space and art!

Space and art can dates back to the beginning of time because the sky has been the same for centuries. A lot of technology has come out of "space" and earth like the sundial which helps us tell time or "A sundial is a device that tells the time of day by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style onto a surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day." as well as solar panels which generate energy that help us environmentally. Another great aspect of space would be like the north star which people use to guide them. Of course this is what we can see from earth. Seeing past that and using technology to see vast into space we can see the actual layout of the solar system and even farther which then leads to are like this:

Technological advances have allowed us to explore further into space which provides us with the knowledge that we have today. There is a lot more to explore but seeing how far we've come, it is a big accomplishment. Even humans going into space is a great accomplishment. We now can send artist into space which not only is a great leap for artistic inspiration but also great for records.As explained in the cultural space programme "More than fifty years passed since the first manned spaceflight. Almost six hundred individuals flew to space fulfilling various assignments, however, none of them was an artist with an artistic assignment. After all, art and the humanities are a constitutive human practice. Without them, human society is a mere social biological organism. We think the development of space technology has finally came to a point which enables much more than just technological survival in an environment, unfamiliar to human beings. Space technology and the thought on the subject of human reached a level from which it becomes vital to carry out artistic and humanistic methodology and practice in space." Of course along with the discovery and invention of new technology there are also downfalls like Sputnik which we saw in lecture (good for technological advances, bad for the Cold War). In purposes of advancement as well as art, these steps although fueling the fire gave way to the exploration of space. Sputnik, being the very first satellite to go into space has all aspects of art technology and space involved seeing as it was going into foreign frontier as something never seen before but also artistic in the way that the satellite was meant to look like a star through its reflection.

Through my exploration of technological advances of space technology as well as space art, I found many ideas that are becoming controversial in regards to space exploration. Some of these topics include the amount of money spent of space technology as well as the well being of animals being used for experiments (space included). Space is a huge field that has to be explored and even now has a lot of information to give us even after all we have found.

Sources
 "Space." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration. Web. 1 June 2015.

   "Open Call → [ Space ] Art Technology." [ Space ] Arts & Technology ← White Building. Web. 1 June 2015.

 "Sputnik." Sputnik. Web. 1 June 2015.

 "For and Against: Space Exploration." - E & T Magazine. Web. 1 June 2015.

 

NanoTech and Art

Nanotechnology is something that my generation of peers has been able to see rapidly change in a span of a short time. Nanotechnology has definitely changed the way in which we see the past as well as our present in the sense of how small, quick and convenient any sort of art or technology is to us. Nanotechnology is a part of every part of life nowadays from our food to our technology. The explanation of nanotechnology is very complicated and difficult to understand in its original form only making it more complicated when we start to apply it to other parts of life. I believe the easiest explanation which i have seen has been "Feynman described a process in which scientists would be able to manipulate and control individual atoms and molecules" 

One of my favorite aspects of this all, which is mentioned in lecture, is that when the science of nanotechnology started to evolve it changed the way in which we understood physics. Quantum effect is understood in a different light and scientist adapt to a new change in science. In the picture above it shows a pice of nano art which was formed at the University of Michigan. I'm certain that when Feynman discussed the beginnings of what we know as Nanotechnology, he didn't think this type of science could be change into art like the piece we see above.

According to recent research, they have found that maybe nanotechnology has been an idea that has been forming for centuries and up until now have we been able to actually explore it. In an article by the Smithsonian, they discussed that by the use of silver and gold, Romans were able to alter the way in which a goblet is lighted to show different colors in different lights. As explained through the article, "the Roman artisans were nanotechnology pioneers: They’d impregnated the glass with particles of silver and gold, ground down until they were as small as 50 nanometers in diameter, less than one-thousandth the size of a grain of table salt. The exact mixture of the precious metals suggests the Romans knew what they were doing—'an amazing feat,'". 

This is incredible to think that even without the technology which we have today, Romans were able to create such a great piecve of art which incorporated so much science that we have now come to understand. 

Sources
 "Future Technology." Future of Nanotechnology. Web. 25 May 2015.

"What Is Nanotechnology?" What Is Nanotechnology? Web. 25 May 2015.

 "Nanobamas Fuse Art, Science, Technology and Politics." Nanobamas Fuse Art, Science, Technology and Politics. Web. 25 May 2015.

 "History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian." History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian. Web. 25 May 2015.

Neuroscience and Art

The brain is by far the most fascinating part of the body. It has so many functions, works in so many different ways and multitasks from the moment of its birth till the end. Since the first lecture video on this topic this week I thought to myself, WOW people have the same kind of fascinations as I do. I am a dancer and I always wondered how it was that I was able to remember dances from when I  was 8 and still have the ability to learn even more dances. What is it in our brain that is able to keep so many memories and how does this apply to art?

So, how do the sciences of the brain apply to art and how art is viewed? In every aspect possible. This is to say, the brain weather it be its function or its features are used in making and viewing art. There are so many ways such as memories, or dream, conscious vs unconscious mindset, and how the eyes view thing (deceitful or not). The most intriguing part of this is how the brain can affect the art (as well as be affected by outside factors. In an article by elite daily, a man creates self portraits of himself sober and then under the influence of different drugs. How does something change so much? 

 "The Neuroscience of Art." Web. 18 May 2015.  

 "Art Of The Brain : Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. Giving New Hope for Brain Cancer Survival." Art Of The Brain : Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. Giving New Hope for Brain Cancer Survival. Web. 18 May 2015.  

 "The Beautiful Brain." The Beautiful Brain RSS. Web. 18 May 2015.  

 "Artist Creates Self-Portraits On Different Drugs, And The Results Are Insane (Photos)." Elite Daily Artist Creates SelfPortraits On Different Drugs And The Results Are Insane Photos Comments. 30 Jan. 2014. Web. 18 May 2015.  

Bio-Tech and Art

In this weeks agenda, we talked about Bio- Tech and Art. This is definitely an extension of week 4's subject on health and art, of course taking it to a much deeper and complex level. In viewing the bio-tech as a whole, there comes a lot of controversy due to the very questionable science that comes to play. This is where art comes to play. When thinking of creating some thing new, something genetically enhanced or made is art because of the use of creativity and outside factors that come into play. This comes at many levels such as food, animals and even the ideas of humans. Some interesting art comes from the Natalie Jeremijenko in where she has created nature like states in the city. Through her environment clinic "People come in with their environmental concerns and get prescriptions for environmental health solutions and advice."

The most interesting part in all of this is that artists are being allowed into science labs now and are working closely with these scientist. This part of bio-tech also plays into the role of robots (although different in the making process) the thought of altered humans can be both scary and scientifically artistic. In an article by the business insider, they state "From previous studies of the genome, Hsu says we can estimates that there are probably about 10,000 of these gene variants associated with intelligence. If we can tweak each of these to their "smart" version, so that they contribute a tiny bit to higher intelligence, we could engineer human beings who 'exhibit cognitive ability which is roughly 100 standard deviations above average. This corresponds to more than 1,000 IQ points.'" Just think, the use of science as well as art contributing to a new humans.

Sources
"Genetically Designed Babies Are Within Reach. Should We Do It?" Science Vibe. 20 Mar. 2015. Web. 11 May 2015.

 

I think it’s normal that through knowledge comes further curiosity which can translate well through art. I believe this week’s topic on Medicine technology and art is a perfect example of that. Through the exploration of the body in search for cures and just basic knowledge about the human body, artists were able to take another view on this and express in great detail the piece of art of the body. There are even schools that support this like John Hopkins. Through John Hopkins school website they promote medical art as “The quality and accuracy of our work comes from being a part of the world renowned resources of The Johns Hopkins University, The Johns Hopkins Hospital and affiliated institutions. As an academic department of the School of Medicine, our faculty of Certified Medical Illustrators (CMI) work with content experts in a wide range of medical specialties to create dynamic and educational illustrations.” (John Hopkins)

example of medical art at John Hopkins

What first comes to mind is the fact that diagrams that we see at the doctor’s office is art! One aspect that most caught my attention was that as well as the technology of it all. I have a small tumor in my stomach and the use of these various arts have helped TREMENDOUSLY in the understanding of my own body; first starting with the ultrasounds, moving on to CT scans and MRIs and all the way to endoscopies and bio-endoscopies. I believe my favorite though is the small sculpture of the stomach and intestines in which they showed me exactly where the tumor was and what would happen if surgery went wrong.

Of course there are other medical technologies that may not be seen as art but has a lot to do with art. Prosthetic anything is very much art because someone took the time to make it look as humanly possible (i.e. legs, arms, facial features, etc). According to blogeverdeen.edu, “Many people with artificial limbs realize that it takes a lot for the addition to come close to looking like the body part that it serves as in terms of looking like real flesh, making some come to the conclusion that a custom limb that was artistically made out of metal to look nice and serve its function as well.” Overall, there is not strict line as to what is art and what is medicine because they will always overlap.

Sources

"The Progression of Prosthetics." Seeds and Circuits. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <http://blogs.evergreen.edu/seedsandcircuits/the-progression-of-prosthesis/>.

"Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES)." - Flexible Scope. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <http://www.videostroboscopy.com/flexible_scope.html>.

"7 Medical Advances to Watch in 2014." Smithsonian. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/7-medical-advances-to-watch-in-2014-180948286/?no-ist>.

"OUR Services." Art as Applied to Medicine. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/medart/OurServices.htm#GraphicDesign>.

 "History." History. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <http://prosthetic-limbs.yolasite.com/history.php>.

In this week’s lecture, I was surprised to see what is considered robotic! The most interesting part was the fact that the printing press is kind of the start of it all. Another aspect that I have always had a fascination with is the assembly line and the use of machinery to break up one job to many which makes production faster. I believe this is what people think when they think robots; machinery taking over. Although we see Robots as and art and also part of science, in a sociological perspective Robots ARE feared for various reasons. An example (although silly) that came to mind as soon as I heard the lecture was that of the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). The father of young Charlie loses his job due to the use of machinery. In the end, his father gets another job fixing the machine because it breaks down

This is a common fear of people within society. Another common misconception about robots and robotic like figures is that they are considered futuristic. Even the use of machinery in the work place changes the atmosphere of the work place.

Another aspect which relates more to the use of Robots as an entity with characteristics far different from humans is the movie Iron Giant (1999). Although this use of the world Robot really relates to the Cold War and the use of atomic weapons, a young buy finds a Robot who then in the end saves the world.

I asked a couple of my peers, if they had to  choose a word science or art to describe robots they all said science. This goes to show that although robots have an art aspect to them in the way their made and designed, the overall feel of what a robot really is, is science.

Sources and Links

"Our 20 Favorite Movie Robots." Screen Rant. 28 June 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://screenrant.com/20-awesome-movie-robots-mikee-121204/3/>.

"Walter Benjamin - Biography." Walter Benjamin. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://www.egs.edu/library/walter-benjamin/biography/>.

"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (film)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_and_the_Chocolate_Factory_(film)>.

"America's History in the Making." — Unit 14: Industrializing America. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <https://www.learner.org/courses/amerhistory/units/14/>.

"The Iron Giant." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0129167/>.

Week Two

In this week’s lecture and reading, we went over the mathematical view in art. I am lucky enough to have had “performing arts” math and science teachers in high school that let us explore science and math through performance and art. I think in viewing art and math as well as art in science, it gives us a very idea of art. In exploring the fourth dimension as discussed in the Henderson reading, lines and contours are very apparent. The use of geometric shapes to create a space that “leaves the plane” all plays in math. I was most interested in the fact Max Weber subscribed to the fourth dimension view.

In this painting by Max Weber, you can’t really tell where this painting begins or end. It’s a very abstract piece of art that can’t just be appreciated a first glance or just one glance. The intricate lines make it taller while the rounder shapes make it deeper. If we were ever to even try to make this types of shape in real life, it would take a lot of science in understanding the material best fit to uphold this shape as well as math in order to make sure everything was calculated exactly as the painting.

This happens to be a bit more abstract than the art shown in lecture but I believe still carries the same type of outline that those pieces of art did.

Sources:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAYQjB0&url=http%3A%2F%2Facunix.wheatonma.edu%2Fjsklensk%2FArt_Fall12%2Finclass%2Ffourth%2520dimension%2Fweber.html&ei=XmcrVZqUB47hoAS9iICYCg&psig=AFQjCNEQVhzfgMxb71VVD7bDL__RK08W4Q&ust=1428993187962912

http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/weber_4.shtm

http://acunix.wheatonma.edu/jsklensk/Art_Fall12/inclass/fourth%20dimension/weber.html

http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.71593.html