Week 3: Robotics + Art

As discussed in the lecture, ever since the Industrial Revolution, advances in science and technology have influenced the world of art and our everyday lives. With Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press in the 1400’s, this led to the development of mass production, allowed for the wide exchange of ideas, and essentially facilitated the progress that has brought about today’s scientific and artistic works.

The critic and philosopher, Walter Benjamin, though made valid arguments for the negative influences of science on art. According to Benjamin, the technology of mechanical reproduction would destroy the authenticity of an artwork and “detach the reproduced work from the domain of tradition.” While this can be true for example in the creativity lacking in the mass-produced wall décor people buy from department stores, I still see technology and mass production, especially in the form of film, as an effective way to encourage originality and new ideas.

Mass produced art from Bed Bath and Beyond

The 2014 animated Disney film, Big Hero 6, is a fun example of how science and robotics has entered the film industry. In the scene below, which I feel is completely relevant this class, the movie promotes the association between technology and imagination! Like the main character, Hiro, actual scientists are combining their engineering and scientific backgrounds with an artist’s way of thinking to create robots like geminoids and protective suits. In Big Hero 6, Hiro also forms a close bond with Baymax, an inflatable robot-nurse, and Baymax’s nursing skills have even encouraged new discussions like Kelli Dunham’s NPR article about the nursing field. As people are able to take the film and use it to bring up ideas unrelated to the main themes, this further demonstrates the power of technology to inspire innovation.

Scene from Big Hero 6

References:

Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”. 1936. Print.

Big Hero 6. Dir. Don Hall and Chris Williams. Perf. Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, and Daniel Henney. Walt Disney Animation Studios, 2014.

Dunham, Kelli. “Why Does It Take A Movie Robot To Show What Nurses Really Do?” NPR.org. National Public Radio, 21 December 2014. Web. 16 April 2015.

Uconlineprogram. “Robotics MachikoKusahara 1.” YouTube. YouTube, 14 April 2012. Web. 19 April 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQZ_sy-mdEU>.

Uconlineprogram. “Robotics pt1.” YouTube. YouTube, 15 April 2012. Web. 19 April 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRw9_v6w0ew>.

Week 2: Math + Art

In school, I grew up learning about different forms of art from painting to music. On what I believed was the other end of the spectrum, I also grew up learning about different areas of math from geometry to calculus. What was always present, but what I never realized however was the strong overlap and connection between the two. This week’s lecture showed me that throughout history, artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci have been using mathematical principles as the groundwork for famous works of art like the Mona Lisa and the Vitruvian Man, which was particularly interesting.

The Vitruvian Man, (c. 1485)

One artist whose work clearly illustrates the interconnectedness of math and art was M.C. Escher. His pieces demonstrate manipulation of geometry and space to create activity and the appearance of distortion. For example, Reptile, shown below, uses something called tessellations which are arrangements of closed shapes that regularly divide the plane to show creatures escaping from a two dimensional place only to fall back into the pattern again. In this manner, Escher used geometric patterns to develop a unique and intriguing form of art. As Henderson explains in her article on the fourth dimension in modern art, it could be said that Escher’s use of mathematics and willingness to venture past conventions opened up “new aesthetic and conceptual capabilities.” 

Even today, math continues to influence different forms of art and expression as seen in new forms of music. Sound can be viewed (or heard) as a mixture of different "spices", meaning it has different components like amplitude and frequency that can be manipulated, and innovative combinations of these manipulations can bring about new types of music. I don't know much about this genre myself, but EDM for example. Artists and scientists both seek out to create and develop something new, and math is the common factor that allows them both to do this.

Logic Pro X song track

References:

Burk, Phil, Larry Polansky, Douglas Repetto, Mary Roberts, and Dan Rockmore. "Music and Computers: A Theoretical and Historical Approach." Music and Computers. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://music.columbia.edu/cmc/MusicAndComputers/>.

Da Vinci, Leonardo. The Vitruvian Man. N.d. Wikipedia. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.

Henderson, Linda. "The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion." Leonardo 17.3 (1984): 205-10. JSTOR. The MIT Press. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1575193>.

Smith, B. Sidney. "The Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher."Platonic Realms Minitexts. Platonic Realms, 13 Mar 2014. Web. 12 April 2015. <http://platonicrealms.com/>

Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov.” Cole UC online. Youtube, 9 April 2012. Web. 12 April. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmq5B1LKDg>