Week 9: Space + Art

Space is defined as the unlimited or incalculably great three-dimensional realm or expanse in which all material objects are located and all events occur. Space is truly a great and mysterious entity that we have only barely begun to scratch the surface on, even today. It is a symbol of limitless possibilities and for this reason it draws interest from many people. As mentioned in lecture, people are curious about the unknown and for decades we have looked to space for ways to make sense of the world. Astronomy has deep roots in history and even long before technology was available, space was used for religious, mythological, and calendrical reasons, among others.

Today, it is very much a source of popular culture, especially in television and movies. Starting with shows like The Jetsons, a space-based, futuristic cartoon, to movies like Star Wars, Star Trek, and even Interstellar, which took in-depth research and consultation from scientists to create a credible and realistic picture. The film even included 2 robots (week 3!) and all the design philosophies were based on mathematics. 

Theoretical physicist Kip Thorne worked out equations based on Einstein's general relativity equations to enable tracing of light rays as they traveled through a wormhole or around a black hole for the depictions of wormholes an black holes in the movie. While there is science and mathematics surrounding black holes, there is so much we don't know, and the art lies in its mystery and the direction taken with it.

Links

http://www.space.com/27692-science-of-interstellar-infographic.html

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/space

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_astronomy

http://wildsvillegallery.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/TW1099-Jetset-Jetsons2.jpg

http://magicfromthemachine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/stars.jpg

Event #1: Hammer Museum

Earlier this week, I went to the Hammer Museum to see their current exhibits. They were all interesting in their own respects but what really captured my attention was the new version of the iconic double-decker Routemaster. It is called the "New Bus" for London and it is part of the Provocations exhibit highlighting product/architectural design. The mayor, Boris Johnson, enlisted the help of Heatherwick Studio to design a sleeker-looking, hybrid Routemaster. With energy consumption reduced by 40 percent, this updated model will be a huge step towards reducing the carbon footprint in high-traffic cities like London. Not to mention, the improved interior and overall style could draw in more people to utilize public transportation and cut back on cars on the road. I know that I would jump at the opportunity to take the New Bus, and that is definitely the effect they will have by employing it all over the city. 

This exhibit related immensely to my midterm project, where I proposed utilizing magnetic levitation to reduce energy consumption and traffic in large cities. It is amazing the kind of role that design can play into areas that seem completely unrelated, and solve problems and increase ease. We are definitely in an advanced period with great thinkers and innovators and groundbreaking technology. I believe we can and should be utilizing creative design and innovative technology whenever/wherever possible. 

Week 7: Neuroscience + Art

Two topics in this week's subject of neuroscience captured my interest - dreams and drugs. Dreams have always been an area of interest for me and I know many people feel the same way. They are such an elusive aspect of our minds and being, and are also an abstract, artistic extension of our conscious, everyday thoughts and experiences. They are elusive in that we rarely remember our dreams, and when we do, we often have no clue where the basis for them came from. It can be difficult to comprehend how we know ourselves better than anyone else, yet we continue to produce dreams and subconscious messages that confuse us and seem completely foreign to us. Sigmund Freud was one of the first people to study dreams in 1897 and introduced the concept of dreams as wish-fulfillment. Professor Vesna also talked about wondering where all of the dreams we forget go, and to me, this connected to the internet and technology and how we "delete" data all the time but it is never really gone. 

This week we also talked about the effects of hallucinogenic drugs like LSD and cocaine. During the 60s drugs and experimentation were very widely accepted. Today, we view it in a much more negative light and it is widely believed that alternate methods should be used to find relief from pain or whatever is driving someone to drugs. Works like A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley show the fascination with these mind-altering substances and escaping reality. While many of the dangers of these substances are very real, like their addictive quality, it is interesting to think about using them for purely artistic purposes. However, that also raises a question of "ethics" so to speak, and there is an argument to be made for creating art with only the talent of the unaltered conscious mind. 

Vesna, Victoria. "Unit 7." DESMA 9. United States, Los Angeles. 14 May 2015. Lecture

Verdun, Diva. "Your Dreams Are Your Divine Blueprint for Your L.I.F.E." Dr Diva PhD Online. N.p., 17 Oct. 2012. Web. 18 May 2015.

"Freud's Book, "The Interpretation of Dreams" Released 1900." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 18 May 2015

Bateson, Greggory. "MIND AND NATURE." Oikos. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2015. 

Roberts, Jeff. "The Truth About LSD: Research Reveals Many Therapeutic and Medicinal Benefits." CollectiveEvolution RSS. 8 Nov. 2013. Web. 10 May 2015.  

Week 6: BioTech + Art

This week's topic of "BioArt" is one of the more controversial topics we have covered, and for that reason it is very interesting to me. It raises concerns in the areas of ethics, sociology, and politics, among others. One could argue that art is controversial as is, in that everyone has a different opinion and interpretation of each work. With subjects like genetics emerging as a new space to apply art, there is more possibility for breaching into unethical or offensive territory.

The fusion of biotechnology and art has undoubtedly made bigger strides in more recent times due to advancement in technology. Starting with Joe Davis in 1982, whose works such as the audio microscope, which translated light information into sound, essentially allowing cells to be "heard", incorporated an artistic perspective to biology. Marrying these two concepts was a foreign idea at the time and seemed crazy to many.


Eduardo Katz is someone whose work has artistic value but still approaches the fine line between He used the GFP gene from jellyfish to create a bunny who glowed under blue light. While the bunny is not harmed, to our knowledge, many people wonder if it's humane to use living things as test subject for purely artistic reasons. Additionally, Marta De Menezes' work with butterflies in the artistic laboratory SymbioticA at the University of Western Australia raised concerns. She began altering the patterns and colors on the butterflies' wings which eventually resulted in holes on their wings. When the line is crossed in BioArt and the subjects - who are unable to consent - are harmed, I believe we are forced to reevaluate what is art and what is simply unethical.

Kac, Eduardo. "GFP Bunny." Ekac.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2015. <http://www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html>.

Jonas, Hans. "Ethics and Biogenetic Art." JSTOR. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2015.

Davis, Joe. "Audio Microscope." Viewingspace.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 May 2015. <http://www.viewingspace.com/genetics_culture/pages_genetics_culture/gc_w03/davis_audio_scope.htm>.

Vesna, Victoria, narr. “BioTech Art Lectures I-V.” N.p., . web. 8 May 2015.

Levy, Ellen K. "Defining Life: Artists Challenge Conventional Classifications." Context Providers: Conditions of Meaning in Media Arts. Ed. Margot Lovejoy, Christine Paul, and Victoria Vesna. Bristol: Intellect, 2011. 275-97. Print.