Extra Credit Event 2: Art + Brain & Morpho Nano launch

The last event that I attended for this quarter was the ART+BRAIN and MORPHO Nano Catalogue Launch at the presentation room in UCLA California Nano-Systems Institute on June 2nd. The event started with a short introduction by professor Victoria Vesna, Professor Patricia Olynyk of Washington University, professor Mark Cohen of UCLA, David Familian of UCI, and professor James Gimzewski of UCLA each explaining their involvement in this catalogue and their past collaborations. It was interesting to hear about how this varied group of people met and managed to collaborate on so much. I finally got to see professor Vesna practice what she teaches, as I saw her interact with multiple members of the scientific community to work towards a common goal.

A presentation showing themes of the release

Professor Vesna explained to us how this event wasn't meant to be academic or heavy in any way and was supposed to be just a space for people to meet and discuss ideas. I appreciated this event for the simple reason that it managed to reinforce so much material that we've learned in DESMA 9. I saw the formation of a third culture, art mixed with science, math, nanotech, and multiple other scientific disciplines in a meaningful way. I particularly enjoyed the diversity in experienced staff at this event, as in most events till now, we've only interacted with artists or people more creatively involved rather than technically. It was great to finally interact with scientists who've contributed to this project.

A few Artists and Scientists talking about their experiences

Lastly, this event was also a great way to meet people and form connections that I usually would not have. It was great meeting such experienced faculty from so many renowned colleges and hearing their view of their work. As I learned at my last event, it becomes so much easier to appreciate artistic pieces once the creator or artist explain their vision behind the project. So it was great having all the collaborators on hand to converse with. It was a great quarter in DESMA9, and this event was a nice way to end it all.

A friend (left), Professor Vesna (middle) and me (right) at the event

Extra Credit Event 1: DMA Senior Exhibition - Staring in the Age of Destruction (S.A.D.)

I had the great fortune of attending the DMA Senior Exhibition on June 2nd. It was inspiring to see students the same age as me create such profound artistic pieces. I was impressed by both the technicality and the thought behind most pieces. The massive crowd and their demeanor in the exhibition was testament to its resounding success. It was also great to meet and be able to talk to the artists about their work as I believe that an artists view of his work often clarifies it to others and makes it so much more meaningful.

One of the pieces at the Exhibit.

My favorite piece was a simple piece lying in the corner. At first, it just seemed like a simple model of a city with the projection of lights on it, but as I approached and talked to the creator, it became so much more. He explained to me how his piece was inspired by globalization and the integration of world cultures. He explained to me how this piece represents the uniformity of cities across the globe and how individual cultures have lost their architectural identity. I found this to be one of the greatest artistic pieces I've ever seen because of its simplicity. I believe any art that is so simple, yet can convey such a deep message is true art.

My favorite piece at the Exhibition

This was a great event for multiple reasons. Firstly and primarily, because it made me meet inspiring, and talented people who I can draw inspiration from. Secondly, because it taught me a very important aspect of art; how human interaction and discussion can completely change one's view of the same piece. This was the perfect event to end the quarter with as it reminded me about how simplicity and meaningfulness are the essence of art.

Me with the Creator of my favorite piece

Week 9: Space + Art

Sometimes, the sheer scale of the universe amazes me. It's incredible to think that all our thoughts, all our experiences, literally every single thing that we've ever seen or heard, all took place in a tiny insignificant dot in our galaxy, which in turn is a tiny insignificant dot in the universe. In fact, we can also scale down and see how we are made up of tiny cells in our body, which in turn are made up of molecules and atoms^[1]. Many artists, philosophers and great minds have often looked up at the stars for inspiration. As Plato says, "Astronomy compels the soul to look upward"^[2]. And this leads us to consider philosophical questions like our purpose in the universe, and the amazing possibilities that could exist out there.

A picture of our supercluster in the Universe

Humans are a naturally curious species, and so it only seemed right that space exploration came about. Since the mid twentieth century, humans have been trying to get further and further out into space to explore. So far, the only successful manned missions to a celestial body have been to our own moon, but we don't seem to be far from trying to get a manned mission to Mars^[3]. One of the most interesting concepts currently is SpaceX, a company that's trying to privatize space travel, so any one with sufficient wealth can do it^[4]. SpaceX's future goals include setting up a colony on Mars and making humans an multi-planetary species.

A re-usable SpaceX rocket landing remotely on a barge in the Ocean

Space is one of the most fascinating subjects as it manages to stimulate people from both cultures^[5]. It makes scientists and engineers think of the complicated astrophysics and quantum mechanics needed to explore it, while it makes artists and literary minds consider the philosophy of human life, its purpose,the possibility of extra-terrestrial life, etc. Space has been a prime subject for many novels, movies and plays simply because we don't yet know enough about it to know everything that's out there. It's great to see how rapidly we're building technology capable of taking us further out into the universe, and I'm excited to see what we discover out there.

Concept Art of a futuristic Space shuttle

Resources

[1] Eames Office. "Powers of Ten™ (1977)." YouTube. YouTube, 2010. Web. 29 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0>.

[2] "Space Quotations: Wonder and Magic of Space Quotes." Space Quotations: Wonder and Magic of Space Quotes. Web. 29 May 2016.

[3] Wall, Mike. "A Manned Mission to Mars Is Closer to Reality Than Ever: NASA Chief." Space.com. 18 Sept. 2015. Web. 29 May 2016. <http://www.space.com/30580-nasa-manned-mars-mission-reality.html>.

[4] "About The Company." SpaceX. Web. 29 May 2016. <http://www.spacex.com/about>.

[5] Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge UP, 1959. Print.

Event 3: Masa Jazbec's Robot Demonstration

I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to have witnessed Masa Jazbec, currently a Ph.D candidate at Empowerment Informatics, University of Tsukuba, Japan and an android/humanoid researcher^[1]. Her talk showed me just how far humanoid robot development has come. From early versions, where the difference was very noticeable, we're slowly reaching a junction in time where advanced humanoid robots are becoming indistinguishable from actual human beings. Masa's research and work shows how artists and sculptors have managed to make robots seem like an average person^[2]. It also shows how far the code controlling the robots has come. From simple scripted speeches to advanced Artificial Intelligence algorithms with complex neural nets.

Masa and I after her lecture

Masa's work with professor Hiroshi Ishiguro was particularly interesting as it began testing the boundaries between being human and being a robot. It made me curious about what it means to be human and the intricate complexities of the human body. While professor Ishiguro's robot was not self-aware^[3], the controlling mechanisms were built in a way that essentially made it a surrogate for the professor. The robot was so detailed that the facial features changed depending on the professors, essentially enabling the robot to show emotion^[4].

One of Masa's early projects.

Masa and professor Ishiguro also conducted experiments using the professors wife and daughter to see how compatible the robot would be in social environments. The experiment showed that while adults, like the professor's wife, are more receptive to this technology, children, like the professor's daughter are more apprehensive and can 'feel' that the robot isn't who its claiming to be. This experiment showed just how close we are to truly integrating robot humanoids into our society. Many companies have started experimenting with humanoid robots and are working on creating them. Robots have started entering fields previously considered to be exclusive to humans, such as model-ing^[5].

The world's first robot model.

One thing's for sure, this talk has certainly got me excited about the future of robotics and its application to our daily life.

Resources

[1] "ABOUT." Maša Jazbec. Web. 23 May 2016. <http://www.masajazbec.si/>.
[2] Jazbac, Masa. "Vizualna Alternativa Trbovlje." RTV 4D. 10 June 2014. Web. 23 May 2016. <http://4d.rtvslo.si/arhiv/prispevki-in-izjave-kultura/174279908>.
[3] Building "self-aware" Robots. Dir. Hod Lipson. 2007. Ted Talk. <http://www.ted.com/talks/hod_lipson_builds_self_aware_robots>
[4] Robots That "show Emotion" Dir. David Hanson. 2009. Ted Talk. <http://www.ted.com/talks/david_hanson_robots_that_relate_to_you>
[5] "JAPANESE INTRODUCE ROBOT MODEL - TheFashionSpot." RSS 20. 2009. Web. 23 May 2016. <http://www.thefashionspot.com/fashion-news/20065-japanese-introduce-robot-model/>.

Event 2: Anne Niemetz's Lecture

Feeling lost and confused after my previous event, I never really thought I'd appreciate art as much as some of my peers do. Anne Niemetz's lecture however, was surprisingly inspiring for me. From the very first word till the last, her lecture managed to keep the audience entertained and learning at the same time. The event, held on May 3rd, concentrated on direct application of scientific principles to create wearable art and interactive installations. Unlike most of her colleagues, a lot of Anne's work is not static, and requires demonstration. I was fascinated seeing so many concepts that I had learned in classes being applied in such imaginative ways.

Anne Niemetz and I

One of Anne's pieces that I particularly enjoyed was 'Pyramider', where she used a huge Tesla Coil to create an audiovisual display based on the beats of popular songs^[1]. I loved seeing how different frequencies and rates of current gave different tunes and beats and how this could be used in a creative way. On the other hand, one of her works where I didn't really see any significance was in her 'Starship Pirouette', which seemed like a relatively simple children's costume with a starship loop around simple tights^[2]. I felt like this was a nice costume, but not very imaginative or technically complex.

'Pyramider' in Action

Anne's works showed me that robotics and science have come to the point where rather than just being used in production techniques for art^[3], they are now being used to create live, functioning art. A very direct application was in the work 'Drone Sweet Drone' where Anne used light signals to form a communication pattern between drones. Visually, Anne's pieces are very appealing, while being fascinatingly simple in their technicality. Works like this truly make me believe that we've moved to a third culture^[4], where both art and science are collaboratively forming very interesting pieces.

A still from 'Drone Sweet Drone'

Overall, I understood and appreciated the art at this event much more than my first event. This was truly a mind-opening event.


Resources

[1] "Pyramider at VUW School of Design." Pyramider at VUW School of Design. 10 Aug. 2012. Web. 23 May 2016. <http://www.adime.de/teslacoil/index.html>.
[2] "Starship Pirouette." Starship Pirouette. Web. 2013. 23 May 2016. <http://www.adime.de/starship/makingof.html>.
[3] Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.
[4] Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." Leonardo. 34 (2001): 121-125. Print.
[5] "The World Listening Project." The World Listening Project. Web. 23 May 2016. <http://www.worldlisteningproject.org/tag/anne-niemetz/>.

 

Week 8: Nanotech + Art

 Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale. It often helps us in ways we'd never notice such as cleaning up organic chemicals polluting groundwater and generating less pollution during the manufacture of materials.^[1] Nanotech can also be used in more direct applications such as the use of nanotech particles to release chemotherapy drugs directly to cancer cells.^[2] Nanotechnology has a clear use in the world of engineering and science, but is has also been used creatively in the world of art. Multiple modern artists have adopted the concept of nanotechnology as an additional medium of expression.

The concept of nanotechnology shown as a cell in the human body

Artist have also teamed up with scientists and used nanotechnology to help create a lot of different useful applications such as edible nano-wrappers and chemical release packaging.^[3]  However there has also been more abstract work such as the creation of a speaker from bone cells.^[4] This contrast clearly shows how vast the field of nanotechnology can become and how influential it could soon become in our life. Nanotechnology is slowly being favored as a solution to many problems such as pollution control, climate change, etc. The scope for Nanotech in art is also massive as it would allow artists to interact and sculpt works on a molecular level.

The concept of edible nano-wrappers

A speaker made of bone

Nanotechnology is also helping make current products such as microchips, electrical components, fabrics, etc smaller.^[5] This is increasing both the compactness as well as the efficiency of many devices as they have to support a lower load or have more chips per unit cm so they have an overall faster processing speed for the same size chip. Thus, we can see that nanotechnology is used widely in today's world already, but it still has a large scope for expansion. I'm excited to see new developments in this field, and feel that it has the potential to change the way we live.


Resources

[1] Bradley, Paul. "Everyday Applications of Nanotechnology." Everyday Applications of Nanotechnology. Web. 22 May 2016.
[2] "Nanotechnology in Medicine - Nanomedicine." Nanotechnology in Medicine. Web. 23 May 2016. <http://www.understandingnano.com/medicine.html>.

[3] "Nanotech Jim Pt6." YouTube. YouTube, 21 May 2012. Web. 23 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7>.

[4] Anonymous. "Art in the Age of Nanotechnology." Art.Base. 11 Mar. 2010. Web. 22 May 2016. <https://art.base.co/event/2104-art-in-the-age-of-nanotechnology>.

[5] "Making Stuff: Smaller." PBS. PBS, 21 Aug. 2013. Web. 23 May 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/making-stuff.html#making-stuff-smaller>.

Week 7: Neuroscience + Art

I was introduced to basic Neuroscience for the first time when I took 'Introduction to Psychobiology' at UCLA. It intrigued me to see how all our behaviors, thoughts and actions can be mapped to certain neurons 'firing' in our brains. I explored how all our different emotional states and our imaginative processes can be triggered with different medicinal drugs and how this would lead to a more creative influence in our work. It's a weird irony of sorts, as described by David Deutsch^[1] we use language to try to understand cognitive properties, even though language is a result of cognitive properties.

A map showing different functions mapped to a part of the human brain

Art has often been influenced by applied neuroscience. People have often taken to substances to channel their mental capacities into a more creative sense. LSD^[2], Marijuana, Mushrooms and other illicit substances have always been associated with artistic minds. Many famous personalities and scientists have used these substances such as Sigmund Freud who experimented with Cocaine^[3], and Steve Jobs who experimented with LSD^[3]. In the past, a lot of these substances were unregulated and hence artists could freely use them. However, with the advent of regulation, some artists continue to use these substances to enhance their creative capabilities. The morality of this practice is often questioned, but the art community even though it would not publicly endorse it, seems to be accepting of this practice.

A metaphorical depiction of using drugs to gain creativity.

As humans, we cannot really fathom what constitutes creativity or consciousness^[4] , so even though we can see the electrical impulses that occur while we are using these features, we still do not know why they occur. Therefore, using these substances to trigger these responses is a viable way of reproducing these mental states. But one thing is for sure, some truly wonderful pieces of art can be created when the appropriate scientific substances are used.

What Science + Art can really create

Resources

[1] Deutsch, David. "A New Way to Explain Explanation." Ted.com. July 2009. Web. 16 May 2016. <http://www.ted.com/talks/david_deutsch_a_new_way_to_explain_explanation>

[2] "Girl Draws Self-portraits before and during LSD High (12 Photos)." TheCHIVE RSS. 14 Nov. 2013. Web. 14 May 2016. <http://thechive.com/2013/11/14/girl-draws-self-portraits-before-and-during-lsd-high-12-photos/>. 

[3] Scientist. "14 Famous Scientists and Inventors Who Experimented with Drugs." Famous Scientists. Web. 16 May 2016. <http://www.famousscientists.org/14-famous-scientists-inventors-who-experimented-with-drugs/>

[4] Penrose, Roger. "The Third Culture - Chapter 14." Edge.com. Web. 15 May 2016. <https://www.edge.org/documents/ThirdCulture/v-Ch.14.html>.

[5]  Frazzetto, Giovanni, and Suzanne Anker. "Neuroculture." Nature Reviews Neuroscience Nat Rev Neurosci 10.11 (2009): 815-21. Web. 15 May 2016.

Week 6: BioTech + Art

I've always been conflicted on the use of biotechnology in the medium of art. Any form of production or display that involves living beings can often be an expressway into exploitation. However many artists, such as Paola Anotelli consider the usage of biotech in art to be classical, as Leonardo Da Vinci and several other classical artists used to dissect animals^[1]. I too, agree that in some cases the use of biotech can be harmless and valuable such as the 'Audio Microscope' referred to by professor Vesna^[2]. One thing is for sure, there should be stringent regulation to make sure artists cannot exploit any living beings to make their pieces.

An Audio Microscope

Both artists and scientists alike have been using animals to test concepts and theories. Historically, this has led to multiple instances of gross negligence or exploitations leading to severe deformities and eventually death. As professor Vesna mentions, rats are often the target of these experiments as they closely resemble humans on the evolution tree^[3]. A lot of these experiments can be considered unethical, and even cruel. The most notable being sewing human body parts (such as ears) to rats. A less extreme example was the work of Naveen Thomas, who used pigeons flapping around in an enclosed place to alter the sounds being played^[4]. This could have easily affected the pigeons' homing and navigation abilities.

A pig being tattooed for an art demonstration.

Ultimately, I can see the contribution the biotech world has on art, but I often wish there would be better regulation on the usage of living beings in artistic production pieces. There must be an established standard, and a definitive line set that no one should be able to cross. I understand and appreciate the value of human creativity, but I firmly believe there must be a limit to it. Human creativity should not be an excuse to diminish the living standards of any living being, be it human, animal, bird or microbe.

Victimless Leather—A Prototype of Stitch-less Jacket grown in a Technoscientific “Body”

Resources

[1] Miranda, Carolina A. "Weird Science: Biotechnology as Art Form." ARTnews. 18 Mar. 2013. Web. 09 May 2016.

[2] Vesna, Victoria. "5 Bioart Pt1 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, 2013. Web. 09 May 2016.

[3] Vesna, Victoria. " Bioart Pt3." YouTube. YouTube, 2013. Web. 09 May 2016.

[4] "10 Controversial Works of Art Using Live Animals." Flavorwire 10 Controversial Works of Art Using LiveAnimals Comments. 2012. Web. 09 May 2016.

[5] Davis, Joe. "Audio Microscope: Joe Davis : Genetics and Culture." Audio Microscope: Joe Davis : Genetics and Culture. 2000. Web. 09 May 2016.

[6] Rapko, John. "Aesthetics For Birds: "Animal Abuses in Art" by John Rapko." Aesthetics For Birds: "Animal Abuses in Art" by John Rapko. Web. 09 May 2016.

Midterm: Mood Rooms

GOOGLE DRIVE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-G8PsntCTuUOUlBTDQ2Z3lUTkE/view?usp=sharing

Midterm was submitted on time, but shared late on blogger.

Event 1: Toni Dove's Installations

On April 19th I had the good fortune of attending a lecture by Toni Dove, a New York based Artist who specializes in works with electronic and interactive media. I enjoyed the lecture thoroughly as Toni described how her pieces of art are interactive, and not static like most art. Her method of expression of using gestures to control video playback shows how far the use of technology has come in the art world. From simple pieces of art where artist have to express themselves in a 2D frame, we've come to a time where artists have the most innovative and revolutionary methods to freely express themselves.

 Toni Dove and I after her lecture

The works that struck me most were Spectropia and Lucid Possession. I was initially quite confused as to how I'm supposed to be interpreting these demonstrations, but I realized that my thoughts were too divided into cultural norms as described by C.P Snow^[1]. I began seeing patterns and structures that I couldn't see before and realized the true value of the 'aura' of an artistic piece^[2]. I enjoyed the free way in which Toni controlled her videos and her visualization of the human soul in a third person view.

Toni interactively demonstrating the struggles of the human soul.

What I appreciated most about Toni's pieces is that she does not let funders and donators influence her artistic direction. Most artists today shape their art to the vision of their buyer or funder, but Toni's works are a true expression of who she is as a person and what she observes in the world^[3]. 

However, the one critique I have of Toni's works is that her pieces are often hard to decipher as they seem abstract. While her pieces make perfect sense to her, she should try harder to make them more decipherable as this would help her express herself in a better way.

One of Toni's more abstract pieces.

Overall it was an enjoyable experience as I got to witness the true expression of a passionate and creative person.

SOURCES

[1] Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge UP, 1959. Print.

[2]  Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.

[3] "Toni Dove." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 03 May 2016.

[4] Bohm, D. "On Creativity." JSTOR. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Oct. 2013.

[5] "Spectropia Excerpts." Vimeo. Web. 03 May 2016.

 

 

Week 4: MedTech + Art

When we see the evolution of art from cave-paintings to the modern expressionistic pieces we see today, we can clearly see how deeply medicinal technology and a deeper understanding of human anatomy has benefited artists over the years. The more details about the structure of the human body, both inner and outer, that artists have come to know off, the better their representation of the human body has become. In fact, the inner workings of the human body are so complex and intricate that they have often become an inspiration to many artists who base their work on it.

Vitruvian Man, by Leornado Da Vinci, one of the earliest pieces based on human anatomy.

Contrary to popular belief, the relationship between medicinal technology and art is symbiotic. Literary and imaginative art have had a huge impact on medical technology as well. With the concept of bionic limbs, advanced medical screening techniques and other developments all coming from literary or artistic pieces. Art helped open the minds of scientists to help them think of non-conventional solutions to problems and so helped the development of the MedTech industry.

A bionic limb as inspired by art.

Art can also have a more direct effect on the med-tech industry through the field of plastic surgery. A lot of artists have turned the human body into a canvas and use alterations to it to express themselves. People have also turned to plastic surgery in the effort to have a better appearance and 'conform' to our society's ideals of beauty. Plastic surgery is especially helpful after accidents and medical emergencies, such as burns or deformity leaving situations, as it helps victims integrate back into our society and feel more comfortable in their own skin again.

A burn victim before and after plastic surgery.

As we can see, art and the med-tech industry have both been beneficial in each others development and together have led to a better world.

Resources

1) Vesna, Victoria. "Medicine Pt3." YouTube. YouTube, 22 Apr. 2012. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. 

2) Robocop. Dir. Paul Verhoeven. Orion Pictures Corporation, 1987.

3)"Zoran Todorovic Artist Portrait." Culturebase.net - a Unique Online Source on Contemporary International Artists. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <http://www.culturebase.net/artist.php?188>.

4) Salcido, Jannelle. "The History of Plastic Surgery." PlasticSurgery.com. PlasticSurgery.com, 2010. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.

5) X-Men. Dir. Bryan Singer. Decca Records, 2000.

Week 3: Robotics + Art

As the world slowly becomes more complex, with advanced machinery handling most of our daily tasks, we need to consider how art has developed with industrialization and the rise of the digital age. Works of art have become easy to reproduce through machinery and have lost their authenticity. However, Walter Benjamin believes that no matter how many times a work of art is reproduced, the original is still considered authentic because of its 'aura' ^[1].

The Evolution of Art as technology advanced

The movie that best represents societys reaction to modernization is 'I, Robot'. In the movie, humans develop robots with AI to run most tasks, including law enforcement. The robots however, develop into strong intelligent beings with the ability to feel. This movie has often made me wonder how art, sculpture and music will be affected when humans are able to make robots with true artificial intelligence. Would the robots be able to make more intricate and fascinating pieces of art or would they lack the originality that can only come from a human brain? I postulate, that even though robots would be brutally efficient in copying pieces of art that they observe, it would be nearly impossible to create robots who could truly influence art as we can't program creativity and imagination.

Robots from 'I, Robot'

Even though AI probably can not contribute to the evolution of art, technology has played a massive role in its development. The development of machinery and technology has lead to new, more intricate techniques to create art. It's also made art more accessible as the development of technology has led to more people being able to create art, even though they probably aren't good with penmanship, painting, etc. This has led to more people being able to express themselves creatively as it removes the restriction of needing to know how to draw, paint, etc.

Art made solely through a computer

Thus we can see that even though industrialization and the development of technology has helped art advance, there is a limit to what it can do.

Resources

1) Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.
2) Building "self-aware" Robots. Dir. Hod Lipson. 2007. Ted Talk. <http://www.ted.com/talks/hod_lipson_builds_self_aware_robots>
3) Robots That "show Emotion" Dir. David Hanson. 2009. Ted Talk. <http://www.ted.com/talks/david_hanson_robots_that_relate_to_you>
4) "ArtBots: The Robot Talent Show." ArtBots. Web. 18 Apr. 2016. <http://artbots.org/2002/>.
5) Ji Xie Gong Di = I,robot. By James Cromwell, Laurence Mark, Bridget Moynahan, and Will Smith. De Li Ying Shi., 2004.

Week 2: Math + Art

I remember the first time I noticed how deeply ingrained mathematics is in art, sculpture and the design world in general. I was watching 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull', and I came across the fabled Nazca Lines. These lines built thousand of years ago only make sense if seen from above, but the people who built them had no way of flying at that time. This indicates careful mathematics involved in their design and implementation, as they essentially could not see the 'big picture' of what they were making.^[1]  I was so fascinated by this phenomenon that on further research I began seeing mathematical patterns in the design of all wonders of the world, indicating that mathematics has been deeply ingrained in art and design for millennia.

A part of the fabled 'Nazca Lines'

Both art and science have multiple concepts and theories that can only be properly evaluated through mathematics. For example, depth and dimension, as explained by Linda Henderson^[2], can only be accurately represented in works of art through careful mathematical interpretation. However, the one point I'd like to make here is that this mathematical interpretation is sometimes intuitive for artists and they do not realize that they're using it as heavily as they do.^[4]

Dimensions being represented in Art through Intuitive Math

There is only one artist that comes to mind when you think about the combination of art, science and math. Clearly, Leonardo Da Vinci was a visionary. He was one of the few people to have ever understood the intricate connections between art and math and how we can apply them to science. One of the best illustrations of this use is in “The Last Supper,” painted in the late 15th century. Various design and architectural features show very clear golden ratios.

Geometry used to show symmetry in Da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa'

Based on my research and knowledge, mathematics is closely ingrained in both art and science. Sometimes it presents itself in more obvious ways such as formulas in Science or measurement of length, breadth, etc dimensions and scaling in Art. At other times it has a more intuitive role like 3-D representation in Art. However, the close relation between the three is undeniable.

Resources

1. "The Nazca Lines Are An Enigma." The Nazca Lines Are An Enigma. Web. 09 Apr. 2016 <http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/nazca/esp_lineas_nazca_15.htm>.
2.  Henderson, Linda Dalrymple. Leonardo. 3rd ed. Vol. 17. MIT, 1984. Pages 205-210. Print.
3. Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov.” Cole UC online. Youtube,9 April 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmq5B1LKDg&feature=player_embedded>
4. Abbott, Edwin Abbott. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1963. Print.
5. "Divine Proportion/Golden Ratio in the Art of Da Vinci." The Golden Ratio Phi 1618. 2014. Web. 09 Apr. 2016. <http://www.goldennumber.net/leonardo-da-vinci-golden-ratio-art/>.

Week 1: Two Cultures

The existence of two cultures has fascinated me long before I knew about C.P Snow or his works. I've never quite understood why these cultures have to exist separately with people preferring one over the other. Being a Computer Science major, I probably lean more towards the natural science culture. But at the same time, I absolutely adore literary and cultural sciences and am able to quote my favorite Robert Frost poems with ease.

The start of my favorite poem.

Although you would think a great University like UCLA would actively work to bridge the gap between these two cultures and lead us into a third, more advanced culture; the opposite happens. UCLA's campus is divided into the more literary 'North Campus' and the more scientific and technical 'South Campus'. While furthering the divide between these cultures may not have been the goal while designing this campus, it certainly feels like this has been the outcome.

Organizations unwittingly furthering the divide between the cultures.

Before reading C.P Snow and Victoria Vesna's works, I hadn't realized that the two cultures had such a wide gulf separating them. I've always viewed the world as a mixture of these cultures, with each side adopting techniques and qualities of the other. For example, the artistic and linguistic culture adopting new technology has led to the development of the modern entertainment industry. The scientific community adopting modern literary techniques has led to more people being educated about the sciences as the language becomes more simplistic.

The miracles art and technology create together.

I feel like the world has already transitioned and we no longer live in a world with such a wide cultural gap. Everyone (except perhaps, educational institutions) has realized that all of our lives are a combination of both scientific and artistic cultures and we must be well educated in both these fields to truly achieve a higher level of understanding about the universe and the people around us.

Sources:

• Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge UP, 1959. Print.
• Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." Leonardo. 34 (2001): 121-125. Print.
• Wilson, Stephen D. “Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology.” College Art Association Meetings. New York, New York, 2000. Print.
• Changing Education Paradigms. Perf. Sir Ken Robinson. YouTube. Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, 14 Oct. 2010. Web <http://youtu.be/zDZFcDGpL4U>.
• Bohm, D. "On Creativity." JSTOR. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Oct. 2013.