week 4

Dissection of human cadavers started so that artists could depict bodies correctly (Vesna). As a species, we have gained a better understanding of our bodies from the times of the ancient Greeks and the Renaissance as technology has progressed (Vesna).  

Andreas Vesalius

 Andreas Vesalius published a set of books on human anatomy in 1543 because the books of anatomy by Galen that all European scholars were following at the time were wrong because Galen had never dissected a human (Understanding Evolution). In 1858, Henry Gray published his book on human anatomy and published the second version with illustrations in 1860 (Henry Gray Biography). This book has become so famous that every artist that works with the human body has this book. 

Henry Gray's book of anatomy

            Plastic surgery and bionic limbs are both a by-product of war (Vesna). I found it fascinating that people in ancient India were using skin reconstruction hundreds of years ago. I thought that Orlan, the artist and performer who uses her body to question what it means to be beautiful by undergoing plastic surgery, was creepy (Vesna). She chooses body parts from classical paintings, like the Mona Lisa and Botticelli’s Venus and then has a live surgery where all participants are dressed in costume and she reads while being operated on (Vesna). 

Orlan

The idea of the perfect person is also illustrated in Steven Spielberg’s movie Artificial Intelligence, about an android that has the ability to love. The trailer has a voice saying that they are, “filling a 

Kevin Warwick

great human need” by creating the androids (A.I.: Artificial Intelligence). I found the bionic limbs to be very interesting because of their practical purpose as well. It is crazy they can attach a mechanical body part to a real human body and that the bionic limb will function as if it is really part of the body. Kevin Warwick is very famous for his work with artificial intelligence, robotics and biomedical engineering. He is one of only seven scientists to be selected by the Institute of Physics for his work, and the others are Galileo, Einstein, Curie, Nobel, Oppenheimer and Roblat (University of Reading).

Works Cited

A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. By Steven Spielberg. Prod. Steven Spielberg. Dir. Steven Spielberg. 2001.

"Henry Gray Biography." - Profile, Childhood, Life, Timeline. Famous People, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.

Understanding Evolution. "Comparative Anatomy: Andreas Vesalius." Comparative Anatomy: Andreas Vesalius. University of California Museum of Paleontology, 2015. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.

University of Reading. "Kevin Warwick - Home Page." Kevin Warwick - Home Page. University of Reading, England, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.

Vesna, Victoria. "Medicine + Technology + Art." Desma 9. UCLA, Los Angeles. 26 Apr. 2015. Https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/346337/pages/unit-4-view?module_item_id=6472150. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.

week 3

I was again surprised at the relationship between art and robotics. When I think of robotics, the first thing that comes to mind is the future, but I learned that robotics includes mechanization as well. Science again plays a critical role in art.

The invention of the printing press by Gutenberg led the way for more inventions and the spread of art works (Norman).

Gutenberg Printing Press

 Walter Benjamin also references this in his work "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction". Benjamin describes how the reproduction of works of art emancipates the art from rituals (Benjamin). Douglas Davis also touches on the idea of the lack of distinction between the original and the reproduction and describes how the aura of the original has been transferred to the copies (Davis). Ford also applied the mass reproduction idea to his car production and the assembly line (Vesna). The car is also a form of artwork, and he reproduction made it easier for the masses to own a car instead of just the wealthy, similar to art in the Middle Ages. Only the wealthy were able to own artwork, but with reproduction of the pieces the masses were able to enjoy artwork as well. 

Ford Assembly Line

Nikola Tesla was the inventor of the alternating current electrical system, which allowed more inventions and machines to be created and powered by electricity (Vesna). This electrical system was critical in the music industry (Vesna). Especially for rock music, which relies heavily on the recording studio, sound space and electronics to enhance and create certain sounds that exemplify rock. For example, amplifiers are crucial to rock. An example of this is the Kinks’ hit “You Really Got Me” in 1964 (Fink).

The Kinks

They overdrove a small amplifier and hooked it up to a larger amplifier to create a distorted sound, which is now identified with rock in roll (Fink). All different kinds of pedals were also created to distort sound and create reverb that also use this current invented by Tesla. Again, science and mechanics are used create art. 

Amplifier used by the Kinks

Distortion Pedal 

I thought the most fascinating robotic art was by Fred Ables. His website itself combines art and robotics because the spacing and layout is very aesthetically pleasing and artistic but the font and color scheme make it look very mechanical and computerized (Ables). One of his kinetic sculptures is the Ornitopther, which is a mechanical bird with a wingspan of 5 meters (Ables). He also puts on the electric circus with a puppeteer named Miriam Langemeijer and has two of his robots, Mono and Dirk, perform on the street. They are so lifelike, Dirks was once arrested in Germany (“About Electric Circus”).

Mono the robot 

Works Cited

Ables, Fred. "Fred Abels." Fred Abels. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

"ABOUT ELECTRIC CIRCUS." About Electic Circus. Electric Circus, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

Benjamin, Walter, and J. A. Underwood. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical             Reproduction. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.

Davis, Douglas. "The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction (An Evolving Thesis: 1991-1995)." Leonardo 28.5, Third Annual New York Digital Salon (1995): 381-86. JSTOR. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

Fink, Robert. "Music History of Rock 'n' Roll." Music History 5. UCLA, Los Angeles. Apr. 2015. Lecture.

Norman, Jerry. "Relating the Rapidly Changing Present to the Distant Past as Far as Book History Is Concerned." Relating the Rapidly Changing Present to the Distant Past as Far as Book History Is Concerned. History of Information, 19 Apr. 2015. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

Vesna, Victoria. "Robotics + Art." UCLA, Los Angeles. 19 Apr. 2015. DESMA 9. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

Week 2

An origami snake -- made by folding one piece of paper

What fascinated me most was a TED talk given by Robert Lang titled The Math and Magic of Origami. During the summers growing up I participated on a recreational swim team and during swim meets we would make cootie catchers to entertain ourselves in between events. 

Cootie Catcher 

I had always just copied the older kids, without thinking exactly how I was creating the cootie catcher. Until watching this TED talk, I never thought of cootie catchers as art, let alone math. I did not really think of origami as art either, but Lang explained and showed what some people could create just by folding paper and their creations are a real talent.

Origami flag made from a single piece of paper

Template for a cootie catcher 

Lang also explained some of the math that goes into making origami artwork, and it is much more than one would think. There are certain rules, like that at any interior vertex the number of mountain or valley folds must differ by two and that all even numbered angles add up to a straight line.

He also explained how science is involved in the art and math of origami with the development of computer programs to help the artist with the math to bring their abstract idea into a base form. Scientists and mathematicians have also used origami for practical purposes like making space telescopes and even items we rely on everyday like airbags.

Jackson Pollock's artwork 

It also amazed me how much art there is in nature, and how it is related to math as well. Spirals and fractals are seen in countless places in nature, like the branching tendencies of trees, seashells, pinecones and sunflowers. Artists recreate things in nature, often without knowing the math behind what they are doing, much like when I was a child and copying the older children without knowing there was any math involved. Jackson Pollock was such an artists that included the mathematics of fractals in his artwork but was harshly criticized by those that did not realize the math that was involved. 

Field of sunflowers -- shows spirals 

Branching pattern of trees shows spirals

Work Cited

"African Fractals." African Fractals. Culturally Situated Design Tools, 1 Jan. 2003. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

Fibonacci, Fractals and Financial Markets. YouTube, 2007. Film.

Lang, Robert. "Origami Science Links." Origami Science Links. 1 Jan. 2015. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <http://www.langorigami.com/science/sciencelinks.php>.

The Math and Magic of Origami. TED Talks, 2008. Film.

Ouellette, Jennifer. "Pollock's Fractals." Discover Magazine. Discover Magazine, 1 Nov. 2001. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.

week 1

There is definitely a divide between the “two worlds” of science and art. This social construction of the separation between the two fields has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

CP Snow

Charles Percy Snow discussed this separation in 1959 during his lecture titled “Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution”. In high school, people were grouped into categories, as they are in college. There were the “artsy” kids who did art, theater and English and those that focused on sciences and math. In high school, there was some overlap because it was required of students to take both art classes as well as science classes. At UCLA, there are still requirements to take classes in both the arts and the science, but not nearly as many as in high school, furthering the division between the two worlds.  In addition, at UCLA the campus is divided based with the math and sciences on the south side of campus and the humanities and arts on the north side of campus. The modern education system is only furthering this division.

Map of UCLA

Charles Percy Snow was an author as well as a physicist. His professions bridged the two worlds of

Snow bridging the "two worlds"

arts and science, proving that they do not really need to be divided. There was the common idea that brain is divided into the right side, the artistic and creative side of the brain, and the left side, which is the scientific and more logical side of the brain. In reality, brain wiring is far more complex which makes sense because people are not really only artistic or only logical.

Scientists have to be creative and think outside of the box in order to invent something new. And on the other hand, artists must also be logical. For example they must follow a plan when making pottery in order to achieve the best piece like first wedging the clay to remove all air bubbles, and must also use slip when combining pieces of clay so that they do not break off when being fired.

Wedging

Slip

I enjoy art and would consider myself an artistic person, but at the same time, like Snow, I am also very much a “left-brained” person. I make lists and am very logical. I also take an interest in sciences and find them appealing. I think that the division between the two worlds is so strong because people make excuses when they aren’t good at certain things, but I think it is important to be well rounded and close this gap between the “two worlds.”

Left and Right Brain

Works Cited

Editors of the Encyclopedia Brittanica. "C.P. Snow | Biography - British Scientist and Writer." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2015. 

Krauss, Lawrence M. "An Update on C. P. Snow's "Two Cultures"" Scientific American Global RSS. Scientific American, 17 Aug. 2009. Web. 05 Apr. 2015. 

Snow, Charles P. "The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution." The Rede Lecture. Cambridge University, New York. 1959. UCOnline Desma9. Web. 5 Apr. 2015. 

Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between." JSTOR. JSTOR, 2001. Web. 5 Apr. 2015. 

Wanjek, By Christopher. "Left Brain vs. Right: It's a Myth, Research Finds." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 03 Sept. 2013. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.