Week 8

Week 8

Nanotechnology and Art

This is a representation of a possible
nano-robot.

     The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of nanotechnology is robots. No, not those big robots that are probably coming to your mind right now. I am talking about those little ones that are super tiny that you see on science blogs and other mediums of information. Although those little robot gadgets are cool, I also think about the everyday information that we learned in this weeks lecture.

     The first thing that blew my mind was the mere thought of a nanometer. A nanometer is only 1 billionth of a meter, also known as the length of a glucose molecule as Professor Jim Gimzewski would describe it. Gimzewski talked about a specific quote by Richard Feyman, "The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom."  The idea of taking the smaller things in the universe, an atom, and manipulating is an idea that is way beyond its years. We can see this occur at times in our everyday lives. Graphite or graphene has been manipulated and shaped the way we want it to be.

This is an application of quantum dots
that can be used during counterfeiting.

     Gimzewski also discussed in his lecture the applications in medicine. To be more exact, he talked about how different colors could be seen through quantum dots depending on particles size. This meant that you could potentially highlight parts of a certain cell to find a disease.

This is an art piece that looks like flowers and was created through
the manipulation of nanoparticles.

    

       Yet one of the most impressive attributes was a person's ability to be artistic with nano tech. It could be atoms that can spell put different words, self replicating molecules that can make shapes and figures, and so many other things, the possibilities are endless. It is so simple yet so complex at the same time. No brushes and no paint yet has the complexity of dealing with things at the microscopical level.

Works Cited

"Art in the Age of Nanotechnology." Art.Base. N.p., 2013. Web. 28 May 2017.

"EWG's 2017 Guide to Safer Sunscreens." EWG. EWG Sunscreen, 2017. Web. 28 May 2017

"Introduction to Nanotechnology." Introduction to Nanotechnology RSS. NanoTech Institue, Sept. 2016. Web. 28 May 2017.

M.C. Roco 1 American Society of Mechanical Engineers. "National Nanotechnology Investment in the FY 2016 Budget." AAAS - The World's Largest General Scientific Society. ASME, 12 May 2015. Web. 27 May 2017.

"National Institute for Experimental Arts." NanoArt | National Institute for Experimental Arts. NIA, 01 May 1970. Web. 26 May 2017.

Week 7

Week 7

Neuroscience + Art

This is a good representation of a true
mix of science and art through axons
and neurons.

     This topic is very interesting as the brain is the source of all we think and of all of our opinions and memories and so much more. It is evident that art has a very close relation to art as our mind/brain is responsible for creativity and imagination. The brain itself is very interesting and draws the attention of many people out of curiosity. Joseph Gall is someone who was interested in how the brain works in order to help continue to progress as a species. He is the founder of phrenology, in simpler words brain mapping. His idea was that if he could identify specific characteristics from the outside then maybe it would help with making predictions of a persons' personalities. Now this may not be possible but it can help spark ideas for other neuroscientists like Remona Khall and her brain mapping.

This neuron tree resembles that of a
family tree.

     When we look at our genetics lineage and who our past relatives are we typically see it as a family tree. It is the same when we look at at the neurons in our brain, they too appear like a tree. When we think about creative comparisons we can also look at Suzanne Anker. She was very creative and was able to use sea sponges to draw connections. The fact that she was able to use a sea sponge to create an image for what the brain looks like, one of the most complex organs, is amazing.

Just one of many creative pieces of
artwork created on drugs.

     The brain is a place where we go to gather information, gain creativity, grow our imagination, store our experiences and memories, and so much more. Unfortunately one of the most effective ways to create a strong stimulation in your brain is the use of drugs. Many of the mosts famous artists use cocaine or LSD to fuel their ideas. Drugs are illegal and I am not saying that we should do them, all I am saying is that the brain truly does some of its best work when stimulated to that extent. 

Works Cited

Deutsch, David. "A New Way to Explain Explanation." David Deutsch: A New Way to Explain Explanation | TED Talk | TED.com. TedX, 2009. Web. 22 May 2017.

Landau, Elizabeth. "What the Brain Draws From: Art and Neuroscience." CNN. Cable News Network, 15 Sept. 2012. Web. 22 May 2017.

"Sponges: Nothing like SpongeBob." The Wonders of the Seas: Sponges. Ocean Research Group, 11 Mar. 2014. Web. 22 May 2017.

"Swann’s Hypothesis." The New York Times. The New York Times, 03 Nov. 2007. Web. 22 May 2017.

Wighton, Kate. "This Is Your Brain on LSD." Neuroscience News. Imperial College London, 12 Apr. 2016. Web. 22 May 2017.

EVENT 2 BLOG

Event 2

LACMA

The security guard and I
from LACMA.

     I never truly realized how many museums there are in LA. LACMA, short for Los Angeles County Museum of Art, is a fairly large museum with plenty for people to see and experience. What I really liked about LACMA is they really tried to include everyone and give everyone a chance to experience the art. They do this by having a few sculptures outside of the museum so that those who can't afford to go inside can still see some art. 

Behind me is the lamppost artwork.

     One of my favorite things on the outside of the museum was the famous lamppost art. There is a symmetric shape to the artwork with the lamppost starting small on the outside and getting taller in the middle then proceeding to get smaller on the outside once again (if you planted the lamppost on a graph you could even say it's unimodal). We can clearly see math in the structure of the lampposts and the way they were arranged. Also, when you look at it from different directions you get to see different dimensions of them.

You can see the different shapes in
the artwork.

     Once inside of the museum there is a large variety of artwork ranging from paintings to sculptures to other extravagant things that you can find. I came across another piece of artwork that embedded mathematics into it. The entire piece of artwork is made using geometry and shapes. We can see a moon shape, a triangle, an oval, and many other pieces coming together to form the art piece and create a creature that looks like a snake. When we learned about mathematics in art in week two, we researched some of the art on ART+COM. Many of the pieces from ART+COM used different shapes in different positions to create a sculpture.

Week 6

Week 6

BioTech + Art

     BioTech is best stated in a single line stated by James Watson, "It was simple, you can explain the ideo to anyone." And when you think about it, it is simple to explain to someone what it is. The one thing about BioTech that is not simple is the question of whether or not it should be done, and how. When other living organisms become involved, what should be there artistic license.

An example of genetic engineering for the far future.

     Along with the question comes a range and variety of answers. My person opinion and answer to the question is simple and follows the same belief of Eduardo Kac. I feel that as long as no living organism is feeling prolonged pain then the genetic mutations that they are performing are acceptable. There is caution and care when it comes to Kathy High's creation or any of the other various projects at Simbiotica as they always do their best not to harm any of the living organisms. 

A project currently being engineered
at Simbiotica.

A genetic modification done to a bunny to
make it fluorescent green.

This research and artistic expression may have more value than you think. In a way it may be able to de-stigmatize some of the negative views of genetic engineering. When Eduardo Kac creates a fluorescent bunny, it can become much more approachable and acceptable to many people rather than seen as unnatural or a wrong doing to a living organism. Yes, in McDonald's decomposition video you may see a few negatives to genetic engineering, but when artistic expression is involved, there is always some positive things that result.

Works Cited

"SymbioticA." SymbioticA : SymbioticA : The University of Western Australia. University of Western Australia, 2010. Web. 14 May 2017.

Griffin, Kathy. "Ethical Issues in Genetic Engineering and Transgenics." ACTION BIOSCIENCE. N.p., Nov. 2013. Web. 15 May 2017.

Mayer, Jorge. "Golden Rice Project." The Golden Rice Project. Golden Rice Humanitarian Board, n.d. Web. 13 May 2017.

"Industries." Home | AMSilk. Gates Foundation, 2012. Web. 15 May 2017.

Swaminathan, Nikhil. "Good and Evil: A Cancer Vaccine from Tobacco Plants." Scientific American. N.p., 22 July 2008. Web. 15 May 2017.