.  Image 2: Pregnant Woman - Body World Exhibit In my experience in art galleries, the artist's meaning is often up to your own interpretation and imagination.  I'm no expert in the art world, just as many are not experts in the medical world.  "The appeal of brain imaging as a technique of self-portrait is powerful for an audience outside the medical field,...

Image 1: Johannes Gutenberg, Printing Press.  The Industrial revolution made room for large jump mechanization and mass production.  In lecture 1, Vesna mentions that "the printing press was the beginning of the assembly line production." The invention of the printing press, marks the beginning of assembly line manufacturing.  When I first learned about assembly line manufacturing, I always viewed the assembly in a positive light and that it was an incredible step forward, which it was. Image 2: Henry Ford Model-T Assembly Line However, after reading The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, by Walter Benjamin, it gave me insight to the negative aspects of assembly line manufacturing. "Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be. This unique existence of the work of art determined the history to which it was subject throughout...

Image 1: Bare Your Soul by Linda Weintraub  I attended Linda Weintraub's, Welcome to My Woods , workshop on Wednesday, April 19th, and I throughly enjoyed her perspective on the way we live our lives in our modern world.  Linda's interest is in neo-materialism, which is the study of relationships between populations and environments. (Materialism). One of the first questions Linda asked me was "How often in your life do you spend walking on hard, flat surfaces?" I had never thought about this before.  It turns out I do this the majority of each and every day.  I thought to myself, I rarely spend time barefoot, and rarely spend time on the grass, beach, or in nature for that matter.  "There are reflex points to every part of your body in your feet.  Every little bump and rock in the road helps to stimulate all these little reflex points.  If it hurts at first - especially in specific areas, this means your feet need the stimulation they're gett...

Leonardo da Vinci: the Vitruvian Man Before this week, I had never really considered the mathematical aspect in the arts, at lease not to the depth of the golden ratio. That being said, I had never thought of how the two subjects could not only influence one another, but coexist. The infamous Vitruvian Man (see left) , by Leonardo da Vince circa 1490. It reveals the ideal human proportions through the use of geometry.  It truly captures the essence of mathematical influence in art and science. In the article written by Sanghi he explains, "the Vitruvian Man image exemplifies the blend of art and science during the Renaissance and provides the perfect example of Leonardo's keen interest in proportion" Image 2: Vanishing point: Masolino’s ‘St. Peter Healing a Cripple and the Raising of Tabitha’ (1425). Mathematics has certainly enhanced visual perspective in art.  In Vesna's lecture, she introduced Al-Haytham, a medieval muslim scholar who specia...