Medicine, Tech, and Art

Personally, I have understood medical technologies in relation to art as a very fascinating form. A member of my extended family has a cosmetic prosthetic ear that was put in place following an accident they were in. It is incredible how biological art can be so functional and also aesthetically pleasing. I connected this experience to the art collection by Christophe Luxereau called Detached Pieces(“Christophe Luxereau : Arts / Pièces Détachées”). In this collection, he shines a light on the concept of biomechanical support and how restorative surgery has become so normal in our society(“Christophe Luxereau : Arts / Pièces Détachées”). 

(Quang)

Reading about the "Mission Eternity" was a bit shocking in how they seek to contain digital fragments of "soul"(Mission Eternity). I think this concept is beyond my understanding of how life after death is currently understood in science. I found the content provided on WEHI.TV to be very informative, ideas about how the human body works is animated for easy comprehension (The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research). Art is necessary for this display of information, it allows ideas to be expressed in a digestible way. 

(“Breast Stem Cells (2010) Etsuko Uno Wehi.tv”)

The sculptures titled Breed are an interesting representation of cell division, generated by a computer program to demonstrate evolution (Notnot). I was intrigued by this demonstration and it reminded me of how brands like Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat have used cell reproduction to make vegan "meat" options. 

(Notnot )

Virgil Wong was the most impressive person I studied this week. I think his achievements in optimizing how patients can interact with their healthcare providers and his use of art to visualize the human body is very exciting for future innovations in biological art (Virgil). 

Works Cited

“Breast Stem Cells (2010) Etsuko Uno Wehi.tv.” Www.youtube.com, 2010, youtu.be/dfCw5C3ER00. Accessed 27 Apr. 2023.

“Christophe Luxereau : Arts / Pièces Détachées.” Luxereau.com, 2023, www.luxereau.com/arts/spareparts1.html. Accessed 27 Apr. 2023.

Mission Eternity. “MISSION ETERNITY / SUMMARY.” Missioneternity.org, 2023, www.missioneternity.org/summary/. Accessed 27 Apr. 2023.

Notnot. “Breed, Voxel Sculptures, Artificial Evolution, Genetic Algorithm, Driessens & Verstappen, 1995-2007.” Xs4all.nl, 2023, notnot.home.xs4all.nl/breed/Breed.html. Accessed 27 Apr. 2023.

Notnot . “Breed 1.1.” Notnot, 2007, notnot.home.xs4all.nl/breed/Breed.html. Accessed 26 Apr. 2023.

Quang, Vanessa. “Spare Parts.” Christophe Luxereau, 2000. Accessed 26 Apr. 2023.

The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, editor. “About WEHI.TV.” WEHI, 12 Sept. 2017, www.wehi.edu.au/wehitv/about-wehitv. Accessed 27 Apr. 2023.

Virgil. “Bio - Virgil Wong.” Virgil Wong, 20 Feb. 2021, www.virgilwong.com/bio/. Accessed 27 Apr. 2023.

LACMA Trip

 I really enjoyed my time at LACMA, although I've lived in LA for about five years now I had never been before. I found the floor with the "Coded: Art Enters the Computer Age, 1952-1982" exhibit and was sucked in by the first piece I watched, METAVASARELY and An Empty Room. They were very different from the exhibit on the third floor I started out at which highlighted abstract art and work done by Picasso. These pieces had motion and had aspects that the viewer could interact with. 

Both of these pieces were made by artist Casey Reas out of respect to Victor Vasarely who envisioned them but during the 1960's it was too expensive of a project to be realized. METAVASARELY has an interactive component that can be accessed through this link. 

The piece pictured above is titled "Simulated Color Mosaic" by Hiroshi Kawano. This piece was interesting to me because he used probability to create each square of color and the result resembled a true expression of creativity such as a Piet Mondrian which similarly had many squares of varying color but not generated by a computer. 

I greatly enjoyed my time exploring this exhibit, each piece was very different but had a similar excitement around it due to it stemming from a time of innovation. I would definitely recommend this exhibit to others in this course, and beyond this exhibit, the entire museum and area around the museum were worth the visit. 

Technology and Art

 Society responds to industrialization and technology with a desire to express creativity and mimic human behavior with technological advancements. One example of human desire to mimic human behavior with technology is in the film Her, where Theodore forms a bond with Samantha despite her being an AI program(Her).

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

Technology can often alter what we interpret as art in a time like now where AI can mimic extremely human-like creativity when given a set of guidelines. In watching the video “Exoskeleton”, it feels like a piece of symbolism, the robot following the lead of human activity(Wieringa). Further, the hyper realistic animatronics used in the electric circus are a fascinating art form that again uses technology to mimic biological phenomena(“Electric Circus Dresseur Der Automaten”). 

(Langemeijer and Abels)

It is so artistic but also limiting when reality is replicated with technology, same in how today AI generates art only based off of a description and the use of art created in the past. One of the robots from the Robotics Society of America peaked my interest when it had a function to plug itself in when it’s battery got low(“San Francisco Robotics Society of America(SFRSA)). This is a simple task but it drew me in with the concept of self sufficient technology. 

(“Dr. Robot”) 

Art and technology work together in a beautiful way when creativity is expressed in a unique way. In Gijs Van Bon’s work, lights, time, and sound are shaped in a beautiful way that captures the potential of technology while still feeling organic(“STRINGED”). Technology will continue to become more and more close to reality and increasingly at our fingertips as companies like Arduino create greater accessibility(“About Arduino”). I really enjoyed exploring the use of technology in art this week, in the past couple years it has become so present in social media and I imagine it will continue to advance rapidly in the coming years. 

Works Cited

“About Arduino.” Www.arduino.cc, www.arduino.cc/en/about/.

“Dr. Robot.” San Francisco Robotics Society of America, 2003, www.robots.org/. Accessed 21 Apr. 2023.

“Electric Circus Dresseur Der Automaten.” Www.electriccircus.nl, www.electriccircus.nl/index.html. Accessed 21 Apr. 2023.

Her. Directed by Spike Jonze, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2013.

Langemeijer , Mirjam, and Fred Abels. “Animatronic Monkey ,” Electric Circus, 2016. Accessed 21 Apr. 2023.

“San Francisco Robotics Society of America (SFRSA).” Www.robots.org, www.robots.org/. Accessed 21 Apr. 2023.

“STRINGED.” Gijs van Bon, www.gijsvanbon.nl/stringed.html. Accessed 21 Apr. 2023.

Warner Bros. Pictures. “Her,” IMDb , 2013, www.imdb.com/title/tt1798709/. Accessed 21 Apr. 2023.

Wieringa, Freerk . “News - Freerk Wieringa.” Www.freerkwieringa.nl, www.freerkwieringa.nl/. Accessed 21 Apr. 2023.

The Unexpected Juxtaposition

Mathematics has influenced art and science in ways we may not recognize in our every day lives. Everything around us can be brought back to math and every organism, in its natural beauty, is representative of patterns and equations. This point of view comes from Maximillian Cohen in this week’s lecture (Vesna, Unit 2). It is also evident that math can be used very clearly in works of art, at their core they are all systems of mathematics but to the eye they are very beautiful such as the work done by Charles Csuri(“Charles Csuri”). Similarly, art in nature may seem simple and unassuming but in fact often include complex geometric shapes such as the hyperbolic geometry seen in coral represented through the Crochet Coral Reef project(“About the Project | Crochet Coral Reef”). 

(Bascom)

The artist Charles Csuri was very interesting to me as he worked with producing both abstract and figurative art through science and math. A lot of his pieces represent balance and symmetry in some ways and more fluidity in other ways which is very similar to how we see shapes in nature. We look at the shape of a leaf and it is symmetrical on either side but it also takes on a fluid shape produced by the patterns natural to organisms. 

(Csuri)

This week I learned that artists and scientists use mathematics to express their creativity by creating what has been imagined or theorized represented visually or physically through the use of patterns and equations. Proportions, vision,and geometry are examples of math in art and science that we see everyday. This makes me think of the structure of the curls in my hair and how I do not give it thought, but there are many geometric structures that lead to its form and it is represented as a spiral coil created by nature. Math can be used to create abstract concepts such as moving lights and patterns through complex mathematical systems such as the art installation “Resonance”(“Computational Reflectives”).

(ART+COM Studios)

I believe that the juxtaposition of math, art and science can be tied to this weeks readings and the example of the penny. We can look at art and nature from the simple point of view, or we can understand that it is backed by math and patterns. We can reduce everything to numbers, everything looks the same from a certain point of view just like the penny on its side(“Flatland, by E. A. Abbott, 1884”). 

Works Cited

“About the Project | Crochet Coral Reef.” Crochetcoralreef.org, crochetcoralreef.org/about/theproject/.

ART+COM Studios. “Mobility,” ART+COM Studios. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.

Bascom, Jenna. “Coral Forest,” Crochet Coral Reef. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.

“Charles Csuri.” Charles Csuri, www.charlescsuri.com/. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.

“Computational Reflectives.” Artcom.de, artcom.de/en/?research_focus=computational-reflectives. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.

Csuri, Charles. “Rainbow Light One,” Art, 1989-2010, www.charlescsuri.com/early-2000s. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.

“Flatland, by E. A. Abbott, 1884.” Www.ibiblio.org, www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/eaa/FL.HTM.

Vesna, Victoria. Unit 2.

North and South

This week I reflected on how our lives and interests are shaped by the "two culture". Are you right or left-brained? A common question we are asked growing up, you can never bridge the two. I was most influenced by "Third Culture: Being in Between" by Victoria Vesna. I see these two cultures on campus every day, being a UCLA student comes with one major question,"North or South campus?". It is not uncommon to be places in a box after answering this question no matter your level of interest in both sides. The perspective that universities are often the place that people try to bridge this gap was an eye opening perspective from Vesna. This perspective is beneficial to me as an individual who gets a taste of both sides of campus. Studying Linguistics but also Computer Science I always fight that stigma that you can only enjoy one side of campus.

Working in academia is often a start for people in Linguistics and it is beneficial for a more North major to have access to South major individuals so the bridge can be built and advances in both fields can be made. This weeks lectures in tandem with the perspectives of the authors supported my understanding of the "two cultures". In "A Dangerous Divide", I thought it was a great point that scientists have a duty to explain their findings in an accessible way in order to minimize the divide between the "cultures". I also enjoyed learning in "The Third Culture", about how the success of science has ironically minimized its popularity with the innovation of television and cell phones. I was confused by some explanation of how scientists and others problem solve in "Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution", claiming that scientists are quick to solve and others are content. And finally, "Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology", I was influenced in my perspective on this concept when Wilson explained that artists and scientists approach things very differently even when they are at times interconnected. 

 Works Cited

 “A Dangerous Divide | the New York Academy of Sciences.” Nyas, 2021, www.nyas.org/ebriefings/a-dangerous-divide/?tab=overview. Snow, C P. Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. 2018. “The Third Culture | Edge.org.” Www.edge.org, www.edge.org/conversation/kevin_kelly-the-third-culture. Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between.” Leonardo, vol. 34, no. 2, 2001, pp. 121–125, links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0024-094X%282001%2934%3A2%3C121%3ATATCBI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-3. Accessed 8 Apr. 2023. Wilson, Stephen. Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology. 2000. ‌