Week 8 | Nanotechnology + Art |

I was surprised after this week’s readings that nano means “dwarf” and deals with microscopic objects and organisms. I was confused as to what exactly the relationship between art and nanotechnology, but then I discovered nanotechnology is primarily based on touch and feel because the objects are microscopic.One of the most interesting pieces of this week’s material was the gecko feet. Scientists took a closer look at the feet of gecko because they have very fine nanostructures that grants geckos the ability to stick to walls.

The lotus leaf was also very interesting to me. Water droplets stay in tact on top of the leaves because of the fine nanostructure of the leaf. The leaf appears to have microscopic prawns that stick out and reject the water droplets. We are able to study the nanostructure of these objects because of microscopic tunneling. Microscopic tunneling is an “instrument for imaging surfaces at the atomic level.” (Wikipedia)

The one main idea that will stick with me after this weeks lecture is how nanotechology is extremely advanced because of artistic developments. In return, nanotechology plays a role in the development of art because artists are able to get a better understanding of the genetic makeup of organisms.







Works Cited:

-"Asian flowers lotus in pink." Asian flowers lotus in pink.jpg Hi-Res 720p HD. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2017.

- Nanotech Jim pt3. Dir. James Gimzewski. Perf. Dr. James Gimzewski. Youtube.com. YouTube, 21 May 2012. Web. 25 May 2017. <https://youtu.be/X0HCNiU_108>.

- Nanotech Jim pt4. Dir. James Gimzewski. Perf. Dr. James Gimzewski. Youtube.com. YouTube, 21 May 2012. Web. 25 May 2017. <https://youtu.be/yHCuZetAIhk>.

-"Scanning Tunneling Microscope." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 25 May 2017

     Web. 27 May 2017.

-"The Scanning Tunneling Microscope." Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB , n.d. Web. 20 May 2017. <http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/physics/microscopes/scanning/>.

Week 7 | Neuroscience + Art |

This week’s materials on neuroscience was very eye-opening for me because I really wanted to be a Psychology major. I had no clue that art is oftenly used to understand the human brain and neuroscience in general. I have never been able to understand how the human brain is able to comprehend a number of different vowels and sounds and can quickly interpret what someone is trying to say in nanoseconds. Not only can the brain instantly understand other people, but it starts to think of a response immediately. I found Pierre Paul Broca interesting for this reason because he was the first person to demonstrate the existence of a speech center in the brain.

The “Brainbow” showed me exactly how art is used today in order to figure out new information about the human brain. Brainbow is a new tool used by researchers and scientists and is a way of visualizing neurons. Bright colors are designated to a certain emotion. When the Brainbow is in use, the brain will fire neurons and the neurons will transmit different colors in order to understand human emotions more easily. I gained a new appreciation for art after reading about the Brainbow because it is evident how critical of a role art plays in scientific fields today.

The most surprising thing I learned from this week’s material is that a sea sponge shares 70% of its genes with humans, including the genes that are related to disease and cancer. Doctors are now studying sea sponges to better understand diseases and cures. I would never have guessed that a sea sponge could be the answer to finding cancer (although probably not).

Works Cited:

Kac, Eduardo. "GFP Bunny" http://www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html#gfpbunnyanchor Web. 

Uconlineprogram. "5 Bioart Pt1 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 14 May 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaThVnA1kyg>.

Vesna, Victoria.  Narr. "Neuroscience + Art Lectures I-V.”  N.p., . web. 5 Nov 2012.

Weissman, Tamily. "Brainbow: Cell Pictures." Cell Picture Show. Cell Picture Show, 13 Oct. 2014. Web. 16 May 2017.

Willoughby, Leslie. "As Sea Stars Die, New Worries About Urchins." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 15 May 2017. Web. 16 May 2017.

Week 6: Event 2

For my Event 2, I decided to go to Youjin Cheng's exhibition at UCLA's Fine Art Center. I was very confused when I first walked in because the "games" in the room are very interactive, and the room had completely different energies in different areas. The first game that really caught my attention was one that included three different lights and small pillars moving in different directions. I had no idea what to think until I heard Youjin later explain the meaning behind this game. The lights are meant to symbolize a group of people paying attention to the pillars, and how the attention by people on something causes a giant spotlight. The more people there are, the larger the "spotlight" is. I believe Youjin creates a very strong message here because it made me think about how even a meaningless object can increase its importance if there is a large spotlight on it.



Later on, I came across another game that caught my attention. I was curious about the controller so I pressed a button and the screen started to move. The game, according to Youjin, was created to allow people to step into the shoes of a robot. Youjin's meaning for the game was very interesting to me because she says it is uncomfortable for people to experience the actions and emotions of something that is not human. It brings up a foreign feeling of empathy for other beings that aren't human, which was a nice change of pace.







Youjin Cheng's solo exhibition was very interesting to me and I connected it to some of our robotics material because robotics are allowing us to view the world in new points of views, and each of Youjin's game did the exact same thing. I think the game with the three different lights was my favorite because it was the most thought invoking.

WILLIAM_CONNER_DESMA9_MIDTERM.PDF

Midterm Link:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByWfkrrWmz-QRzFsaTFtQ2F4LXM