Unit 4: MedTech + Art

This image is a mammogram showing
a benign mass.
Courtesy of: http://emedicine.medscape.com/

My family has history with medical ailments and, consequently, a history using medical technologies.  Since mammograms are essentially x-ray pictures, my mother would not learned she had breast cancer, if x-rays hadn’t been discovered.  Wilhelm Rontgen’s invention of the x-ray is a work of art because it takes photographs of the body, which are used in the medical field (uconlineprogram).  These photographs identify illnesses, such as cancer in my mother.

When exploring art, I was fascinated by a painting by Virgil Wong, shown below.  Wong explores the evolution of human health, conveying the daily life of someone with an illness, such as asthma (Wong).  By emphasizing with color where specific pain lies on the body and what parts of the day the pain is felt, Wong teaches viewers to understand people with this illness.  I have a sister with asthma.  When she was younger, she suffered severe pain from wheezing, coughing, or fatigue - all of which Wong portrays perfectly.

Virgil Wong's piece, titled "Asthma," shows
the daily life of someone with asthma.
Courtesy of: http://virgilwong.com/art/

This is an image of Warwick controlling
an artificial robotic arm using the
electrode array implanted in his arm.
Courtesy of: https://singularityhub.com/

Art in medical technologies is also used to provide therapeutic treatment for those suffering with a particular illness.  Diane Gromala, who suffers from chronic pain, used her skills in art and computer science to create an immersive virtual reality where patients can emerge themselves into a virtual reality, resulting in sensories equivalent to prescription drugs (TEDx Talks).  This treatment effectively relieves short-term pain by intensely distracting patients from their pain (TEDx Talks).  Additionally, in scientist Kevin Warwick’s Project Cyborg 2.0, an implanted electrode array in Warwick’s arm could control an electric wheelchair and an artificial hand (Warwick).  This implant could allow people with disabilities to improve their mobility in their daily lives. The combination of art and science can benefit medicine through medical technologies.

Finally, I close with this excerpt from the modern-day Hippocratic Oath, indicating the relationship between science and art today (Tyson):

“I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.”

References

1. uconlineprogram. “Medicine pt2” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.
2. Wong, Virgil. "Art." Virgil Wong. Web. 28 Apr. 2017. <http://virgilwong.com/art/>.
3. TEDx Talks. “TEDxAmericanRiviera - Diane Gromala - Curative Powers of Wet, Raw Beauty” Online video clip. YouTube. 7 Dec.2011. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.
4. Warwick, Kevin. "Project Cyborg 2.0." Kevin Warwick. Web. 28 Apr. 2017. <http://www.kevinwarwick.com/project-cyborg-2-0/>.
5. Tyson, Peter. "The Hippocratic Oath Today." PBS: NOVA. Public Broadcasting Service, 27 Mar. 2001. Web. 28 Apr. 2017. <http://http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/hippocratic-oath-today.html>.

Event 1: Ecocentric Art + Science Symposium - Prophesies & Predictions

On April 21st, I attended two lectures in the Ecocentric Art + Science Symposium: Prophecies & Predictions, one where ecocentric artist Linda Weintraub spoke and the other where nanoscientist James Gimzewski spoke.  In the first lecture, one of the most interesting things Weintraub discussed was about the artist Jae Rhim Lee.  Lee reversed the assumption that humans always pollute by exploring how humans can make beneficial contributions to the environment.  She discovered that urine has all the components of good fertilizer.  Then, she demonstrated how useful and nourishing urine could be by putting herself on display in a gallery, where she ate a specific diet (including food such as spinach, tofu, and nuts) to create the perfect fertilizer from urine.  This urine forms the perfect fertilizer and is used to grow cabbage, which Lee uses to make kimchi.  Finally, this kimchi (made from her urine) can be eaten by observers in the gallery.  In its essence, this shows the cohesion of art and science.   Lee’s discoveries are founded by science, and her art is used to portray these findings to the public.  I was taken aback when Wientraub elaborated on how Lee lived in a display and used urine to make kimchi for spectators.  However, I realized that art is thinking outside of the box.  Lee probably brainstormed about how best to tell the public about this discovery and concluded a display showcasing a person living out her discovery is much more effective than a poster with blocks of text about her findings.  Art and science aren’t two separate subjects - instead, these subjects rely on each other to bring about societal awareness or change, sometimes in very creative ways.

                     

                     

                        The gallery in which Jae Rhim Lee
                         lived in to create the display showing
                        the profitability of urine fertilizer.
                           Courtsey of: http://we-make-money-not-art.com/

Weubtraub showing the toilet Jae Rhim
Lee used while in the gallery, exhibiting
how the urine was collected.

In Gimzewski’s lecture, he primarily discussed nanobubbles, which were invented by environmental scientist Dr. Marino Morkawa.  Morkawa took on the challenge of saving the wetlands in Peru which were filled with human waste, bacteria, and other pollutants.  To do so, he created nanobubbles, which act as magnets for bacteria. The nanobubbles stay stable underwater for 5-8 hours collecting bacteria, kill the bacteria as it reaches the surface, and then at the surface, the nanobubbles are destroyed by solar radiation and carried away as a harmless gas.  Within 15 days, there were notable improvements, and within 4 months, the entire wetlands was decontaminated.  This impressive scientific feat ties to art because these nanobubbles can be easily repurposed to develop creative works of art using nanobubbles’ properties of remaining underwater as an air bubble for long periods of time and evaporating in the air.  From the topics covered in lecture, it is evident that Math and Science are the fundamental building blocks that artists can use to bring their creative visions to life, and I believe that the invention of nanobubbles will equip artists to create new works of art in the near future.

                               

                                          Dr. Marino Morkawa standing in the
                                          wetlands in Peru that he is restoring.
                                        Courtesy of: https://www.linkedin.com/

Gimzewki explaining how nanobubbles
work and how they helped clean the
wetlands

I would strongly recommend others to attend this event in the future, because it has opened my eyes to the specific applications of technology in the realm of art.  Not only did these lectures provide details about scientific feats, they both discussed how artists are using these inventions to create artwork of their own.  We all need to have this mindset of thinking outside the box in order to effectively imagine and create a brand new product or idea for our midterm and final projects.  It is easy to get stuck in the habit of learning the information from this course and not applying it to subjects outside the range of the course.  Therefore, we need to learn how to think differently and beyond our specializations and grow a desire to learn more about other subjects.  This way, we can have a better understanding of the world we live in and use this knowledge to create improvements.

                         

                              Proof of attendance: taking a picture
                               from the back of the lecture hall by the
                            video-recording equipment.

Proof of attendance: featuring
the employee signing people
into the event, showcasing her ID.

Unit 3: Robotics + Art

This is an example of spectators watching movies, and with
the surplus of technological advancements, not being
able to contemplate much about the scenes on the screen
because of the constantly changing images.
Courtsey of: http://io9.gizmodo.com/

Industrialization has always been a driving force in inventions, sometimes resulting in drastic changes in cultural norms.  In particular, the mechanization of art changed the reactions of the public towards art (Benjamin).  Paintings, which existed before the mechanization of art, invite spectators to contemplate their meanings. Whereas, the mechanized art form of film doesn’t allow for contemplation, since spectators’ thoughts are constantly being replaced by moving images, repetitively interrupting one’s thought process with the sudden changes of scenes (Benjamin).  As industrialization continues, art is evolving to be less contemplative and more interactive, now incorporating new scientific concepts to create art.  The invention of the computer was monumental in bringing about an avenue towards artistic growth, and this simple yet complicated design evolved into something greater - robots (uconlineprogram, 2012a).

This Japanese robot is a Carebot that assists the elderly, showing the
combination of art and science in something that Americans might
deem "scientific," but in Japan is considered a combination of the two.

Courtesy of: http://www.businessinsider.com/

Interestingly, the invention of robots in Japan isn’t considered an “art” or a “science” - the border between artists and engineers isn’t as distinct compared to the distinction in Europe and America (uconlineprogram, 2012b).  This shows that inventions, such as robots, aren’t solely advancements in science but are advancements in the art of using tools of mechanization.  Additionally, as Dennis Hong stated in his TED talk, education from classes you take aren’t meaningless (Hong). In fact, these courses are tools that encourage creativity, helping you implement your artistic vision and bring it to life (Hong).  Art is truly dependent on learning, and, in today’s age of industrialization, education helps bring art to life.

The application of the mechanization of art can be seen in film, an art form widely embraced today.  The movie, Star Wars Episode VII, is one of the best examples of the incorporation of the mechanization of art.  Behind the scenes, engineers, mathematicians, physicists, and artists worked together to create special effects faster than filmmakers could do decades ago (Golden).  Now using technology like programming, artists can create much easier and faster, displaying the incorporation of the mechanization of art in society.

The top image shows the scene from Star Wars Episode VII with a green screen.  The bottom image shows the same scene with artistic special effects which were used using the mechanization of art - programming and science. Courtesy of: http://www.ufunk.net/

Overall, it is observed that society responds to industrialization by using developing sciences to expand on its creativity.  In fact, industrialization is embraced to help encourage innovative ideas to come to life whether it be seen in robots, filmmaking, or more.

References:

1. Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. PDF. Web.
2. uconlineprogram. “Robotics pt3” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 16 April 2012. Web. 22 April 2017.
3. uconlineprogram. “Robotics MachikoKusahara1” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 14 April 2012. Web. 22 April 2017.
4. Hong, Dennis. "My seven species of robot - and how we created them." TED. Sep. 2009. Web. 22 Apr. 2017. <https://www.ted.com/talks/dennis_hong_my_seven_species_of_robot>.
5. Golden, Paula. "Tapping the Force: The Art of Making Star Wars Illuminates STEAM Careers." Broadcom Foundation. Broadcom Foundation, 3 Nov. 2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2017. <http://broadcomfoundation.org/broadcom-masters/tapping-the-force-the-art-of-making-star-wars-illuminates-steam-careers/>.

Unit 2: Math + Art

The Parthenon in Athens, Greece
with the golden rectangles.
Courtesy of: http://www2.rgu.ac.uk/

Though I am familiar with mathematical concepts, I never made the connection between art and math.  Mathematical definitions such as the golden ratio aren't just equations on a page - this golden ratio was used in historical art pieces, dating back to 440 BC, where golden rectangles were used for the space between columns in the Parthenon in Athens (uconlineprogram).  Artists took advantage of mathematics centuries before math was accepted world-wide.  They still use math to help create their artistic visions. According to physicist and art historian Richard Taylor, artists such as Jackson Pollock, who specialized in abstract art, utilize fractal geometry, where a single geometric pattern is repeated thousands of times at different magnifications, giving random yet beautiful behaviors (Oullette).  

The sculpture “À La Recherche” (shown below) not only utilizes the geometry of spheres and squares, it also uses mirrors' optical properties of reflection to spell out, “Find the lost times” in French (“À La Recherche, 2015”).   Without mathematics, this sculpture would not exist. Through math, art was made, and through art, a message provokes the audience to reflect on everyday life.  I have learned about optics in physics, but I never knew that optical properties can be used to create art, let alone instill a thought-provoking message.

"À La Recherche" in Les Bains, Paris.  This sculpture uses optical properties
from mirrors to spell out words on surrounding walls with reflected light
as seen in the image on the right.
Courtesy of: https://artcom.de/

This is an origami fish with 400
scales made from one uncut square
paper, folding only.
Courtesy of:  https://pbs.twimg.com/

Though artists utilize mathematics to help them create innovative visions, the task of “learning the other’s culture” is not just for artists.  For instance, many mathematicians fawned over and learned from artist M.C. Escher’s artwork which include intricate mathematical concepts such as complex polyhedra and projective geometry, which Escher performed without any mathematical training (“The Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher.”).  Additionally, scientists use art to bring about their creative visions as well.  For example, the art of origami is used for scientists’ development of telescopes, which uses a specific folding pattern in origami to allow a flat ring/disk of the telescope to fold down to a compact cylinder (Lang).  As a result, I learned that the learning curve of each other’s craft goes both ways.  The juxtaposition of art and science isn’t merely a side-by-side comparison. Instead, each is a component of the other, because these two subjects build off of each other and work together to create imaginative designs.

References:

1. uconlineprogram. "Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 9 April 2012. Web. 13 April 2017.
2. Oullette, Jennifer. "Pollock's Fractals." Discover Magazine. Kalmback Publishing Co., 01 Nov. 2001. Web. 13 Apr. 2017. <http://discovermagazine.com/2001/nov/featpollock>.
3. "À La Recherche, 2015." ART+COM Studios.Web. 13 Apr. 2017. <https://artcom.de/en/project/a-la-recherche-2/>.
4. "The Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher." Mini Texts. Platonic Realms. Web. 13 Apr. 2017. <http://platonicrealms.com/minitexts/Mathematical-Art-Of-M-C-Escher/>.
5. Lang, Robert. "The Math and Magic of Origami." TED .Feb. 2008. Web. 13 Apr. 2017. <https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_lang_folds_way_new_origami>.

Unit 1: Two Cultures

Picture of me and our team's
competition rocket from 2016.

As a student studying Aerospace Engineering, I aspire to design and manufacture rockets, spacecraft, and aerodynamic vehicles.  To do so, not only do I need technical knowledge, I also need creativity to inspire these ideas into creation.  In fact, Steven Pinker said that people should be educated in both sciences and philosophies - you can’t be ignorant to one or the other and still be taken seriously (beautyandtruth09).  I believe that this balance of creativity and technical knowledge acts as the bridge between what C.P. Snow calls “two cultures”- the scientist culture and literary intellectuals culture (Snow).  

Map of UCLA indicating the clear distinction between
north campus ("literary intellectuals" culture) and
south campus ("scientist" culture), each on opposite sides of
the UCLA campus.
Courtesy of: http://www.ucla.edu/pdf/ucla-campus-map.pdf

Specifically at UCLA, the division between these two cultures is obvious.  Considering that it takes 13 minutes to walk from an art class to an engineering class, making it impossible to take both classes back-to-back, this proves The RSA’s point where schools, to this day, are organized on factory lines with separate subjects and separate buildings (The RSA). This, in turn, further divides the gap between the two cultures as they become more isolated from each other, and when cultures are isolated from each other, there is more room for misunderstanding (Vesna).

This is an example of how one occupation
(marketing) uses both science and art
for their craft - it's not just one culture
or the other, it's the combination of the
two, which optimized the individual's
full potential.
Courtesy of: http://newinternetorder.com

As an engineering student in the scientist culture, I would say the majority of my close friends can be categorized in the literary intellectuals culture with majors ranging from Art, Psychology, English, Theater, and more.  From these relationships and understanding their experiences, I have a broader understanding of life and ways of thinking, which in turn helps me with the creative aspects in my craft.  Now aware of the two distinct cultures and the necessity to communicate with the other culture, I want to encourage other engineers in my classes and my “literary intellectual” friends to get outside of their bubble and get to know the other culture.  Interestingly, in the early 1930’s, the Association for Advanced Science stated that “scientist” is analogous to “artist” (uconlineprogram).  I believe that by making a conscious effort to emerge oneself in the other culture, this will bridge the gap to make these two terms analogous once more in today’s society.

References:

1. beautyandtruth09. "SEEDMAGAZINE.COM Two Cultures Steven Pinker." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 18 May 2010. Web. 7 April 2017.
2. Snow, C.P. "The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution." New York: Cambridge UP, 1959.
3. The RSA. "RSA ANIMATE: Changing Education Paradigms." Online video clip. Youtube. YouTube, 14 October 2010. Web. 7 April 2017.
4. Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." Leonardo, vol. 34, no. 2, 2001, pp. 121-125.
5. uconlineprogram. "TwoCultures pt2." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 31 March 2012. Web. 7 April 2017.