Event 1: The Griffith Observatory

This past week, I visited the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California. I had previously thought it was just a few telescopes and maybe a presentation room, but I was pleasantly surprised to see how extensive the exhibits were. 

Proof that I visited the Observatory: me with an employee

I spent about two hours perusing through the different rooms in the Observatory and found quite a few incidents of art and science merging. I came across a replica of the “Aztec Calendar Stone,” a beautiful circular piece of art that depicts twenty symbols representative of the 260 day Aztec calendar year. The Aztecs believed they were living in the era of the fifth sun due to the fact that four civilizations before them had ended in destruction. The Aztecs even had a day on the calendar that they believed the fifth sun era would end on. This incredible piece of artwork was a classic example of technology integrated with art. The Aztec Calendar Stone served more than just an aesthetic function; it was also a mode of celebrating and sharing their advancements in science and math.

The Aztec Calendar Stone

One of the most interesting exhibits I came across was called “The Cosmic Connection,” a scaled timeline of the universe’s existence that spans many hallways long. A woman named Kara Knack donated 2,200 pieces of celestial jewelry to create the foreground of this timeline. The sheer amount of jewelry she has collected in her lifetime contrasted with the backdrop of the universe truly inspires awe into the viewer as you trace history from 14 billon years ago to now with no break in the jewelry pattern. It took me about fifteen minutes to take in the entirety of this exhibit: the history of the universe as well as the seemingly endless amount of jewelry. “The Cosmic Connection” is another example of science and art collaborating to create an impressive exhibit. 

The beginning of the universe

Just a glimpse into how long the exhibit is

I saw many exceptional exhibits and learned quite a bit during my time at the Griffith Observatory. The Observatory is known as a science museum rather than art museum, but it was not difficult to find examples of art if you look for it. I would definitely recommend the Griffith Observatory to any science enthusiasts.

REFERENCES

Aztec Calendar Stone, Griffith Observatory. Personal photograph by author. 2015.

Beginning of Cosmic Connection Exhibit, Griffith Observatory. Personal photograph by author. 2015.

Length of Cosmic Connection Exhibit, Griffith Observatory. Personal photograph by author. 2015.

With Employee, Griffith Observatory. Personal photograph by author. 2015.

Week 4: Medicine + Technology + Art

This week’s topic, “Medicine + Technology + Art,” changed what I already knew about basic biology and science into something much deeper than just the facts behind it. As a science major, at first it was confusing to comprehend why someone would want to get an MRI without a medical need to, or how artists could possibly be inspired by thin slices of a cadaver. Through the lecture videos, I better understood how inspiration and eventually art could come out of something so densely scientific (Vesna). For example, I learned about MRI’s in my physics course: it’s just a large solenoid that creates a magnetic field. Therefore, this was the extent to how I thought about the MRI scan, never taking an artistic approach to this revolutionary technology to see how it could encourage a form of expression. Silvia Casini’s interpretation of an MRI as an acoustic experience was quite interesting; she explores how your sense of hearing sharpens when you cannot see your own body while inside the scanner and how that affects your emotions during a scan (Casini 86). 

The Visible Human Project is another project that has inspired artists through the years. The project aimed to photograph the cross sections of both the male and female body to see what could be learned from them. The male cross sections were partitioned every 1 mm and the female cross sections every .33 mm and published online ("The Visible Human Project"). Artists like Lisa Nilsson saw the project in a different light; she stated, "It just has lots of visual impact. The shapes and colors are just beautiful" (Freeman) and in response, created paper sculpture versions of the cadavers.

Upon further research, I came across Eduardo Kac’s “Time Capsule” piece in which he inserted a microchip, that traditionally has been used to track lost animals, into his own leg in front of an audience, a doctor, and viewers of the broadcast. The piece aims to provoke a conversation about technology’s ever growing role in human life (Kac). He asks if we have become extensions of our computers rather than the other way around (Kac). By inserting the microchip into his body, he is making a statement on technology’s role in a new era of individuality.

REFERENCES

Ainali, Jan. Medical MRI Scanner. Digital image. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Feb. 2008. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.

Casini, Silvia. "Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations between Science and the Arts." Configurations 19.1 (2011): 73-99. Web.

Freeman, David. "Lisa Nilsson's Paper Art Inspired By Virtual Human Project's Cadaver Cross-Sections." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 26 Apr. 2012. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.

Kac, Eduardo. "Time Capsule." Time Capsule. KAC. KAC, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.

Kac, Eduardo. Time Capsule. Digital image. KAC. KAC, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.

Nilsson, Lisa. Paper art cross sections. Digital image. Huffington Post. Huffington Post, 26 Apr. 2012. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.

"The Visible Human Project - Getting the Data." U.S. National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Nov. 1994. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.

Vesna, Victoria. "Unit 4." DESMA 9. United States, Los Angeles. 26 Apr. 2015. Lecture.

Week 3: Robotics + Art

This week’s lecture topic, Robotics + Art, is a topic that I have personally taken great interest in. A few years ago, I read The Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil, a non-fiction book that explains how technology is advancing at an exponential rate and predicts where technology will be by 2099. 

The first portion of the book is dedicated to theory and the dense science behind his predictions and the second portion is these predictions for 2009, 2019, 2029 and 2099. His predictions for 2009 include “short-distance wireless technology” (Kurzweil 137), or what we call Bluetooth; that “books, magazines, and newspapers are now routinely read on displays that are the size of, well, small books” (138), what we call Kindles; and that “cybernetic music creation systems allow people... [to] practice to create music in collaboration with their automatic composition software” (141), something similar to GarageBand. 

His final predictions for 2099 and on are that “there is no longer any clear distinction between humans and computers” and that these human-machines will alter the fate of the Universe (212). He maps out the social consequences of leaving our carbon-based bodies and making this transformation into a conscious machine. Will some people choose to remain in their carbon-based bodies? How can you protect your “mind file” from being accessed, hacked, or altered? The book is terrifying and incredible all at once. 

Douglas Davis’s article, “The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction” was written at the same time as The Age of Spiritual Machines, and expresses hope for a universal connectedness through technology. The contrast between Kurzweil and Davis highlights two perceptions of a growing technological world: one optimistic, one ominous. Walter Benjamin’s article, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” touches on technology integrating with art and the destructiveness that comes with it. Computers have already created art: they can draw, synthesize and create music, and can write puns (Kurzweil 115-116). Theoretically, computers will soon be leaders in the arts. Can computers be considered leaders if they aren't human? Will they be considered human? Benjamin quotes, “Fiat ars—pereat mundus,” or “Let art be created though the world be perished” (Benjamin 7), a thought in line with Kurzweils’ final prediction, leaving us wondering if computers will better our world or ultimately destroy it.

REFERENCES

Asad, Taimur. iPad vs Kindle DX. Digital image. Redmond Pie. N.p., 28 Jan. 2010. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

Benjamin, Walter. "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." (1936): 1-7. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

Davis, Douglas. "The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction (An Evolving Thesis: 1991-1995)." Leonardo 28.5 (1995): 381-386. JSTOR. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

Kurzweil, Raymond. The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence. New York: Penguin, 2000. Print.

"Moore's Law." Moore's Law. Moore's Law, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

Olson, Nikki. Age of Spiritual Machines Cover. Digital Image. Singularity, 2 Mar. 2011. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

"Predictions Made by Ray Kurzweil." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

"The Age of Spiritual Machines." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

Virtual Reality Wallpaper. Digital image. Wallpapers Wide, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

Week 2: Math + Art

This week’s lecture topic, Math + Art, expanded on what I already knew in terms of science affecting art and also introduced me to how art can influence science. The lecture video reiterated what I had previously learned about perspective and the golden ratio in an art history class, but what I found most interesting was how these scientific notions had affected film and the media. For example, the TV show Numb3rs plot was based on the golden ratio, and The DaVinci Code, an incredibly successful book and movie, would not have been possible without Fibonacci’s number and the Vitruvian man. 

The National Gallery in London

“The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion,” explains how intertwined Einstein’s relativity theory is to modern art and the use of a fourth dimension. Traditionally, I would not have thought that artists would be so interested in such a complex topic. In addition, an article on Robert J. Lang’s origami site about his work with the Eyeglass Telescope proves just how valuable something I considered a hobby, origami, can be in advancing space technology. 

A variety of origami pieces

Partnering with the Department of Energy, Lang helped them develop a model for a telescope that could fold up and expand without ruining the lens. He mentions how an origami-based solar panel was put on a satellite in the 1980s, proving just how long this collaboration with origami and space has lasted. 

Lang with the Eyeglass telescope.

This piece truly changed my previous view that only science could alter art, not vise versa. Artists are influenced by science as equally as scientists are influenced by art. Through this week’s material, I can now see how small the juxtaposition between art and math is, and moreover, how one would not be able to exist without the other. 

REFERENCES

Henderson, Linda D. "The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion." Leonardo 17.3 (1984): 205-210. JSTOR. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.

Hyde, Rob. Photograph of the Eyeglass Prototype on its Test Range at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California. Digital image. Eyeglass Telescope. Robert J. Lang Origami, n.d. Web.

Lang, Robert J. "Eyeglass Telescope." Robert J. Lang Origami. N.p., n.d. Web.

Origami. Digital image. Origami. Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, n.d. Web.

TJ Blackwell. National Gallery in London. Digital Image. The Golden Mean and Aesthetics. Phys.org, 3 Dec. 2013. Web.