Nanometer

 

(OpenLearn)

Whenever I get overly anxious about something, I think about how on the scale of the universe we are all just specks of dust and it does not really matter if I get an A or a B on a test. Its such an abstract thing to imagine our size compared to the universe and it reminds me of how hard it is to imagine something as small as nanotechnology. It is hard to picture 1/50,000 of a human hair as described in "The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of fact and fiction in the construction of a new science"(Vesna and Gimzewski). 

(Johnson)

In the Ted Talk by Paul Rothemud, we learn about how significant even the smallest change can have on an organism as far as its DNA(Rothemund). I have always been interested in genes and how crazy it is that something so long and susceptible to change can make so many humans correctly down to every organ and eyelash. Similarly in Ray Kurzweil's Ted Talk we learn further about the exponential differences that we see in fast past technological advancements(Kurzweil). 

The Nanomandala was very interesting to me, I loved the concept of images projected onto sand. It is so beautiful but also speaks to how small a canvas can be and still be impactful(“Art in the Age of Nanotechnology on Art.Base”). In the clip from "Making Stuff: Smaller" the idea of a microrobot smaller than bacteria was introduced(“Making Stuff: Smaller”). It has amazed me in this weeks content how difficult it is to visualize the size of objects, it gives me further assurance that yes I care about school, but at the end of the day we are all at a nano-level scale in this universe. 

(Vesna)

Works Cited

“Art in the Age of Nanotechnology on Art.Base.” Art.Base, 2023, art.base.co/event/2104-art-in-the-age-of-nanotechnology#12. Accessed 24 May 2023.

Johnson, Jeff. “Nanorobots.” The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of Fact & Fiction in the Construction of a New Science, 2001.

Kurzweil, Ray. “A University for the Coming Singularity.” Ted.com, TED Talks, 2020, www.ted.com/talks/ray_kurzweil_a_university_for_the_coming_singularity?language=en. Accessed 24 May 2023.

“Making Stuff: Smaller.” Pbs.org, 2023, www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/making-stuff-smaller/. Accessed 24 May 2023.

OpenLearn. “The Scale of the Universe from Atoms to Galaxies.” OpenLearn Free Learning from the Open University, 2023. Accessed 24 May 2023.

Rothemund, Paul. “DNA Folding, in Detail.” Ted.com, TED Talks, 2023, www.ted.com/talks/paul_rothemund_dna_folding_in_detail?language=en. Accessed 24 May 2023.

Vesna, Victoria. “Nanomandala.” Art.Base, 2010, art.base.co/event/2104-art-in-the-age-of-nanotechnology#12. Accessed 24 May 2023.

Vesna, Victoria, and Jim Gimzewski. “The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of Fact & Fiction in the Construction of a New Science.” Ucla.edu, 19 Mar. 2003, vv.arts.ucla.edu/publications/publications/02-03/JV_nano/JV_nano_artF5VG.htm. Accessed 24 May 2023.

Mystery of Dreams

 This week when Professor Vesna mentioned the mystery of dreams it really got me interested in this weeks material. I have been able to have lucid dreams throughout most of my life and it has always been so interesting to me that we forget most of our dreams and I have been curious as to what causes scary or realistic dreams. In The Embodied Mind, the concept of cognitive science is described as not a formal science, our understanding is still expanding which makes this topic of the mind and technology so relevant(Varela et al.). 

(Getty Images)

The mechanics of the mind and the reason that humans need sleep is a fascinating subject to me. Christopher deCharms TED talk about how we will eventually be able to watch our own brains made me curious if this process will allow us to understand the mechanics of dreams better in the future(deCharms). Similarly, in Vesna's project titled "Planetary Re-Enchantment: Human-Animal Entanglements in Victoria Vesna's Octopus Brainstorming", the representation of neural rhythms from EEG headsets shows how technology and the workings of our brains is growing in understanding(Albu). 

(Vesna and Cohen)

I wonder if this technology can be used in ones sleep and how would those colors be highlighted during someone's dreams. In Gardner's Art, Mind, and Brain the development of the mind and conceptual thought is discussed. I liked reading about how a child can understand and visualize a ball before they can understand any mechanics of how a ball works(Gardner and Gardner). I wonder how researching child's dreams would broaden this understanding of how children perceive the world around them. In the Global Consciousness Project, the concept of interconnected consciousness is discussed and the project aims to continue research that has been done over the past 35 years(Nelson). In doing research for this week, this concept made me want to look further into the subject. 

(The Global Consciousness Project)

Works Cited

Albu, Cristina. Www.sfu.ca, 2016, www.sfu.ca/cmajournal/issues/issue-ten--enchantment--disenchantment--reenchantment/cristina-albu.html?fbclid=IwAR1twyrqbeKqNrJSUXSihLVGvX_D9ARndxDv3USnw2pTENE_iXHJtIo8v54. Accessed 16 May 2023.

deCharms, Christopher. “A Look inside the Brain in Real Time.” Ted.com, TED Talks, 2023, www.ted.com/talks/christopher_decharms_a_look_inside_the_brain_in_real_time?language=en. Accessed 16 May 2023.

Gardner, Howard, and E. Gardner. Art, Mind, and Brain. 2008.

Getty Images. “Brain Waves.” Scientific American, 1997, www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-the-function-of-t-1997-12-22/.

Nelson, Roger. “Global Consciousness Project: Introduction.” Princeton.edu, 2020, noosphere.princeton.edu/gcpintro.html. Accessed 16 May 2023.

The Global Consciousness Project. “The Science of Collective Consciousness | Roger Nelson, the Global Consciousness Project.” The Science of Collective Consciousness , youtu.be/ufWPPSh0oPc.

Varela, Francisco J., et al. The Embodied Mind : Cognitive Science and Human Experience. The Mit Press, 2016.

Vesna, Victoria, and Mark Cohen. Art|Sci Collective, Octopus Brainstorming. 2016.‌

 

"Kurt Schwitters and Dada Resistance"

 Last week I attended the "Four L.A.S.E.R. talks: Regenerative Medicine, Dada, Vermeer, More than Human Time" on Zoom. While all four talks were very exciting and enjoyable to listen to, I am going to focus on Thomas Haakenson's talk about Kurt Schwitters and the Dada Resistance. Haakenson did a great job following up on Ravi Majeti's talk on Regenerative Medicine and really pulled me in as he spoke about this artist and the legacy he left behind as the historical art myth. 

(The Art Story)

Haakenson spoke about Schwitters work titled Merzbau. This piece really intrigued me, it was a piece Schwitters worked on from 1923 to 1937 and was actually both his studio and the art itself. It has been called an art-historical myth as it was destroyed by an Allied bombing raid and was never seen again(Thomas). There were a total of eight rooms in this piece but the photographs of it come from just the main room(Orchard). 

(Redemann)

I really enjoyed learning about this unique art form and the artist himself. Kurt Schwitters was known for his collages, use of unique materials, music, and poems(“Kurt Schwitters”). The most fascinating of his work however is the immersive experience of Merzbau. This piece has been recreated at the Sprengel Museum and I would love to visit someday. They claim it cannot be fully accurate but I would love to understand the 3-dimensional space that he worked in and gain an appreciation for the geometry and artwork(Thomas). 

(Sprengel Museum Hannover)

Overall, I greatly enjoyed watching the four L.A.S.E.R. talks and gaining such an array of knowledge from very accomplished speakers. It was such an experience to go from learning about finding ways to cure cancer to a very unique art form, it really felt like a reflection of this course. This event will help me explore all forms of art and the broad types of experience they can bring to the viewer. I highly recommend joining one of these events, and I hope to join more in the future. 

Works Cited

“Kurt Schwitters.” The Art Story, The Art Story, 2013, www.theartstory.org/artist/schwitters-kurt/. Accessed 16 May 2023.

Orchard, Karin. “Kurt Schwitters: Reconstructions of the Merzbau – Tate Papers | Tate.” Tate, 2022, www.tate.org.uk/research/tate-papers/08/kurt-schwitters-reconstructions-of-the-merzbau. Accessed 16 May 2023.

Redemann, Wilhelm. “Kurt Schwitters Merzbau.” Tate, 2007, www.tate.org.uk/research/tate-papers/08/kurt-schwitters-reconstructions-of-the-merzbau. Accessed 16 May 2023.

Sprengel Museum Hannover. “Kurt Schwitters Merzbau, Reconstruction by Peter Bissegger.” Tate, www.tate.org.uk/research/tate-papers/08/kurt-schwitters-reconstructions-of-the-merzbau. Accessed 16 May 2023.

The Art Story. “Kurt Schwitters Portrait.” The Art Story Contributers, 5 Aug. 2006, www.theartstory.org/artist/schwitters-kurt/. Accessed 16 May 2023.

Thomas, Elisabeth. “MoMA | in Search of Lost Art: Kurt Schwitters’s Merzbau.” Moma.org, MoMA, 2016, www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2012/07/09/in-search-of-lost-art-kurt-schwitterss-merzbau/. Accessed 16 May 2023.