Sunday, April 24, 2016

Week 4

In 2010 I visited the famous BODY WORLDS in downtown San Diego. This exhibit displayed the anatomy of the human body. We could see how our muscles work in different body positions or how complex our nervous system is. I was amazed at how many things make up the human body. The exhibit gave viewers a three dimensional view of our anatomy versus learning about it in a two dimensional science textbook thus I had a better grasp of what is inside me. The exhibit primarily displayed three different anatomical systems, such as the muscular, circulatory, and nervous system. 

https://www.google.com/searchq=bodies+exhibit&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=
0ahUKEwiy5rrL0KjMAhWkr4MKHWCLDAAQ_AUIBygB&biw=1308&bih=665#tbm=isch&q=body+worlds&imgrc=JOidU2BHj5pXZM%3A
The muscular system was the main part of the exhibit. The bodies were displayed in different positions to show the how the muscles were being affected. For example there was a female body in a gymnast pose, showing the flexibly and durability of our muscles. For an artistic approach there is one display where a body is playing the saxophone. I believe it was displayed for a more entertainment purpose since not many muscles were being used. The oddest exhibit was a female body with child. The mother’s stomach was cut open to show a baby inside. Scientifically it was interesting to see how muscles and other anatomy moves around to grow a baby. Artistically, I believe they wanted to show how like the muscular system, pregnancy is another wonderful part of the human body. 

https://www.google.com/searchq=bodies+exhibit&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=
0ahUKEwiy5rrL0KjMAhWkr4MKHWCLDAAQ_AUIBygB&biw=1308&bih=665#tbm=isch&q=
body+worlds+baby&imgrc=1HR8wz45xC9ToM%3A
My favorite part of the exhibit were the circulatory and nervous system exhibits. The artists were able to recreate the millions of blood vessels and nerves that help keep the body moving. Scientifically I learned there are a lot more blood vessels in my body than I thought. For example in the photo posted below we can see how many blood vessels live in the head alone. Without the bones, muscles, or skin we can still make out the shape of the lips, nose, and eye sockets. Artistically, it amazes me at the details and patience the artist must of had to recreate such a intricate part of our anatomy. With the black background, it really makes the red blood vessels pop making it a wonderful scientific piece of art.

https://www.google.com/searchq=bodies+exhibit&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=
X&ved=0ahUKEwiy5rrL0KjMAhWkr4MKHWCLDAAQ_AUIBygB&biw=1308&bih=665#tbm=isch&q=
body+worlds+circulatory+system&imgrc=2oUWWxqB4Cg3dM%3A

In conclusion this exhibit was very informative, interesting, and also very creative. The different poses of the bodies and the detailed displayed of the different systems allowed me to have a scientific and artistic experience. 

Citations:
Von Hagens, Gunther. Longitudinal Body Slices. 2013. Body Worlds, St. Paul. StarTribune. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.
Circulatory System of Human Head. 2015. Body Worlds. Reddit. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.
Adams, Stephen. Flayed Foetus. 2008. Body Worlds. The Telegraph. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. 

Vesna, Vitctoria. "Art+Medtech" UCLA, Los Angeles. 24 Apr. 2016. Lecture."Body Worlds." Body Worlds. Institute for Plastination, 2016. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. 

 

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Week 3

Technology has expanded and improved a lot since its humble beginnings of the printing press.
Since then it has rapidly taken over our worlds where to a point we rely on technology in our everyday lives. Yet in the beginning there was a positive and negative outlook, such as the futurist author Filippo Tommaso Marinetti who is referencing automobiles says, “We declare that the splendor of the world has been enriched by the new beauty, the beauty of speed.” (Unit 3 View) while Charlie Chaplin premiered the film Modern Times (1936).

https://www.google.com/searchq=filippo+tomaso&biw=1308&bih=665&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=
0ahUKEwjp6v_oxZfMAhUM22MKHcA9Df0Q_AUIBygC#tbm=isch&q=filippo+tommaso&imgrc=Ptqcu7HgojqwuM%3A


I watched Modern Times the first time last quarter for the DESMA 8 class and I thought it was entertaining. The silent film is about Charlie’s character who works in a factory where machines prominently interact with the workers. It comically portrayed how machines control the workplace and in a factory, workers are also considered one. There is one scene where Charlie is working in an assembly line with a parts coming towards him on a conveyor belt. He starts out doing well but quickly the machine picks up and he is not able to keep up with the machine. In the end he screws up the job and is also physically affected by the repetitive motions. This film was Charlie’s prediction of how robots could negatively affect society.    

                                                              https://youtu.be/DfGs2Y5WJ14

In a way Charlie’s predictions were correct where as our society has become dependent on technology. Such as the people who are obsessed with their phones and social media. However I really believe technology has done more good than harm. We are able to create amazing things that can help people, cure people, or connect people. For example with robotics, computers can help me calculate or access anything I want via the Internet. Then when you combine robots with art artists and engineers create really cool stuff. Such as in 2012, Peter William Holden created the “Vicious Circle”. Opposite of Charlie’s views, “It took its cues from the Industrial Revolution and aims to convey the dualist nature of technology and the power humans have to influence its course” (Computer Science Zone).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0SPfbtEA1k


In conclusion, though there are controversial views at the rapid development of technology, without machines our world would be lost. Yes we rely on machines, some more than others, but our dependence is to benefit society and in the third culture it can create a more creative side. 

Citations:
 10 Mind-Blowing Pieces of Robot Art". Computer Science Zone. 2014. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
 Modern times. Dir. Charlie Chaplin. RBC Films, 1936. YouTube.

Vesna, Vitctoria. "Robotics pt1." UCLA, Los Angeles. 16 Apr. 2016. Lecture.
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. Wikipedia. Web. 16 Apr. 2016. 

 "Projects." Robots. San Francisco Robotics Society of America (SFRSA). Web. 18 Apr. 2016. 

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Week 2

This week I've learned how numbers are used in my everyday life and how they appear everywhere in nature. In this week’s lecture we focused on how artists have used mathematics in their work. Such as the use of perspective, proportions, and the golden ratio. Perspective is the images of all things that are transmitted to the eye by pyramidal lines. For example the floor covered in square tiles by Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472) leads to a single vanishing point in the center of the piece. Proportions is when lines, angles, and contours are positioned in proportion in their places, this creates a three dimensional point of view. For example in The Flagellation of Christ by Piero Della Francesca (1492) we can see how the figures on the right are bigger, or proportionate, to the figures on the left thus creating a third dimension. Then there is the golden ratio, defined as the division of lines where the shorter part is to the longer part, as the longer part is to the whole. For example, the golden ratio is seen in the Athenian Parthenon, built by the ancient greeks.

https://www.google.com/searchq=tile+floor+art+vanishing+point+black+and+white&biw=1308&bih=
665&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwifg6fpoXMAhUT5mMKHY-YCXoQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=YDX4W4axbIRzWM%3A
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/11/Piero__The_Flagellation.jpg&imgrefurl
=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagellation_of_Christ_(Piero_della_Francesca)&h=775&w=1106&tbnid=pZRFZBDKpvJXyM:&tbnh=
160&tbnw=228&docid=o9Xb8LhNwx4CdM&itg=1&usg=__pPlOpZIQveKqytcy6nmsvaLPRSw=
http://emptyeasel.com/2009/01/20/a-guide-to-the-golden-ratio-aka-golden-section-or-golden-mean-for-artists/
Furthermore, the Dutch artist, Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) used his art to show more obviously the use of the golden ratio. He painted in an “abstract style of lines, geometric shapes, and primary colors to express reality, nature, and logic” (Unit 2 View) from a different point of view. He revolutionized the form of using basic shapes to create multiple combinations, the golden ratio is repeatedly seen in his work. I believe he was trying to convey the meaning that different forms of mathematics is commonly shown throughout nature.
https://www.google.com/searchq=piet+mondrian&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjI24i2p4XMAhVCy2
MKHTkDA10Q_AUIBygB&biw=1308&bih=665#tbm=isch&q=piet+mondrian+famous+paintings&imgrc=tuQC04cPMMcC_M%3A
In order to make a piece more aesthetically appealing, the use of mathematics is important to an artist. Especially during the Renaissance Piero de la Francesca explained how the use of drawing, shading, contouring, and using the vanishing point can give the viewer three-dimensional look at a two-dimensional object. Even now with the advancement in computers and coding we can even create five-dimensional works of art. 
http://platonicrealms.com/minitexts/Mathematical-Art-Of-M-C-Escher/
Although art and science are on two different sides of the academic spectrum. Whereas art is creative and abstract while math is more logical and factual. They are even processed in different hemispheres of the brain yet together they are create a more visually appealing work of art. 
https://www.google.com/searchq=computer+art&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj7yNHQp4XMAhUXz2MKHZ6fCH4Q_AUIBygB&biw=
1308&bih=665#tbm=isch&q=how+math+inspires+art&imgrc=y3vtVSnEOJU2fM%3A


Citations:
Vesna, Victoria. "Unit 2 View." Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov. UCLA, Los  Angeles. 7 Apr. 2016. Lecture.
Mize, Dianne. "A Guide to the Golden Ratio." Empty Easel. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
"Piet Mondrian Biography." The Art Story. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
Smith, B. Sidney. "The Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher." Platonic Realms Minitexts. Platonic Realms, 13 Mar 2014. Web. 7 Apr 2016.
Frantz, Marc. "Lesson 3: Vanishing Points and Looking at Art." Department of Computer Science. University of Central Florida, 2000. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Week 1

As a freshman I realized the division of the North and South campus almost immediately. When I first starting going I noticed the classes that use your right side of the brain are separate from the classes that use your left. For instance, all the the critical thinking classes are located in the South campus where as the creative thinking classes are located in the North. As a South campus major my classes are math oriented versus the North side where the classes require more writing assignments which is harder for me to do. Sometimes I even hear stereotypes of the students whore are taking South campus majors or North campus majors. They say everyone in the South side students look tired while the North side students are more expressive. 


Perspectively, I view the two sides as separate but like the article, “A Dangerous Divide: The Two Cultures in the 21st Century”, says these sides can help each other. According to the article “When students interact with scientists and engineers, the experience is transformative” (New York Academy of Sciences). Though the campus is separated by stereotypes and location we can still combine the two students to create something great (Milk and Food Coloring Experiment). Just like the combination of the left and right hemisphere of the brain, separately they can function on their own but together they create a wonderful human being. 
 Thus combining the critical and creative thinking gives room to the third culture, contemporary scientists. With art and science combined students are creating interactive, informative, and beautiful projects. Such as Scott Livesey who uses gene mapping and prosthetics to explore the idea of organ transplants. As seen in the photo, he was able to animate what would happen is you remove the entire skin from the face. 

In my academic life I can use the third culture to animate areas of research that I would not be able to view in a physical form. 

Citations:
Stelarc. Stretched Skin. 2009. Photograph. Scott Livesey Galleries. Web. 1 April 2016.
Incredible Science. Milk Food Coloring And Dish Soap Experiment. 2014. Video. YouTube. Web. 1 April 2016.
Left Brain Right Brain Wallpapers. Photograph. Web. 1 April 2016. 
A Dangerous Divide: The Two Cultures in the 21st Century. 2009. New York Academy of     Sciences. Web. 1 April 2016.
Artists. Art and Science. Web. 1 April 2016.