Week 9: Space + Art

We went from picking apart the world on a nanoscale last week to the macroscale and discussing the farthest corners of the universe this week. I think that the stark contrast really drives home the point that this "cosmic ocean," as it was said in the lecture video, is where everything from science, technology, and art comes together (Vesna). This week gave an interesting perspective in terms the vastness of the world as the video, "Powers of Ten," shows how a view of outer space can be zoomed into a view of atomic particles in a span of 10⁴⁰ meters. Fans of the video blog about the beauty of seeing the world from different angles, and I agree that this prompts very complex questions about the idea of existence and my own place in the universe.
 

Pin dropped on current location using Google Earth

In addition to promoting this abstract type of thinking, space exploration has been the reason for increased investment in the education system and emphasis on science and mathematics in schools. It's flourished in the cinema and with increased support for the cultural impact of space activities, has come to demonstrate our identity as explorers and artists by nature. While we've explored many areas of knowledge from math to neuroscience to nanotechnology with goals of better understanding ourselves and progressing towards the future, our human interest in space represents how much we still don't know and how much we still have yet to learn.

Final scene from Men in Black II - "Still a rookie"

Just as the Star Trek introduction states, space is the final frontier. Similar to the starship Enterprise, with the innovations of science and technology along with the boundless potential and curiosity of art, we continue to explore strange new worlds and boldly go where no man has gone before.

People as part of an infinite universe

References:

Earnes Office. "Powers of Ten (1977)." Youtube. Youtube, 26 August 2010. Web. 31 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0>

Powers of Ten blog. "Happy Power of Tens Day!" blog.powersof10.com. Earnes Office LLC, 10 October 2013. Web. 31 May 2015.

"The Leonardo Space Art Project Working Group." Leonardo Space Art Project. International Society for the Arts, Sciences, and Technology, 1996. Web. 31 May 2015.

Uconlineprogram. "8 space pt2 1280x720." Youtube. Youtube, 29 July 2014. Web. 31 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLZMDpoP-u0>

Uconlineprogram. "Space pt6." Youtube. Youtube, 30 May 2012. Web. 31 May 2015.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYmOtFjIj0M>

Week 8: Nanotechnology + Art

In this week's lecture, we focused on the great influence that nanotechnology, as a collaborative science,  has on our daily lives, as it is shifting the paradigm into the 21st century and challenging social and scientific views (Gemzewski). Following Richard Feynman, who first suggested working with objects on the atomic scale, people have been breaking down and manipulating the world from it's smallest components, in ways invisible to the naked eye. Advances in nanotechnology impact various areas of our daily living including our food, electronics, and clothing, and it brings about advantages in many respects.

Viewing the world on a nanoscale

Nanoparticles are an example of nanotechnology contributing to the lives of the general public. It is one of the biggest areas of commercial business, and for example has been used to make the self-cleaning fabric in pants, tennis balls that stay inflated longer, and alternative replacements for cosmetic products. This last example is accomplished through artificial atoms called quantum dots, which have varying physical properties based on size (Anscombe). These are all products we regularly use, and they indicate how we're exposed to nanotechnology in many ways we can't see.

Quantum dots being used to make cosmetic replacements

As Gimsewski and Vesna explain in their article, with nanotechnology, there is a blurring of fact and fiction, and this new science is also shifting our perception of reality from a visual culture to one that is more abstract. Researchers and scientists are working with things once thought to be intangible, and now it is interesting to see how minuscule changes on the nanoscale can make such a great impact in the way our society and culture is progressing towards the future.

Lotus leaf on the molecular level

References:

Anscombe, Nadya. "Quantum Dots: Small Structures Poised to Break Big." Photonics. Photonics media, n.d. Web. 24 May 2015. <http://www.photonics.com/Article.aspx?AID=22350>

Gimzewski, Jim and Vesna, Victoria. "The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of fact & fiction in the construction of a new science." Web. <http://vv.arts.ucla.edu/publications/publications/02-03/JV_nano/JV_nano_artF5VG.htm>

Uconlineprogram. "Nanotech Jim pt1." Youtube. Youtube, 21 May 2012. Web. 24 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7jM6-iqzzE>

Uconlineprogram. "Nanotech Jim pt3." Youtube. Youtube, 21 May 2012. Web. 24 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0HCNiU_108>

Uconlineprogram. "Nanotech Jim pt6." Youtube. Youtube, 21 May 2012. Web. 24 May 2015.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7&v=oKlViSKkPd0>

Week 7: Neuroscience + Art

Because of the interconnections between soma and axons and dendrites in the brain, we are able to perceive and communicate. This week's lecture video brings up the wonders and power of the human mind such that within nanoseconds, we are receiving information, processing it and thinking about it (Vesna). You could say that this system of signals and pathways allow us to function and essentially makes up who we are.

Neuronal dendrites stained green

As Mark Cohen explains in his lecture, scientists have already discovered that various parts of the brain perform different functions and control certain parts of the body (Cohen). This idea, referred to as the study of phrenology has built upon Franz Joseph Gall's original notion that the brain was divided into 27 separate organs, each with a discrete human faculty. Though Gall's idea was not completely accurate, the Motor Homunculus visually represents today's understanding of the anatomical divisions of the human cortex. That is, if the human body were to be built in proportion to its motor significance because of the brain power needed to “motor” them, the hands and mouth would be proportionally bigger as would the parts of the brain controlling them be bigger. A few weeks ago, we discussed how anatomy and medicine are used in artistic media, and the homunculus here can be seen as an appropriate example of art associating neuroscience and anatomy with our everyday human functions and our identity.

Motor Homunculus

In the article, "Neuroculture," Frazzetto and Anker explain how neuroscience partakes in our daily lives and social practices (Frazzetto and Anker, 815). It is the interaction of art and science that transfers neuroscience out of the laboratory and allows the public to become aware of the scientific advances shaping social and cultural values. Just as art was used to explain science in the case of the Homunculus, many areas of knowledge have begun using a neural dimension, or science, to understand the art. Whether it's the neurological phenomena going on in the amygdala during psychological thriller movies or visual illusions causing some activity in the optic center of the brain, there is growing curiosity in why we are the way we are and why we think the way we think. So, there too is a need for neuroscience and art to answer questions and convey new answers about our consciousness and individuality.

Optical Illusion

References:

Frazzetto, Giovanni and Anker, Suzan. “Neuroculture." Nature 10 (2009): 815-821. Web.

Martinez-Conde, Susana and Macknik, Stephen. "The Neuroscience of Illusion." Scientific American. Scientific American, 12 September 2013. Web. 17 May 2015.

"Motor and Sensory Homunculus." Autism Index. n.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2015.

Ucdesma's Channel. "Neuroscience- Mark Cohen.mov." Youtube. Youtube, 12 May 2012. Web. 17 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDq8uTROeXU>

Uconlineprogram. “Neuroscience-pt1.mov." Youtube. YouTube, 17 May 2012. Web. 17 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzXjNbKDkYI>.

Uconlineprogram. “Neuroscience pt3.” YouTube. YouTube, 16 May Web. 17 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5EX75xoBJ0#t=51>.

Week 6: BioTech + Art

This week’s focus on Biotechnology and art covers controversial topics that draw attention to many ethical and social issues. As discussed in the lecture video, biotechnology ranges from GMO in our food to experimentation with animals to creating organismal hybrids, and artists are increasingly going into laboratories or working with scientists to create art (Vesna).

Eduardo Kac's GFP bunny

One of the artists that best helped me understand the concept of bio-art was Orlán and her harlequin coat. While this piece uses skin cells made in vitro from different races, it introduces the powerful concept of cultural crossbreeding and the beauty of self-hybridization. However one of the important questions it also raises is can a person still be the owner of his or her cells? This question reminds me of the controversies regarding HeLa cells, an immortal cell line derived from the cancer cells of Henrietta Lacks in the 1950’s. While the cell line has been widely used in research on common diseases and has helped scientists develop a number of today’s life-saving vaccines, many have criticized and noted that it was established without Lacks’s consent (Callaway). Both the harlequin coat and HeLa cells demonstrate the great potential for biotechnology to benefit us in different ways such as through medicine and artistic expression, but not without the “political, economic, legal, and scientific” implications as Levy puts it in “Defining Life: Artists Challenge Conventional Classifications.”

Orlan's "Harlequin Coat"

The way I see it, any criticism of biotechnology, especially together with art, boils down to the argument that just because we can, it doesn’t mean we should. For example the idea of creating fluorescent bunnies is possible through genetic manipulation, but as many believe it is a silly and needless manipulation of an animal. Furthermore in Jurassic Park, the message is clear. Even though scientists were able to recreate and genetically modify the dinosaurs, playing with science could be unethical and dangerous.

Egg Hatching scene from Jurassic Park (1993)

References:

Callaway, Ewen. “HeLa Publication brews bioethical storm.” Nature. Nature, 27 March 2013. Web. 10 March 2015.

Levy, Ellen K. "Defining Life: Artists Challenge Conventional Classifications."

Schulman, Ari N. "Jurassic Generation," The New Atlantis, Number 38, Winter/Spring 2013, pp. 196-203.

Uconlineprogram. “5 BioArt pt4.” YouTube. YouTube, 17 May 2012. Web. 10 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7&v=2qSc72u9KhI>.

Uconlineprogram. “5 BioArt pt1 1280x720.” YouTube. YouTube, 28 September 2013. Web. 10 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaThVnA1kyg>.