Event Blog 3: The Getty - In Focus: Electric!

I attended an exhibition at The Getty for my third event. This was my first time at the Getty Center and I loved it! It was so beautiful and views were amazing! I did some research and found an exhibition that I think fits perfectly for the course materials. It combines artwork with the concept of technology in the form of electricity.

The exhibition was called “In Focus: Electric!” It focused on how electrical innovations have transformed our lives and our experiences. The exhibition mainly had photographs of illuminated objects. It was very fascinating learning about how electricity influences artwork and the allure of artificial illumination. On one of the information posters it mentions how we all take electricity for granted as we never experienced life without it, but photographers have always been enchanted by it.

Outside of the exhibition they were selling books that relate to the photographs. One of them was called “Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age.” He was mentioned in Professor Vesna’s Lecture 3, when we learned about how new inventions drastically changed society and the world as we know it. His invention of electricity has influenced artists from that time until now. Without light, art would not be nearly the same.

 When I think about electricity and art, I immediately think of one of the worlds most famously know landmarks, the Eiffel Tower. I think the Eiffel Tower is even more beautiful at night, which is made possible by electricity. This brings me to think of Professor Vesna's Lecture 1 about two cultures. With the two cultures colliding, science and art, the Eiffel Tower is lit up for the entire city to admire. Similarly, science was also needed for the construction and architecture of the tower. Without technological advancements the illumination and construction of the Eiffel Tower would not be possible. This is a prime example of the overlap between science, art and technology. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/roddh/743063651

I would definitely recommend for other classmates in Desma 9 to attend this exhibition. This event definitely furthered my understanding of the course materials. I was able to tie together ideas from multiple different weeks. Seeing science and technology directly in artwork and real life examples is a way to fully grasp how science, technology, and art go hand in hand.

Works Cited

Vesna, Victoria. “Lecture 2.” Cole UC online. Youtube. 15 Apr 2012. Web. 24 Apr 2016.

"The Getty Museum." Getty Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

Event Blog 2: LASER

I attended the LASER (Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous) event at the CNSI building on campus. There were many artists giving presentations, including Toni Dove, Taylor Aubry, Clarisse Bardiot, Laura Cechanowicz, Erkki Huhtamo, Marco Pinter and Shannon Willis. Each artist gave a short talk and they were all so different and unique. It was a great evening!

        

The first speaker was named Erkki. He spoke about topos, and the world upside down. I found it difficult to connect this to the course materials but it was a very entertaining presentation. The second speaker was Taylor, and she spoke mainly about science. She explained a new way of creating energy, by using plastic solar cells. She explained what photovoltaic light was and why solar panels are too expensive to be used extensively. This reminded me of Profesor Vesna’s Week 3 Lecture, about how technological advancements greatly changed society. In that lecture she explained how machines sped up the mechanization process (i.e. printing press), and art was changed because of this. Similarly, new forms of electricity will make a great impact on society.

http://scitechnews.co.uk/solar/super-power-polymer-solar-cells-developed/

(Plastic Solar Cell)

The third speaker was talking about the Leonardo Journal, which was a journal that used technology to analyze culture. This is a perfect example of the intersection of art and science, because it combines the use of technology and culture. The fourth speaker was named Marco Pinter, and his focus was on robotics and art. He worked on the choreography of sculptures using robotic motors, which is exactly what professor Vesna spoke about in Lecture 3. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlhB_FHV1qM

(Marco Pinter explaining robotics and object permanence)

 The fifth speaker was Shannon Willis, and she exchanged between quantum physics, philosophy, art, and emotion. She showed us a video compilation of the emotions she feels from being apart from her daughter. She uses technology to get across her emotions and artistic ideas. All of these artists had very interesting presentations and incorporated some aspects of science into their work.

Works Cited

Vesna, Victoria. “Lecture 2.” Cole UC online. Youtube. 15 Apr 2012. Web. 24 Apr 2016.

Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics.” Lecture. YouTube. Uconlineprogram, 8 Apr. 2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2016. 

Vesna, Victoria. "TwoCultures part1." Youtube. Uconlineprogram, 30 Mar. 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2016. 

Week 4: Medicine and Art

In Professor Vesna’s Lecture, she said that anatomy and dissection are at the intersection of art and science. I have always thought that medicine is completely unrelated to art, it is just science. Drawings of skeletons and bones were critical for dealing with and understanding the human body. Humans have been going through great lengths to dissect corpses and preserve the human body. In Ancient Egyptian times, they would completely mummify the body. This mummification ensures that the afterlife is just as beautiful as life.

(Mummification)

http://historylink101.com/n/egypt_1/religion_mumification.htm

Interestingly enough, medicine was always considered art and technology wasn’t used. It wasn’t until the beginning of the twentieth century that technology began to be incorporated into hospitals. First, Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen, a German physicist, produced x-rays. Then, Raymond Vahan Damadian was the inventor of the first MRI, and he was his own first patient. These are both examples of how technology moved into non-invasive ways of looking at human anatomy.

(Ramadan with the first MRI machine)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c5/Damadian_MRI.jpg/220px-Damadian_MRI.jpg

Plastic surgery advanced in our culture originally in India. This then moved to Europe then North America. In North America the first procedure was on a cleft palette, and then during World War 1 it became much more common due to electric and chemical injuries to the face and body. Orlan is a French artist who performed procedures on herself in order to look like many famous people and paintings. She modelled her look after Diana, Venus, Mona Lisa, and a few others.

(Organ's plastic surgery)

http://www.creative-mapping.com/controversial-french-artist-orlan-is-perhaps-most-infamous-for-using-her-own-body-as-a-tool-for-a-series-of-performance-surgeries-known-as-the-reincarnation-of-saint-orlan/

Virgil Wong is an artist that uses the human body for his artwork. He has paintings and portraits of skeletons, x-ray like images, and many more. Many artists like him find human anatomy fascinating. Similarly, artists in Hollywood find human anatomy fascinating enough to make many TV shows about this. For example, Nip and Tuck, House, and Greys Anatomy.

                                        (Virgil Wong's Artwork)      (Nip and Tuck)

http://virgilwong.com/portfolio/alchemy/ 

http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tv/niptuck/EP00589658?aid=zap2it

Works Cited

Wong, Virgil. “Art Exhibited in Galleries and Museums around the World.” Art. N.p., 2012. Web. 26 Oct. 2012.

Vesna, Victoria. “Medicine pt 2.” Uconlineprogram. Youtube. 21 Apr 2012. Web. 19 Apr 2016.

Vesna, Victoria. “Medicine pt1.” Uconlineprogram. Youtube. 21 Apr 2012. Web. 19 Apr 2016.

Rymer, Eric. “Introduction to Egyptian Mummification.” Historylink101.com. History Source LLC. N.d. Web. 19 Apr 2016.

Pescarmona, Denee. “English114EM: Women Writers, 1650-1760 – Who is Orlan.” USCB English Dept. n.d. Web. 19 Apr 2016.