Space and Art

    Space is incredibly fascinating, and I have always loved watching documentaries about space and new discoveries that scientists are finding about it. However, I had never considered the connection between science and art. This weeks subject addressed the leading scientist in astronomy; copernicus, and the earliest models and understandings of the universe, as well as more recent astronomers and their discoveries such as buckyballs in solid forms within space. Prior to that, they had only been found in gas form. Advanced telescopes have made it possible for us to detect molecules in space that have allowed us to understand the universe better. To me, perhaps the most interesting aspect of this weeks lesson was the science fiction ideas which have been developed such as a space elevator. Space based science fiction consistently tests the boundaries and creativity of scientists and artists.

    As discussed in Lecture Part 1, Arthur C Clarke published a science fiction book in 1979 which was set in the 22nd century, and described a space elevator with an orbital tower that links with a satellite at 36,000 km. The amazing thing about science fiction of the past is that, sometimes, it turns into genuine scientific possibilities, and this may became the case with the space elevator.

     I am extremely interested in space and science fiction films and movies, however, I often scoff at the ideas that are in them and feel as though they will undoubtedly never happen. While this may be true a lot of the time, it is certainly not always true. I recently went to the Natural History Museum in New York city and watched their planetarium special called the Dark Universe. In this film I learned about just how far away we are from potentially habitable planets. The idea of travelling hundreds of thousands of lightyears away to get to our "new home" in the distant future, doesn't even sound futuristic but completely impossible to me. In the film Interstellar, however, there is a "worm hole" which allows such a long journey to be possible. 

While I have no way of knowing what will happen in the world of science and space in the future, nor am I a theoretical physicist, I have watched enough documentaries and read enough about the subject to learn that the impossible can become possible over time in this regard. As for the film interstellar, there is a novel that describes the science behind it called "The Science of 'Interstellar' Explained'  which is a nonfiction book that is written by an actual theoretical physicist, as he explains all of the science behind the film which was not merely fabricated by artists. When you consider all of NASA's work with telescopes, photographs, videos, and the way in which their work makes films on the subject possible, it becomes vry clear how science and art are interacting with regards to space. A simple look through the images gallery on NASA's website provide insight into the beauty of space, and even its possibilities as they combine science and art to create images of what could be. The image below is of a "spiral" galaxy called NGC 684, which NASA's Hubble captured.

  

   To me, Intersteller represents the intersection of space, science, and art, as it uses film to push the boundaries of what we know to be true about space and the future. As it has been in the past, science fiction films and books have become very close to reality, and I feel that those art forms are a huge contributor to the scientific world as they both explain these topics to people who are not involved in it, and intersect with as well as push the goals and boundaries of theoretical physicists that are working on turning these fictitious ideas into realistic ones. 

Works Cited

"Lecture Part 2" Unit 9. Victoria Vesna. Film.

Thorne, Kip S., and Christopher Nolan. The Science of Interstellar. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

Wimmer, Josh. "In Arthur Clarke's Fountains of Paradise, Man Makes Tidy Work of the Heavens." Io9. N.p., 07 Nov. 2010. Web. 30 May 2016.

NASA. NASA, n.d. Web. 30 May 2016.

Interstellar. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Perf. Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway. Warner Brothers Pictrues, 2015. DVD.

Nanotech and Art

     I found this week very interesting as we delved into all of the different uses of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is used in materials all the way from tennis balls and beer bottles, to drugs which reduce toxicity in chemotherapy for cancer patients. I was very interested in the way in which Dr. Gimzewski went into the way in which particles which, when they are large, are black, may be red, green, yellow, orange, and so on when they are brought down to smaller sizes. 

    Nanotechnology products and, particularly, the colors within it are potentially going to be used by makeup companies for pigment coloration. I am very interested in the way that nanotechnology is incorporated into art, such as the exhibit at A Perth International Arts Festival exhibition, in which nanotechnologies were used to create interactive art pieces, such as the one by Professor Vesna and James Gimszewkski, Nanomandala, in which a video is projected onto a disk of sand, and viewers get to touch the sand , as "oscillating images of the molecular structure of a single grain of sand" which is obtained by a scanning electron microscope. (SEM) 

                                                           

    I found the whole concept of incorporating nanotechnology into art exhibits very interesting, and found another example of nanotechnology being used as art; Cris Orfescu's Nanoart21. With Nanoart21, Orfescu creates art using nanotechnology, and truly combines the two as he uses powerful tools and microscopes that are often used by scientific researchers, in order to capture images and provide imagery for the artwork. 

      

In the black and white image to the left, Orfescu visualized the image with a scanning electtron microscope. The photo was then captured by a computer, and Orfescu then continued to manipulate it digitally. I find this image, and the entire process, extremely interesting. While these microscopes and imageries are often used to teach scientists, or medical students about the microscopic world, I find it incredible that Orfescu has chosen to create these images for the use of all people, and particularly as an artistic piece rather than an educational one. 

   Perhaps the topic which interested me the most this week was the making of new materials and making smaller materials under Nova's Making stuff: Smaller. The idea of us having tiny robots which go inside our body to help fight cancer or kill "rogue cells" is an unimaginable breakthrough, which scientists are working on to this day. The possibilities that creating tiny micro robots could have on our future are endless, as scientists are working on developing microscopic robots as well as new materials which could make something as insane as an elevator to the moon, or bridges held up by threads. I am very interested in the idea of creating new materials and tiny robots to further both society and health, and I look forward to seeing where these advancements can take us in the future.

Works Cited

Orfescu, Cris. "Nanoart21." Cris Orfescu. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2016.

"Art in the Age of Nanotechnology." Art.base. John Curtin Gallery, n.d. Web.

"Cris Orfescu." Cris Orfescu. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2016.

"Nanotech for Artists Part 2" Unit 8. Dr. Gimzewski

"Making Stuff: Smaller." NOVA. PBS, n.d. Web. 22 May 2016.

Neuroscience and Art

     I found this weeks topic incredibly interesting and loved learning about the various theories that prominent historians had about the structure of the brain, and how the concept of consciousness and the mind has been viewed throughout history. I think, for me, the most interesting aspect of this week was the concept of dreams and how dreams are in some way a combination of neuroscience and art, as our brains are creating a visual story. I had never really thought about dreams as being art, nor science, however, in regards to the characteristics that they both have it is clear that they are both.

     The topic of dreams being a combination of neuroscience immediately had me thinking about the film Inception with Leonardo Di'caprio, in which there is a machine which allows people that are fully awake to enter into the dream of someone else. In the film there is imagery which would be absolutely impossible in real life, such as a town folding over on itself (as shown in photo to the left), or everything and every person in a street freezing. This film is one of many others which combines artistic elements and psychological theory to create a film which gets people thinking in entirely new ways about consciousness and reality. 

 

       Another film which toys with the concepts of consciousness and reality is the Matrix. As many know, the matrix is a film about a world in which all people are actually, technically, "asleep" although they are conscious and are experiencing a world that is not necessarily real. Within the matrix, similar to inception, the film questions what reality truly is; if a person feels something is real and a person is experiencing life perfectly fine in a particular way, is it fair to say that that life they live is not actually real? For me, these concepts are a complete iteration of the combination between art and science, particularly science of the mind (or neuroscience and psychology). 

    I also found it quite interesting the way in which drugs combine neuroscience and art, such as LSD which is a hallucinogenic. LSD and its interaction with the brain is concerned with science, however, many people feel as though the affects of the drug result in artistic experiences and visualizations, including Albert Hofman, a scientist who founded and supported LSD. According to Hofman, he experienced "an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors." 

WORKS CITED

"Reduce Your Pain by Adjusting Your Sleeping Position." Dr. Jon Saunders, B.Kin, DC. N.p., 14 Apr. 2015. Web. 15 May 2016.

Inception. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Perf. Leonardo Dicaprio. Warner Bros., 2010.

The Matrix. Dir. Lilly Wachowski and Lana Wachowski. Village Roadshow Pictures, 1999

Hofman, Albert. "LSD, My Problem Child · How LSD Originated." LSD, My Problem Child · How LSD Originated. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2016.

"Lecture III" Unit 7. Victoria Vesna. Film.

"7 Dream Layers of Inception." Thinc. N.p., n.d. Web.

Biotech and Art

I found this weeks topic extremely interesting as it delves into the way in which technology, science, and art interact, along with the ways in which new developments within these realms converge with decisions about morality. I found it very interesting to consider this topic in regards to art, as I generally view it as merely a Biotech issue. The notion that transgenics, selective breeding, and other genetic alterations to living beings is a form of art is entirely new to me however, the idea allows me to look at the subject in a different light. The use of Biotech to create art is one which  is entirely new to me and I was quite interested in learning about it.

The art piece Victimless Leather which was done by SymbioticA and was a "stitch-less" jacket that was grown from cells into a layer of tissue and shaped like a coat, was used as an art piece at the Museum of Modern Art in New York to essentially "grow" a living leather jacket. Just as biotechnology does, at many times, converge with questions of morality, this art piece in itself acted as a question about morality, as this one in particular confronted the notion of wearing parts of a dead animal. 

The topic of biotechnology and morality interests me and reminds me of a movie that I just watched this week, which I am sure many here have seen, called Gattaca. The film is about a world in which genetically engineering embryos to ensure the best possible outcome for each child becomes a mainstream practice. The entire film clearly delves into the morality of such a world, in which natural births are looked down on and are considered highly risky, and those born by natural birth go through life at an extreme disadvantage. After watching this film with friends, there was a very large debate about whether the entire idea of engineering embryos was morally sound or not. I find it very interesting to learn about scientists who have decided that we must limit ourselves and watch what we do in order to ensure that we are acting in a way that is ethical. Since scientists are generally interested in furthering our knowledge and advancing through technology, It is very interesting to learn about those who decided to use that scientific knowledge to create art and pass on a message. 

Citations:

"Lecture Part I" Victoria Vesna. Film.

Gattaca. Dir. Andrew Niccol. Continental Film, 1998.

"Weird Science: Biotechnology as Art Form." ARTnews. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2016.

http://lab.anhb.uwa.edu.au/tca/

"Oron Catts, of Tissue Culture and Art, "Growing Neolifism" | The Sanctuary for Independent Media." Oron Catts, of Tissue Culture and Art, "Growing Neolifism" | The Sanctuary for Independent Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2016.

Event 1: BioDesign

I attended the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose and visited the BioDesign exhibit, which used artistic elements to make biological concepts both more interesting and easier to understand.With the LivingColors Lab, I got to participate in a small experiment with DNA and color. I was provided with gloves, small syringes, and two little tubes in which I mixed together in a small plastic container. Throughout the entire process, there were colorful diagrams and creative ways of showing visitors what each step was. 

Once I was done putting the DNA into the container, I put it in an incubator, and got to take the container of someone who had done the exact same steps before me. I then put the platter in the microscope and got to see the colors which developed from the mixture. The next step was to take a photo with the microscope machine, and the computer then detected all of the "new" found colors in that mixture. The colors were then added to the database which was shown on the wall in front of the lab.

As you can see here from the wall shown, new information would be given within the middle circle, such as new colors found and which colors were the most rare. The entire experience was very aesthetically pleasing and, due to my studies in this class, I realized how much artwork actually went into this exhibit which could have easily been considered merely science, and not about art at all. While the exhibit was not necessarily "meant" to teach people about art, it was entirely reliant on artistic elements. Similar to the way in which biology textbooks have artistic drawings, there was art throughout the entire BioDesign exhibit in order to make the experience fun and understandable. 

Here is information about the exhibit:
http://www.thetech.org/biodesignstudio