Week 9: Space + Art

This week's topic was one I have always found immensely fascinating: space. I especially appreciated the breadth of historical information we received this week regarding space missions in Lectures 4 and 5 by Professor Vesna. The abundance of space missions has not only increased our human understanding of the world beyond us, but has also influenced artists and filmmakers alike [1]. Space missions, like Challenger and Apollo 11, have allowed movies to convey both the joys and fears of exploring space. For example, after Apollo 11, movies, like Moon, finally had a better of idea of how to depict the extraterrestrial in movies, as seen in Figure 1.


Figure 1: Scene of moon from blockbuster Moon

One particular movie that comes to mind is the recent blockbuster Interstellar starring Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey. The movie, pictured in Figure 2, was praised for its keen use of visual effects, especially of how they depicted black holes and wormholes [2]. In this case, art and space truly came together because renowned physicist Kip Thorne and a team of collaborators used extensive math and physics to depict the phenomena as closely as possible. The movie was so keen on getting it right that they even ended up publishing a paper on black holes [3]!


Figure 2: Movie poster for Interstellar

In this movie, the movie actually impacted the scientific community (instead of the other way around). Interstellar's stunning representation of black holes and worm holes were not just something of the imagination; they were constructed using the power of physics and math [4]. For example, although evidence of worm holes has not been found yet, the movie represented what they would look like via Einstein's theory of general relativity equations [5]. As a result, as pictured in Figure 3, Thorne hypothesizes that worm holes would look a lot like what the movie depicted.


Figure 3: Wormhole as seen in Interstellar

Images

1. guillaumeriaux. “Moon (2009) Best Scene - Clint Mansell - Memories (Someone We'll Never Know).” YouTube, YouTube, 20 June 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4DQ1_PCBs0.

2. “Interstellar – Review.” The Real Sasha, 1 Mar. 2015, therealsasha.wordpress.com/2015/03/01/interstellar-review/.

3. Magazine, Wired. “The Metaphysics of Interstellar.” Wired, Conde Nast, 8 June 2015, www.wired.com/2014/11/metaphysics-of-interstellar/.

Sources

1. Morrison, Blake. “The Cultural Impact.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 1 July 2009, www.theguardian.com/science/2009/jul/02/apollo-11-landing-cultural-impact.

2. Rogers, Adam. “WRINKLES IN SPACETIME: The Warped Astrophysics of Interstellar.” Wired, Conde Nast, 7 Jan. 2015, www.wired.com/2014/10/astrophysics-interstellar-black-hole/.

3. Times, James Maynard Tech. “'Interstellar' Team Publishes Scientific Paper On Black Holes.” Tech Times, 13 Feb. 2015, www.techtimes.com/articles/32733/20150213/interstellar-team-publishes-scientific-paper-on-black-holes.htm.

4. James, Oliver, et al. “Visualizing Interstellar's Wormhole.” American Association of Physics Teachers, American Association of Physics Teachers, 1 Jan. 1970, aapt.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1119/1.4916949.

5. Wall, Mike. “The Science of 'Interstellar': Black Holes, Wormholes and Space Travel.” Space.com, Space.com, 10 Nov. 2014, www.space.com/27701-interstellar-movie-science-black-holes.html.

Week 8: Nanotechnology + Art

As Dr. Gimzewski mentioned in Lecture 4, nanotechnology has played a major role in medicine. Surprisingly enough, this week's topic had a lot to do with the research I am doing at UCLA. My undergraduate research has to do with trying to use plasmonic sensors as a means of biosensing [1]. Unlike most traditional sensors, the ones we use in the lab are fabricated by stamping an array of nanoparticles onto a plastic-like material and covering these nanostructures with a thin layer of gold. As seen in Figure 1, each square is what my lab defines as a single ‘sensor.’ What makes these sensors attractive in biosensing is their sensitively to even the most minute changes to their surface [2,3].

Figure 1: Plasmonic sensors of the Ozcan lab 

You’ll notice that each of the sensors are different colors. The different colors are due to the dichroic effect within each gold nanoparticle array. Interestingly, this is the same phenomena that can be observed in the ancient Lycurgus cup (Figure 2) made by the Romans in 400 A.D. [4]

Figure 2: Lycurgus cup with the absence of light shining through (left) and with light shining through (right)

The famous cup has been known to change colors upon holding it in different angles. Like the plasmonic sensors in our lab, the cup achieves this because the artists had to meticulously arrange nanoparticles of gold and silver throughout the glass material [4]. As one could imagine, the multitude of nanoparticles that line that line the Lycurgus cup give rise to hundreds of angles that light could hit the surface. Therefore, the variability of angles that light shines on the surface give rise to the different colors observed. The same effect is also what gives rise to the beautiful colors seen on stained glass ceilings as seen in Figure 3 [5]. Hence, we see how these gold nanoparticles are used in applications in medicine and art. 

Figure 3: Stained glass ceilings also display the dichroic effect

Images
1. Image taken at my lab
2. Kaushik. “Lycurgus Cup: A Piece of Ancient Roman Nanotechnology.” Amusing Planet, 2017, www.amusingplanet.com/2016/12/lycurgus-cup-piece-of-ancient-roman.html.
3.Trippy. “PHOTOS: Breathtaking Stained-Glass Ceilings Around The World.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 16 Jan. 2013, www.huffingtonpost.com/trippy/stained-glass-ceilings-photos_b_2073761.html.

Sources

1. Computational Sensing Using Low-Cost and Mobile Plasmonic Readers Designed by Machine Learning Zachary S. Ballard, Daniel Shir, Aashish Bhardwaj, Sarah Bazargan, Shyama Sathianathan, and Aydogan Ozcan ACS Nano 2017 11 (2), 2266-2274DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.7b00105
2. Heip, H. M.; et al. (2007). "A localized surface plasmon resonance based immunosensor for the detection of casein in milk". Science and Technology of Advanced Materials. 8 (4): 331–338. Bibcode:2007STAdM...8..331M. doi:10.1016/j.stam.2006.12.010.
3. Singh P. (2017) LSPR Biosensing: Recent Advances and Approaches. In: Geddes C. (eds) Reviews in Plasmonics 2016. Reviews in Plasmonics, vol 2016. Springer, Cham

4. Kubetz, Rick. “The World's Most Sensitive Plasmon Resonance Sensor Inspired by Ancient Roman Cup.” Illinois College of Engineering, University of Illinois Board of Trustees, 14 Feb. 2013, engineering.illinois.edu/news/article/2013-02-14-worlds-most-sensitive-plasmon-resonance-sensor-inspired-ancient-roman-cup.

5. Hess, Catherine (2005). Looking at Glass: A Guide to Terms, Styles, and Techniques. Getty Publications. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-89236-750-4.

Week 7: Neuroscience + Art

This week's lecture had to do with one of my favorite subject areas: psychology. Having learned about Karl Jung and Sigmund Freud (pictured below), I already knew the major principles that the men shared as well as differed on, like the psyche and the influence of the childhood[1-3]. I did not, however, know how their work translated into art and the media until Professor Vesna mentioned a familiar name in Lecture II.


Figure 1: Sigmund Freud (left) and Carl Jung (right)

One of people mentioned in this week's lecture was David Cronenberg, a director known to combine the thriller into psychology. I am familiar with his work in Cosmopolis (pictured below). The film follows a young billionaire (Eric Packer) as he traverses New York City amidst a traffic and a financial crisis[4]. The movie was quite dull and somewhat disturbing when I first watched it. What I realized, though, is that this type of reception is sort of the side-effect of merging the principles of psychology into film.


Figure 2: Cosmopolis by director David Cronenberg

Instead of being given all the jokes and emotions upfront in genres like comedies and dramas, this film forced the audience to look beyond what was presented to them. For example, the scene pictured below is when Eric Packer meets the man who has been out to kill him. This part is chilling with respect to everything from the lighting, the type of clothes the characters are wearing to the odd pace and tension surrounding when/whether Eric will die[5]. All these elements are essentially used to evoke a sense of delving into the main character's psyche and understanding how he's coming to terms with the concept of death. Hence, we see how elements of art in film are used to portray the sometimes crude mechanisms of the mind that have been outlined by psychologists like Freud and Jung.


Figure 3: Cosmopolis scene when Eric Packer meets his killer


Sources:

1. McLeod, Saul. “Saul McLeod.” Simply Psychology, Simply Psychology, 1 Jan. 1970, www.simplypsychology.org/carl-jung.html.

2. “Carl Jung.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 4 Nov. 2015, www.biography.com/people/carl-jung-9359134.

3. Mcleod, Saul. “Sigmund Freud.” Simply Psychology, Simply Psychology, www.simplypsychology.org/Sigmund-Freud.html.

4. Person. “The Technical Chill of ‘Cosmopolis.’” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 18 June 2017, www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/the-technical-chill-of-cosmopolis.

5. Smith, Nigel M. “'Cosmopolis' Star Paul Giamatti on Entering the 'Strange, Slightly Clinical' World of David Cronenberg.” IndieWire, Indiewire, 17 Aug. 2012, www.indiewire.com/2012/08/cosmopolis-star-paul-giamatti-on-entering-the-strange-slightly-clinical-world-of-david-cronenberg-45492/.


Images:

1. Katie. “10 Differences Between Freud and Jung.” Exploring Your Mind, Exploring Your Mind, 14 Apr. 2018, exploringyourmind.com/10-differences-freud-jung/.

2. A Couple of Critics. “Cosmopolis – A Metropolitan Odyssey.” A Couple of Critics, 27 Aug. 2012, acoupleofcritics.wordpress.com/2012/08/27/cosmopolis-a-metropolitan-odyssey/.

3. Smith, Nigel M. “'Cosmopolis' Star Paul Giamatti on Entering the 'Strange, Slightly Clinical' World of David Cronenberg.” IndieWire, Indiewire, 17 Aug. 2012, www.indiewire.com/2012/08/cosmopolis-star-paul-giamatti-on-entering-the-strange-slightly-clinical-world-of-david-cronenberg-45492/.

Week 6: BioTech + Art

This week's topic of Biotech + Art was close to home for me. As a bioengineering major, I am constantly exposed to the breakthroughs science is making as well as the ethical implications each breakthrough has. To my surprise, however, I found genetic engineering was one of many topics that make this field so controversial. One of the artists I found particularly interesting was George Gessert, who experimented with making different hybrids of irises. The artist notes how he was fascinated in using Darwin's natural selection principle to help create exotic plants for his showcases. Below are some of the irises he manipulated for his art. I found it fascinating how he was utilizing a quite fundamental genetic principle of Mendelian genetics to showcase as an art piece. It's almost like Gregor Mendel, considered the father of genetics, could have done this with his famous experiment with peas!





One of the most surprising artists for me, however, was ORLAN. After watching the short lectures in class summarizing her work, I still did not know exactly what this artist did for a living. Upon further investigation, I found that this artist is quite the controversial one. From standing outside the Grand Palais and portraying herself as Madonna, a slot machine, and a whore to embracing plastic surgeries as part of her carnal art pieces, ORLAN is the epitome of showcasing the human body as an art form. Though her art has garnered international attention and has quite profound meaning, it made me wonder where we might have to draw the line as to how much of the human body we can use to still deem it respectful. Her art, as seen in the image below of a plastic surgery she included in the successful surgeries collection, is raw. Instead of shying away from the controversy surrounding plastic surgery, she embraces it and showcases it. Overall, it was quite a different representation of art I was never exposed to before.



Images
1. http://juliacowell.blogspot.com/2015/11/george-gessert-iris-project-artist.html
2. http://revolutionbio.co/bioart/bioart-through-evolution-george-gessert/
3. https://artdesign.unsw.edu.au/whats-on/news/orlan-part-patient-unsw-galleries

Resources
1.“George Gessert: Genetics and Culture.” Audio Microscope: Joe Davis : Genetics and Culture,
geneticsandculture.com/genetics_culture/pages_genetics_culture/gc_w02/gc_w02_gessert.htm.
2.“Bioart through Evolution: George Gessert.” Revolution Bioengineering, revolutionbio.co/bioart/bioart-through-evolution-george-gessert/.
3.Science News. “Green Light: Toward an Art of Evolution by George Gessert.” Science News, 23 Sept. 2013, www.sciencenews.org/article/green-light-toward-art-evolution-george-gessert.
4.Leddy, Siobhan. “How ORLAN Turned Plastic Surgery into Feminist Art.” Artsy, Artsy, 7 Aug. 2017, www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-70-body-modification-artist-orlan-reinventing.
5.“ORLAN AND THE TRANSGRESSIVE ACT.” ORLAN: IS IT ART?, Stanford University, web.stanford.edu/class/history34q/readings/Orlan/Orlan2.html.

Week 5: Midterm

Here is the link to my midterm presentation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jZYERDD3NRLj37G4mGnx-1CSEG_MSmug/view?usp=sharing

Week 4: MedTech + Art

As part of my bioengineering curriculum this year, I had to take an introductory class to different medical imaging. The images of the body were captured by utilizing various imagining techniques from using magnets (in MRI imaging) to harsh radiation (X-ray) to even using the time and distance of sound to travel through material (ultrasound). The various ways physicians can understand and visualize the body without having to aggressively cut a patient open still boggles my mind. Unlike art of the human body was was created from the perspective of the artist/physician in medieval times, the images MRI and other tomography imagining consists of taking cross sections of different parts of a patient's body and combining all these sections mathematically to form a 3-D image. Once this is digitally done by utilizing various math functions like Fourier Analysis, it's amazing to see how complex the body is and how far we've come from the images of the body that were made in centuries past. Below is an image of the way human bodies were seen in the medieval times and how we understand the body today due to advancing medical technology. It can be obvious to see how far medical science has come by simply comparing the resolution and clarity of the two images.



Figure 1: Medieval depiction of the human body




Figure 2: Modern image of the human body using MRI technology

In addition to this, advances in artistic portrayals of the human body has improved the spectrum in which we can improve the human condition. Instead of using a scalpel and blade to cut away at a patient, novel therapeutics have been possible with advances in technology in medicine. This was best described by the TedTalk posted this week featuring Diane Gromala. Her talk as well as current research have shown that being immersed in virtual reality can potentially help those who suffer from chronic pain. The essence of how it works is allowing a patient to easily experience mindful cognitive therapy, a common psychological therapy, simply through putting on a Virtual Reality headset as seen in the image below. Therefore, it is the combination of art, technology, and medicine that can all come together to better understand the human body and bring us closer to healing ailments in the human condition.




Figure 3: Patient using VR for pain management


Text sources:

1. Detre, John A., et al. “IMAGING TECHNIQUES AT-A-GLANCE.” IMAGING TECHNIQUES AT-A-GLANCE, Nov. 2011, www.dana.org/uploadedFiles/Pdfs/imagingtechniquesataglance.pdf.

2. “Advanced Imaging Techniques.” UMGC, www.umcg.nl/EN/Research/Researchers/Facilities/Imaging/Paginas/default.aspx.

3. “Virtual Reality for Pain Management: A Weapon Against the Opioid Epidemic?” Clinical Pain Advisor, 31 Aug. 2017, www.clinicalpainadvisor.com/painweek-2017/chronic-pain-management-with-virtual-reality/article/684461/.

4. TEDxTalks. “TEDxAmericanRiviera - Diane Gromala - Curative Powers of Wet, Raw Beauty.” YouTube, YouTube, 7 Dec. 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=628&v=cRdarMz--Pw.

5. Molteni, Megan. “Opioids Haven't Solved Chronic Pain. Maybe Virtual Reality Can.” Wired, Conde Nast, 2 Nov. 2017, www.wired.com/story/opioids-havent-solved-chronic-pain-maybe-virtual-reality-can/.


Image sources:

1. “Medieval Images of the Human Body.” Medievalists.net, 3 Nov. 2015, www.medievalists.net/2014/06/medieval-images-human-body/.

2. “MRI.” MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Anand - Gujarat, X-RAY House, www.xrayhouseanand.com/mri.php.

3. Baum, Stephanie. “How Samsung Is Leveraging VR to Manage Pain.” MedCity News, 1 Feb. 2017, medcitynews.com/2017/01/samsung-leveraging-vr-manage-pain/.

Week 3: Robotics + Art

The topic I would like to focus on is industrialization, or more specifically, mass production. With the advances of technology during the Industrial Revolution, more goods could reach a greater amount of people due to things like the assembly line. On the downside, such technology stymied creativity in art. This idea of mass production and how it has influenced art is closely analyzed by Walter Benjamin's essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." However, society reacted favorably to having more goods available and, thus, there was an increase in mass production throughout the market. After this point, people could easily go to stores and buy generic items, like furniture, as a means to express themselves.



Until recently, however, the advances of technology has resulted in the opposite effect. With the inception of customization in the food industry from giants like Chipotle paving the way, there has been a societal demand in changing industrialization as well. Instead of mass production, the market has responded by implementing more customization. Emerging and improved technology has allowed for people to have more control over expressing their creative selves. This can be best depicted by Converse now allowing its customers to customize their shoes. Initially, converse was known for its very distinct, bright colors that were mass produced. The shoes were in high demand and stores would have the shoes available due to the sheer volume they would be produced at. Now, with advances in manufacturing, people can choose their own designs online or even in-store. Hence, art and technology has come almost full-circle in allowing people to express themselves again by choosing what they want to buy.











Sources:

1. Milnes, Hilary, et al. “Behind the Scenes at Converse's in-Store 'Blank Canvas' Customization Shop.” Digiday, 19 Feb. 2016, digiday.com/marketing/behind-scenes-converses-store-blank-canvas-customization-shop/.
2. Davis, Jim. “New Converse Store Lets Shoppers Customize Their Chucks - The Boston Globe.” BostonGlobe.com, 14 May 2015, www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/05/13/new-converse-store-lets-shoppers-customize-their-chucks/SZ98RKVFb0hojHc5XclPfL/story.html.
3. “The Art Institute of Chicago.” Industrialization , The Art Institute of Chicago, www.artic.edu/aic/collections/exhibitions/divineart/industrialization.
4. Servais, Alain. “Art In The Shadow Of Art Market Industrialization.” SFAQ / NYAQ / LXAQ, 10 Nov. 2014, sfaq.us/2014/11/art-in-the-shadow-of-art-market-industrialization-moving-toward-a-sustainable-ecosystem/.
5. Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.
6. Vesna,Victoria. “Lecture Part 2.” Math + Art. 20 April. 2018. Lecture.
7. “CONVERSE OFFICIALLY OPENS WORLD HEADQUARTERS IN BOSTON AND DEBUTS NEW FLAGSHIP STORE.” Nike News, news.nike.com/news/converse-officially-opens-world-headquartesr-in-boston-and-debuts-new-flagship-store.
8. “DOCTOR WHO Hand Painted Shoes, Painted Mens Converse, Doctor Who Converse, Custom Sneakers, Unisex Hightop Sneakers.” Etsy, www.etsy.com/listing/238937657/doctor-who-hand-painted-shoes-painted.
9. Connox, 2005-2018. “Kartell - Generic A Chair.” Generic A Chair by Kartell | Connox, www.connox.com/categories/furniture/chairs/kartell-generic-a-stuhl.html.