Week 4: MedTech + Art

As a student majoring in biochemistry, I never relate art and science when I studied the human genome project and the human microbiome project. It is exciting to hear that medicine was considered art in the twentieth century. In the article “The Architecture of Life,” Ingber mentioned, “my studies of cell biology and also of sculpture led me to realize that the question of how living things form has less to do with chemical composition than with architecture (Ingber 1998).” So I paid attention to the models and sculpture in the reading, and I found they illustrate the intersection of art, design, and science.    

           

Tensegrity I. Cell structure and hierarchical systems biology mentioned in the reading
 http://jcs.biologists.org/content/116/7/1157.figures-only

The reading “Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations Between Science and Arts” gives me new perspectives on what MRI is like. Before reading about this essay, I thought doctors merely focus on the images of MRI and tried to determine if there are any abnormalities. However, this essay argues the look of MRI is acoustic more than visual because it is based on the aural components of the examination, rather than on MRI images alone. More importantly, Casini argued that MRI has the capacity of being performatives because MRI images have become a portrait in so far as they can look back at the viewer (Casini 2011)

MRI Scans Can Detect Early Onset of Parkinson's http://time.com/2860630/mri-scans-can-detect-early-onset-of-parkinsons-study-finds/

It is fascinating to learn about how artists, like Eduardo Katz, Stelarc and Kevin Warwick tested the technology on their bodies and contribute to the advancement of medicine. For instance, Diane Gromala used visual reality used to relieve chronic pain In the lecture. Professor Vesna mentioned that Kevin instigated a series of pioneering experiments involving the neuro-surgical implantation of a device into the median nerves of his left arm to link his nervous system directly to a computer to assess the latest technology for use with the disabled. Some of Kevin’s recent research involves a collaborative project with the Oxford neurosurgeon, Prof. Tipu Aziz, using intelligent computer methods to predict the onset of Parkinsonian tremors such that they can be stopped using a deep brain implant. His implants are on display in the Science Museums in London and Naples and continue to serve as a model of advancement in biomedical engineering.

Professor Kevin Warwick has blurred the boundaries between men and machine
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tiny-microchip-implanted-in-the-brain-could-turn-us-into-mind-readers-5pz5tx26k97

Sources

Casini, Silvia. “Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations Between Science and Arts.” 2011

Gromala, Diane, perf. Curative Powers of Wet, Raw Beauty. 2011. Video. 28. Apr 2019.<http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cRdarMz–Pw>.

Ingber, Donald E. “The Architecture of Life.” Scientific American, vol. 278, no. 1, 1998, pp. 48–57., doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0198-48.

Kevin Warwick, www.kevinwarwick.com/.

Vesna, Victoria. “Medicine Parts 1-1.” Lecture. Web. 28. Apr 2019.

Vesna, Victoria. “Medicine Parts 1-3.” Lecture. Web. 28. Apr 2019.

Event 1: Aaron Marcus: Early Works

I went to the event of Aaron Marcus: Early Works at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA). There, I saw some great artworks that illustrate the “Third Culture,” which bridges between science and art.

In this event, I saw the works of two artists. The first artist is Aaron Marcus. Educated in physics, mathematics, and philosophy at Princeton University and trained in graphic design at Yale, Aaron Marcus explores new possibilities for expression. He created his first “computer-assisted poem-drawings” in the spring of 1972. His artworks also illustrate the theme of art + robotics. Marcus experimented with a photo-typesetting machine connected to a digital computer, reordering the symbols and their uses to create new meanings.

It is the first time for me to see “computer-assisted poem-drawings,” a phrase that I have never heard of before. In these drawings, I saw his creativity with new visual representations of words.

picture I took

For instance, this painting is named “gravity.” In this static drawing, I can feel a sense of motion. Looking from top to bottom, I can imagine that due to gravity, the lines are falling, filling up the empty squares and circle. Therefore, at the bottom, the squares and the circles are filled, and fewer vertical lines are shown.

Aaron Marcus: Evolving Gravity, 1972–74; serigraph; 29 1/2 x 22 in.; BAMPFA, gift of the artist
 bhttps://bampfa.org/program/aaron-marcus-early-works.

This drawing is fascinating to me too. At first glance, I can see three colors in it: red, yellow and orange.  As I looked more carefully, I found out that the painting is full of letters “H” in yellow, and the color of the background is consistent. I never thought of changing the spacing between letters can create a sense of color transition. In these artworks, Marcus makes connections between art, science, design, and visual poetry.

Shades of Hades, Aaron Marcus, 1972–74, Lithograph, 11 x 8 1/2 in., Gift of the artist, 2018.57.6
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O555956/shades-of-hades-print-marcus-aaron/

Besides the benefits of seeing these fascinating paintings I mentioned above, I would recommend this event because it made me I realized a new definition of "art" and how technology has helped to create art much more easily. After looking at the artworks of Aaron Marcus, I saw the works of the second artists, who is also the pioneer of computer-assisted drawing, Frederick Hammersley.  Here is the wall of his computer-assisted drawings.

Picture I took

A unique painting that I paid attention to is this. It is named “Do you Zee.” I took a closer look into the painting, and I found out it is just a simple alignment of the 26 English alphabets. However, the number 37 is hidden in the pattern of these letters. 

DO YOU ZEE, Hammersley, Frederick

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1279590/do-you-zee-computer-generated-drawing-hammersley-frederick/

Selfie with sticker given by museum

Before this event, I always thought that the creation of art is a challenging task for me, and I do not consider myself as someone who has the potential to be an artist. However, these computer-assisted drawings helps me with my midterms and final for this class by giving me a sense of confidence that art creation can be simple; drawings can just consist of letters, without colors. Moreover, everyone can be an artist, not only people with the talent to draw beautifully. I think after seeing computer-assisted paintings like these, my classmates who are not convinced that they too, can be artists, will be more confident in their artistic ability. Hopefully, they can be inspired to create their computer-assisted artworks with their imagination and whimsy.

Me and staff at BAMPFA  

Reference

“Aaron Marcus: Early Works.” BAMPFA, bampfa.org/program/aaron-marcus-early-works.

Week 3 Robotics + Art 

Upheaval more than a century into the Industrial Revolution, and more than 100 years ago: An International Workers of the World union demonstration in New York City in 1914
https://theconversation.com/what-the-industrial-revolution-really-tells-us-about-the-future-of-automation-and-work-82051

In the reading of “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” Benjamin analyzed how mechanical reproduction destroys the idea of uniqueness and tradition, as Professor Vesna mentioned in her lecture. He argued, “The total function of art is reversed. Instead of being based on ritual, it begins to be based on another practice -- politics.” In the epilogue, he also inferred his thought about industrialization,” the horrible feature of imperialistic warfare are attributable to the discrepancy between the tremendous means of production and their inadequate utilization in the process of production to unemployment and lack of market” (Benjamin 1936).

On the other hand, in the reading of “The word of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction,” Douglas Davis has a different perspective. In the reading, he argued that the work of art in the age of digital reproduction is trying to tell us that “each fragment, each image, each sound is unique, personal, quivering with the sense of self.” He valued the Internet as a platform where artists can interact with each other, new mode of thinking, art-making and deep personal touching can occur.  

One Million Internet Users Created This Piece of Art
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/one-million-internet-users-created-piece-art-180962867/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470752/

I think these two readings represent a general trend of our view on industrialization today. It is full of conflicts between benefits and social risks. For instance, our attitudes on artificial intelligence with robotics are conflicted and different based on different cultures. On the one hand, we have a promising view of the convenience and benefits AI can bring us. For instance, in the automobile industry, autonomous vehicles driven by AI provide mobility to people with disability.

On the other hand, we are afraid of the social risks posed by an AI and robotics, such as unemployment and even threatening the life of humans. In the movie Ex Machina, Ava, the humanoid robot with AI, killed Nathan, her owner, by deceiving his friend Caleb, and left Caleb trapped in an isolated building. The movie portrays robotics as evil and deceitful. This theme is contrasted with the Japanese culture and their views on robotics as friends to humans, as mentioned by Professor Kusahara.  It is fascinating for me to learn about how different cultures respond to industrialization and robotics differently based on their histories which influence their perspective of weighing risks and benefits.


References:

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

Davis, Douglas. “The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction.” The MIT Press, 1995. Web. 19 Oct. 2012.

Dupzyk, Kevin. “Rewatch: Why 'Ex Machina' Is Even Scarier Four Years Later.” Popular Mechanics, Popular Mechanics, 16 Jan. 2019, www.popularmechanics.com/culture/movies/a25749315/ex-machina-double-take-data-harvesting/.

Vesna, Victoria  “Robotics.” Lecture 1.

Vesna, Victoria and Machiko Kusahara. “Robotics.” Lecture 4.

Week 2: Art + Math

Week 2: Art + Math 

Exploring the relationship between art and math this week, I realized how art contributes to our understanding of dimensions and geometry. In the reading “The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion,” Henderson examined the advancement of the fourth dimension by Surrealist artists who departed from visual reality and incorporated elements of space-time in their works. In this reading, I found that the advancements of arts and math are inseparable. For instance, Einstein’s theory of relativity inspired artists like Rice Pereira and Oscar Dominguez to illustrate the spatial complexity with paintings and sculpture (Henderson 1984).

Oscar Dominguez, Nostalgia of Space, 1939 (https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79045)

Similarly, in the article “The Mathematical Art of M.C Escher,” Maurits Cornelis Escher drew great inspiration from mathematical ideas. His painting, Relativity, illustrated the idea of exploring the world of higher dimensions in the twentieth century and embodied the influence of Einstein’s theory of relativity which motivated artists to “invent new aesthetic and conceptual capabilities (Henderson 1984).”

M.C. Escher's "Relativity"https://moa.byu.edu/m-c-eschers-relativity

On the other hand, as mentioned in the lecture, arts is also being used to teach and a source of inspiration in the scientific world. In the mathematical fiction, Flatland, Abbott helps us to think about the meaning of "dimension"  through the experience of the main character, a square, who interacted with a sphere and exceeded his understanding of own universe, Flatland. In the reading of “Pollock's Fractals,” Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings inspired Physicist Richard Taylor, who after analyzed its fractal dimension in the paintings for years, to invent a device he calls the Pollockizer, which creating both fractal and no- fractal patterns.  

Jackson Pollock: Drip Painting, 1951. Woodshed Art Auctions.

(http://www.woodshedartauctions.com/jackson-pollock-drip-discovery/)

Through this week’s learning, I realized that the juxtaposition of mathematics, art, and science is critical for their development and has contributed to countless creative works and scientific breakthrough. For instance, the geometry of vision or geometry of perspective, especially the golden ratio was used by Leonardo da Vinci in his work of Mona Lisa. Artists’ exploration of the fourth dimension resulted in the technological advance of four-dimensional images with a high level of intricacy and accuracy on the display screen of a computer.

Sources:

ABBOTT, EDWIN ABBOTT. FLATLAND. BLURB, 2019.

Domínguez, Oscar. “Oscar Domínguez. Nostalgia of Space. 1939 | MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art, www.moma.org/collection/works/79045.

Henderson, Linda Dalrymple. “The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion.” Leonardo, vol. 17, no. 3, 1984, pp. 205–210. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1575193.

“Jackson Pollock: Drip Discovery.” Woodshed Art Auctions, 23 Nov. 2017, www.woodshedartauctions.com/jackson-pollock-drip-discovery/.

Ouellette, Jennifer. “Pollock's Fractals.” Discover Magazine, 1 Nov. 2001, discovermagazine.com/2001/nov/featpollock.

The Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher, platonicrealms.com/minitexts/Mathematical-Art-Of-M-C-Escher/.

Vesna, Victoria. “Math + Art.” Lecture 2.

Week 1: Two Cultures

In the reading of “Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution,” Snow pinpointed the two cultures as those of literary intellectuals and natural scientist, and he believed that the curriculum of schools and universities was the source of this divergence. As a Chinese student, I agree that schools and the education system played a critical role in this division. For instance, in high school, we were forced to choose if we want to pursue an education in liberal art or science.



As a student who majors in economics and biochemistry, I found the two cultures are embodied in the division of south campus and north campus in UCLA. However, I also found the “third culture” which could close the gap between literary intellectuals and scientists emerging at UCLA campus. As mentioned in “Third Culture: Being in Between,” some artists work with technologies they are frequently informed and inspired by exciting scientific innovation. At the same times, there are also scientists who work with artwork for inspiration. For instance, in the field of biochemistry, scientists draw different representations of protein structure in the form of artwork to try to gain a new
perspective.




(Protein Structure by NIH)

The emerging of the third culture changes my mindset of viewing humanity and science separable. As I learn more about technologies, I would like to appreciate the art and their design from a new perspective. As a UCLA student, I am excited to embark a great journey of discovering arts in technology.

(the Imaginary Foundation)

Sources: 

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

Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between.” Leonardo 34.2 (2001): 121-25. Web.

“The Divide between Art and Science.” Vanguard, 16 June 2018, psuvanguard.com/the-divide-between-art-and-science/.

“Protein Structure Reveals How LSD Affects the Brain.” National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 28 Feb. 2017, www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/protein-structure-reveals-how-lsd-affects-brain.

“The Art of Content Creation and the Science of Measurement.” Marketing Land, 23 Aug. 2016, marketingland.com/art-content-creation-science-measurement-188544.