DESMA Event 3

            For my last event, I attended the LACMA museum. Besides the most famous pieces there such as the outdoor lights, rain room, and etc. there were many more galleries that were very interesting to me. I do not remember the name of the gallery I went in, but it was such an Avante-Garde and Picasso style and I loved it. The gallery consisted of many oil paintings and an array of different colors. One painting was different to me, it had the insides of a man coming out from its own skin with a dark background behind him. In my opinion, I thought this painting depicted something deep. For example, if people were to see how you are from the inside, literally, everyone would look the same and therefore be equal. Another painting that I had seen to look very interesting consisted of many colors and was arranged in Avante- Garde form that was a mash up between a man and a woman. I loved how the artist used various colors within the piece and was so creative to make us think what we see of the piece. It reminded me so much of Picasso because of how the many lines, shapes, and colors combined together to make something so unique.

DESMA Event #2

            For my second event, I attended one of the lectures that was presented by a robotics researcher and PhD student Masa Jazbec in Fowler Museum, where she does most of her research in Japan. There were many different types of robots and androids that she has presented in lecture that each serves a different purpose. The CNBC robot displays many different facial expressions that humans would express. Many people say that robots lack showing emotion, however, the CNBC does show emotion. But this robot portrays these different expressions by imitating a human. The CB2 robot as well is an example of a robot that displays emotion. CB2 is a child simulating robot that develops over time with different tactile senses such as crying. The most famous robot in the world is the ASIMO. This robot is connected with NASA’s studies and is very useful. ASIMO can run, walk up and down stairs, and has many censors and cameras to develop a better sense of our environment. The censors and cameras are what help the robot do physical activities.

            Towards the end of lecture, two concepts of robots caught my attention the most. DARPA is a robotics challenge created for people to show off their robotics talent. In this challenge, people are inspired to make their own robot that will move and help benefit our environment. For example, ATLAS is a robot made to walk through snow, open doors, lift heavy items to place on shelves, and can get up on its own when he has fallen. Another concept that was most interesting to me was by a professor from Japan who created a copy of himself in robot form known as a “Geminoid”. This robot is not capable to do many things when it is in a noisy environment but can develop over time. I thought the human like features were a little creepy because of how exact they look alike.

A Geminoid robot made exactly like the Professor from Japan.

Proof of attendance, a picture with Masa Jazbec.

The robot ATLAS lifting heavy objects to place on shelves.

DESMA Week 9:

            The “Powers of Ten” intro video was amazing to see how the process of our world can develop within seconds- in ten seconds to be specific. From the picnic on grass, to the city, to the state itself, then to the globe, space, and etc. To see how much and how far we can visualize within ten seconds, I can see why artists are so fascinated by the thought of space. From the many different outcomes you can get from figures, shapes, and plenty of designs from the stars, Milky Way, and the many formations we can see from the stars or the constellations. It was also interesting to me how they tied everything at the end together to ourselves and our bodies to see a deeper meaning behind our own perspective through space and how much our world has evolved.

                                                        Powers of Ten perspective

            https://sites.google.com/a/wcastl.org/the-westminster-school-of-business-and-communication/entrepreneurship/powersof10

           

              There are many philosophers who have made their own prediction, hypothesis, or philosophy on how they perceive space to be. For example, there was a philosophy by a man named Copernicus who strongly hypothesized that out sun was the center of our solar system. However, he did not share his thought about the sun being the nucleus of our planets due to the fact that religion was a big deal back then and he did not want to be looked down upon by the church’s higher authority by spreading “nonsense” to others and having their thoughts in a different realm in which they lived in.

Copernicus' theory

http://amazingspace.org/resources/explorations/groundup/lesson/basics/g37/

                        The third lecture was probably my favorite one to learn about because I am a big animal person and to see people experimenting with them and having them go into space was interesting. However, I understand that this experiment was part of a developing matter but I wish they could have monitored those dogs and chimpanzees a lot more closely to spare their lives. But they did receive plenty of information and data off of these animals that will benefit our future which is exciting to explore.

Animal experiment, sending dogs into space

http://science.howstuffworks.com/dead-animals-in-space1.htm

Citations:

  EamesOffice. "Powers of Ten™ (1977)." YouTube. YouTube, 2010. Web. 29 May 2016.

Uconlineprogram. "8 Space Intro 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, 2013. Web. 29 May 2016.

Uconlineprogram. "8 Space Pt1 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, 2013. Web. 29 May 2016.

Uconlineprogram. "8 Space Pt3 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, 2013. Web. 29 May 2016.

 "Cultural Space Programme." KSEVT. 2015. Web. 29 May 2016.

DESMA Week 8

           

            Artists find nanotechnology interesting because it is something we cannot see from the human eye, but something so small you need technology to see it close up such as a scanning electron microscope. The cool thing about seeing nanotechnology as art is the different forms an object has from the inside. For example, a single strand of hair is approximately 80,000 nanometers wide which is a lot of room to see and develop abstract creativity within its form.

Strand of hair through a scanning electro microscope

http://naturalnigerian.com/category/hair/hair-101/

            Not only can nanotechnology be seen as art, but it is a major impact towards science and the different types of inventions that can be made with the help of it. For example, Boo Chapple has been trying to make audible sounds out of bone for the past couple of years. By doing so, he will be using the vibrations from the bone to create its audible sound.

Bone made to create audible sounds through vibrations

https://art.base.co/event/2104-art-in-the-age-of-nanotechnology

            This week’s theme did not seem that interesting to me until I got deeper into the topic and realized the great things that can come from nanotechnology. The one thing that caught my attention the most were the Blue Morphos and the idea towards nanophotonics from Dr. Gimzewski. Nanophotonics gives the ability to see color change. It is said that the Blue Morph is supposed to be black, however, the human eye sees blue instead due to the “Christmas Tree” protein structures where light is used on the nanoscale reflecting a blue shade.

Blue Morpho butterfly

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blue_Morpho_(7974443510).jpg

Citations:

"Art in the Age of Nanotechnology." Art.Base. Web. 21 May 2016. <https://art.base.co/event/2104-art-in-the-age-of-nanotechnology>.

"The Art of Nanotech." Bits The Art of Nanotech Comments. Web. 21 May 2016. <http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/25/the-art-of-nanotech/?_r=0>.

Uconlineprogram. "Nanotech Jim Pt5." YouTube. YouTube, 2012. Web. 21 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OWc8nmHJmY>.

YouTube. YouTube. Web. 21 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7>.

YouTube. YouTube. Web. 22 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=275>.

DESMA Week 7

            I have always had an interest in neuroscience because of how skilled and intellectual you have to be to perfect such a fragile and important part of our body. That is why this week’s theme or topic has caught most of my attention because of how fascinating our brains and our mind work and how it processes so much information.

https://sites.google.com/a/sudbury.k12.ma.us/ecms-school-counseling/the-middle-school-student/Yourchildsbrain/brain-parts-and-functions

Some of the parts of our brain and its functions.

            Artists are interested in this topic to learn about our mind, body, and consciousness as said by professor Vesna in the first lecture video. There is so much curiosity on how our brain or mind processes things. What function of our brain is used to develop our language? How do we process things to communicate with others? Well, our consciousness is something we do not quite understand because there are so many parts of the brain that is used to help us move, talk, and separate our left from our right. Aristotle claimed that our brain functions as a cooling mechanism for our blood while all of our real thinking and our thoughts come from our hearts. Of course this is just a philosophy since there was no real science back then behind the use of our brain and what it does.

http://www.happyminds.nl/en/blogs-en-en/thinking-with-the-heart/

Thinking with your heart.

            There was not a real way to discover the brain back then since technology was not as advanced as it is today. However, the microscope and electricity played a major role and helped give knowledge to where the brain starts by using cadavers. Franz Joseph Gall was the first to come up with ideas of the cerebral functions and various areas of the brain and originated phrenology: which was to look at the individual’s intellect and personality from an examination of skull shape. Gall also discovered that our brain was separated into 27 different organs, 19 of which are shared with animals. Technology has improved so much today that we now know how our brain functions.

https://illuminutti.com/2013/01/

Franz Gall's phrenology.

Citations:

"The Third Culture - Chapter 14." The Third Culture - Chapter 14. Web. 16 May 2016. <https://www.edge.org/documents/ThirdCulture/v-Ch.14.html>.

 Uconlineprogram. "Neuroscience-pt1.mov." YouTube. YouTube, 2012. Web. 16 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzXjNbKDkYI>.

Uconlineprogram. "Neuroscience-pt2.mov." YouTube. YouTube, 2012. Web. 16 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFv4owX3MZo>.

Uconlineprogram. "Neuroscience Pt3." YouTube. YouTube, 2012. Web. 16 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5EX75xoBJ0>.

"How to Build a Bigger Brain." UCLA Newsroom. Web. 16 May 2016. <http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/how-to-build-a-bigger-brain-91273>.

DESMA Week 6

            As said in Professor Vesna’s lecture video (pt. 1), she states that bioart causes a lot of controversy regarding the manipulation of life. For example, scientists are able to change a sequence within a cell or within DNA. An experiment held by Eduardo Kac consisted of a rabbit who had natural or synthetic genes transferred into it to make his appearance look fluorescent green. An experiment such as this requires plenty of care because Kac is manipulating a species’ life which he must respect and nurture.

 

http://www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html#gfpbunnyanchor

The experiment of the rabbit and its special genes when transferred.

           

             However, Natalie Jeremijenko provides solutions and ways to develop our community to preserve our resources. For example, she came up with an idea to create a mini park in a “No Park” zone which was located in front of a fire hydrant. Jeremijenko would plant toxin absorbing plants which would be designed to absorb the standing water and pollution. All of her projects contain plant species and different ways to use them as a way to help our environment.

 

http://www.inspirationgreen.com/natalie-jeremijenko.html

An example of Jeremijenko's plant which is used to preserve our environmental resources.

           

             In relation to art and biotechnology, many cells reflect off of art and people’s perception of what type of art it represents. For example, the E.coli cell was said in Professor Vesna’s lecture video (pt. 1) to look like sound waves of the genre jazz. People have found that many cells look like forms of sound waves. Another example Professor Vesna gave us was how the map of the Milky Way compared to the transgenic mouse and how it was reduced into the sequence of DNA base pairs to make them similar and be perceived as a form of art.

https://transductionuva.wordpress.com/exhibit/sound-projects/

A sound wave perceiving to look like an E.coli cell.

           

Citations:

"GFP BUNNY." GFP BUNNY. Web. 08 May 2016. <http://www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html#gfpbunnyanchor>.

Uconlineprogram. "5 Bioart Pt1 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, 2013. Web. 08 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaThVnA1kyg>.

YouTube. YouTube. Web. 08 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7>.

YouTube. YouTube. Web. 08 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7>.

"Natalie Jeremijenko." Natalie Jeremijenko. Web. 08 May 2016. <http://www.inspirationgreen.com/natalie-jeremijenko.html>.

Event Blog #1: Hammer Museum

            As I walked into the first gallery at Hammer Museum, the first thing that came across my mind was the robotics, technology, and art concept we have studied. The first thing I saw was a piece made of metal that was sculptured into an abstract sphere. That was when I knew I was going to base my event blog off of robotics, technology, and art.

            I have never really stepped into a museum until now. After I saw all these security people keeping an eye out of everything and everyone, I felt some discomfort but proceeded through anyway. As I am walking through the first gallery, I notice some type of machine.

 

I learned that this machine is a textile cloth weaver. There are many different types of weaving machines as well that has developed through time. For example, this textile cloth weaving machine is functioned through hands-on professionals. This product has improved today; instead of having hands-on people work the machine, manufacturers have found an easier way to process the products that come through this machine which is an electronically powered.

            This also made me realize the development of our technology which compared to my midterm project. It is amazing to see how fast our technology has been improving and how scientists, engineers, etc. are spending time day by day figuring out a way to improve or create what is already made better.

            When I went to this event, it was free admission so I was not able to get a ticket in hand but I did take a picture with the weaving machine for proof of attendance. Security also did not want to take a picture with me due to privacy reasons.

Citations:

"Textile Weaving Machine." WiseGEEK. Web. 03 May 2016. <http://topics.wisegeek.org/topics.htm?textile-weaving-machine#>.

"What Are the Different Types of Weaving Machine?" WiseGEEK. Web. 03 May 2016. <http://www.wisegeek.org/what-are-the-different-types-of-weaving-machine.htm>.

"Weaving." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 03 May 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weaving>.

"Textile Machinery." Weaving Machinery. Web. 03 May 2016. <http://www.toyota-industries.com/product/textile/textile/textile.html>.

"Weaving: How To Make Your Own Cloth." Crafts Pioneer Thinking RSS. 2011. Web. 03 May 2016. <http://pioneerthinking.com/crafts/how-to-make-your-own-cloth>.