Event #3 The Hammer Museum

The Hammer Museum is found near UCLA in Westwood and is easy to find. In fact driving by it for four years has made me wonder what exactly is in it. On the outside it has cool and colorful paintings that has caught my eye for the past couple years. The paintings that I have been driving by continued on inside the museum. The artist behind the work was Maya Hayuk whose work represents what we have been going over in class, the idea of art and space. She uses different patterns and symmetrical compositions with a variety of colors that give different perceptions to the viewers.

Continuing on up the stairs I had to get my free pass which was located in the book store. All you have to show is a student I.D. and you will get a sticker (pass). Right next to the book store is James Welling Monograph which is where I went. It was cool to look at his work knowing that he is a professor at UCLA. I noticed that he used abstraction and representation, as well as using different kind of personal and cultural photographs as well. My favorite part inside his Monograph was the photographs that showed the different usage of light. Something that I didn't quite get but was very appealing to my senses was a broken piece of rock that had black ink on it, and it had many different pictures of the same thing but the broken pieces were in different order. The lighting was different for every picture and it made the picture look interesting and appealing.

Going east out of James Welling Monograph you will run into Forrest Bess "Seeing things Invisible". This is where I saw my first Leonardo de Vinci's painting. Even though it wasn't the Mona Lisa it still was exciting to see one of our greatest artist work of all time. Inside this part of the museum was not as abstract and work with oil on canvas or oil on wood. Before this class this is what I pictured actual art to be. My favorite piece was the picture of King David (of the old testament) and the angel. It was magnificent to see such a old painting and it looked very realistic as well. Something that had nothing to do with the artwork was the frames that were used. It gave the art a sense of uniqueness and made it seem to be more rare and valuable.








I was not able to attend every part of the museum but I do recommend to go and check it out. Especially if you are a student at UCLA. It is really easy to attend and the admission is free if you are a UCLA student. Go in there with an open mind and prepare to use all of your senses. Just a fair warning as well, do not try to take pictures because the people that work there do not like it.

Event #2 LACMA

For this event, I attended a spot that has been in many Hollywood movies and is known for its row of light post. If you were thinking the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) then you were correct. When walking through this exhibit it engaged my senses immediately. 

James Turrell's part of the museum was extremely magnificent. I didn't really realize what all could be done with light. In one of the rooms Turrell used white geometric (mostly cubes) figures that were projected on a black background. My eyes were able to create a three-dimensional form of the print due to the shades on the black background. This really was intriguing. As I continued on it was really cool to see how each piece of artwork was created for the collaboration of the viewer. Turrell provided the art and I shaped whatever it was to shape with my eyes and mind into something that I understood it to be. It was an artist creating something and letting the artwork have a different effect to each viewer that saw it. The reason I say this is because my friend saw something differently then what I saw. The Retrospective is visionary and really appealing to the senses. His art work probably my favorite thing just for how appealing it was and in a way gave me a chance to interact with the art in ways other art can. I felt kind of connected with the artist. 

This artwork by James Turrell brought me back to the material that we learned with neuroscience and how the brainbow was there to detect thinking patterns. Even though they are very different it involves light and thats why I thought of it when looking at his work. I really do recommend going to this museum. Even if you do not buy a ticket to go see the tour I still think you should experience the art work and sculptors that are outside. It is a fun place to go and experience. It is a place to bring your camera due to the landscape of the place. If you are wanting to go see the light stands I recommend you go at dusk or at night. 

 

Event #1 The Getty

For my first event I decided to choose The Getty Museum. I was excited when I saw that one of the events was The Getty. It had been a mystery to me what was inside the luxurious building on top of the hill and is truly one of the best views overlooking Los Angeles. The property and landscape of The Getty is rich, full of sculptors and water fountains. The people that worked there were very nice, even despite them yelling at me to put my phone away and to not touch the walls.

The first stop I made was "At the Window: The Photographer's view". This part of the museum contained different type of pictures that had different things done to create artwork. The specific part of this museum was the perspective of the window. Each photograph used the window in different ways. The one that stuck out to me was a picture by Gregory Crewdson, in which a woman in a night gown was looking out of a window. The lighting was dim giving the picture a mysterious presence, keeping the observer wondering what was beyond the window. 

The second part of the museum I went to was "The Universe Next Door" which was done by the Cuban-born American Abelardo Morell. The kind of photography that Morell did was very imaginative and beyond what a normal picture could do. He used technology to create what his artistic mind was envisioned in his head. One picture that stuck out to me was one that had many chairs that were stacked up, some were upside down and other were right side up. It was very appealing to me.

 Overall, my experience was great. I didn't know what was awaiting me but it made me want to go check out The Villa in Malibu. I saw the connection that technology and art is connected because without the technology Abelardo Morell would not be able to do what he does. 

Space & Art

The thought of space is mind blowing as it is and scientist have been trying to find more and more about since the Russians launched Sputnik. In "The Powers of Ten" video it is amazing the depth of space. Its un fathomable just how big space is. It makes you wonder who the artist of space is. Something that did catch my attention was Nicolas Copernicus and his ideas on space. Even though the discussion about him was short, he has had a huge influence on the world today. Things have been named after him showing how much people have respect for him. Copernicus ideas were not exactly appreciated during the time and in fact he delayed publishing his ideas due to fearing the reaction of the public. 

It is a shame that Copernicus was fearful of publishing his findings. As humans we are each unique and think in our own way but there is always some type of higher power or authority that limits what we can do as humans. Whether it is science, art, or things similar to this, boundaries are kept because people try to limit what is said in our society and anything that is against our "popular culture". The fear of the new and the unknown limit the way people think. It makes it easy to disregard new and explored  ideas. Just like Copernicus, artist encounter and explore a widespread of new and controversial things, and every day they turn away from such ideas mainly due to the fear that the public might have on them if they pursued it.

Controversy is the problem of new ideas and in the early 20th century, artist supported irrationality as a way for anti-war politics and it rejected specific artist standards (Forde). Many people think that just because things are controversial that it should be devalued. This can be brought back to Copernicus, it all leads the exploration of new things and by exploring new things this world makes advances. We will continue to lose ideas if we continue to think like this. This world is forever changing. 

The imagination of what is beyond our earth has been a constant question asked by many different people. Roger Malina had a statement saying "one of the defining achievements of the twentieth century was the birth of the space age. For the first time in history, humans escaped the gravity of the earth, walked on other celestial planets and establish the first outposts in space."(The Leonardo Space Art Project) Artist, movies, and writers have been trying to print this image of what may come of the future and the effect that space will have on our future society. I know as a kid Star Wars was one of my favorite movies and the creativity that George Lucas had with space was clearly amazing. Who knows we might have "Light Speed" in the future.

References: 

"Powers of Tenâ„¢ (1977)." YouTube. YouTube, 26 Aug. 2010. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0>.

"8 Space Pt1 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, 29 July 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZIqTR332l8>.

Forde, Kathleene. "Dancing on the Cieling: Art and Zero Gravity." zerogravity.empac.rpi.edu. N.p.. Web. 1 Dec 2013. <http://zerogravity.empac.rpi.edu/>.

Carillo, Joe. "Copernicus’ heliocentric theory as the mother of all paradigm shifts."josecarilloforum.com. N.p., 16 Oct 2009. Web. 1 Dec 2013. <http://josecarilloforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=330.0>.

"Leonardo Space Art Project Visioneers." Leonardo Space Art Project Visioneers. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.

Nanotechnology and Art

In this weeks material presented by Dr. Gimzewski he talks about how the development of Nanotechnology was done before the word was even used. Richard Feynman describes this phenomenon in his work describing how he could manipulate atoms and create different things by "maneuvering things atom by atom". During this time it seemed impossible to "Put the atoms down where the chemist says" but by this there is a clear comparison between nanotechnology and art. An artist is able to create things in creative ways. With nanotechnology it is possible to go against the rigid and organized stereotype that science has and create things based purely on artistic inspiration socially and economically.

In the lecture Dr. Gimzewski says the word "create" several times. An artist is someone who creates something and does this by building or maneuvering things around. Gimzewski talks bout nanoscale and how "nanoscale objects can be used to create new effects that are otherwise unknown to physics"(Gimzewski). Furthermore, just as artist are able to create things that may seem unimaginable or something that most people would never be able to think about creating in a lifetime, so does nanotechnology do that in comparison of physics. It reaches outside the laws of physics.

In fact nanotechnology draws artistic conceptes to further science and its discoveries. Nanotechnology is used in the medical field and with further advancement it may "help diagnose heart disease, cancers, HIV and other diseases quickly and at a far lower cost that current clinical methods." The advancement that has been done since the mid 1900's has been remarkable and as the years go on, nanotechnology will continue to advance just like the artist of today. JOhn Curtain Gallery describes the affects of nanotechnology that it is "designed to challenge, explore and critique our understanding of the material world and has brought together artist and scientist from around the world to present new ways of seeing, sensing and connecting with matter that minuscule and abstract" (Gallery).

Nanotechnology is seen everywhere. Some examples that I can most relate to and that I found interesting is the use of nanotechnology in sportswear. Such as, socks and underwear in which the nanotechnology helps keep it durable and clean. Technology has a lot of nanotechnology in it as well.

References:

"Richard Feynman Introduces the World to Nanotechnology with Two Seminal Lectures (1959 & 1984)." Open Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
"Microsponges from Seaweed May Save Lives." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 09 Feb. 2011. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.

Gemzewski, Jim. "Nanotech for Artists." UConline.edu. University of California. Web. 23 Nov 2013. <https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/63226/wiki/unit-8-view?module_item_id=970451>.

"Art in the Age of Nanotechnology." Artabase.net. John Curtain Gallery, 5 Feb 2010. Web. 23 Nov 2013. <http://www.artabase.net/exhibition/2104-art-in-the-age-of-nanotechnology>.

"History of Nanotechnology."Futurehumanevolution.com. The Future of Human Evolution. Web. 23 Nov 2013. <http://www.futurehumanevolution.com/history-of-nanotechnology-updated>.

Neuroscience and Art

 Right when Professor Vesna mentioned mind control in her opening lecture, I knew this topic of Neuroscience and Art would be one of my favorites. Art has been used in many different ways regarding to scientist. But most recently this topic of mind and body has been the topic of choice within the last hundred years. While art and science has been used in extreme and interesting ways, the Brainbow Project is beautiful and educational that allows us to study the neural connections in the brain.

The Brainbow Project is not only an extremely beautiful and artistic thing used in science but it is very helpful and useful in todays study of the brain. The scientific purpose is that each neuron is flagged with a distinctive color in order to understand neural connection in the brain (Vesna). Also scientist are able to investigate these neural pathways further then ever before, which helps our understanding of something that is so complicated. When art is used in this way, we get the best of both worlds. Art and science should only be used in ways which it helps advance our society in a safe way. When we start to tamper with things such as drugs to help bring a different perspective of life then that is crossing the line. 

Now another thing that has been talked about by many different philosophers and scientist is the mind and conscience. These things are separate from the body and are not physical things. It would make sense that something that is non-physical would not be able to affect something physical. Logically it would seem impossible. Many theories have been developed to try to explain the mind and conscience. Roger Penrose thinks that "there has to be something in physics that we don't yet understand, which is very important, and which is of a noncumputational character"(Penrose). However, I disagree with Penrose. I think that the mind is something that can not be fully understood. I think that somethings in this world are not meant to be fully understood and will not always have an explanation. 

 Vesna , Victoria. "Neuroscience Art Lectures."UConline.edu. N.p.. Web. 15 Nov 2013. <https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/63226/wiki/unit-7-view?module_item_id=970446>.

Penrose, Roger. ""Consciousness Involves Noncomputable Ingredients"." Edge.org. Simon and Schuster. Web. 15 Nov 2013. <http://www.edge.org/documents/ThirdCulture/v-Ch.14.html>.

"Multidimensional Humanity." Multidimensional Humanity. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

"Brainbow." Center for Brain Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

Else, Liz. "Out of Body Experience Highlights Clues to Consciousness." Consciouslifenews.com. Concscious Life News. Web. 15 Nov 2013. <http://consciouslifenews.com/body-experience-highlights-clues-consciousness/>.

BioTech + Art

The study of Biotechnology has given humanity a ton of things to help educate and advance our society, especially with food and health. Except there has been mixed emotions whether or not Biotechnology and Art should be intertwined. Scientist believe that the exploitation of life is necessary for a greater good. However, when thinking about it in a way an artist might, it would make for a great debate.

The Characteristics of an artist is making something that is unique, appealing, and sometimes controversial. I do not think that changing life for the main purpose of creating art has any justification. Plastic surgery falls in this category for me. However, if it is completely obvious that it will have a positive outcome then of course do it. In Eduardo Kac's experiment, where he focused on creating a fluorescent bunny. While the human creativity is very harmless to perform these acts on a bunny but this may lead to trying it on a human being. It comes off as something that may go wrong in the future and that is why the combination of Biotechnology and Art does not seem right.

My favorite part of the material this week was the ethically sound region of Biotechnology and Art. Joe Davis came up with the "Audio Microscope" which "allows the user to image particular living cells while simultaneously listening to their greatly amplified - and species-specific - micro-acoustic signatures"(Davis). This is completely harmless and is yet very interesting. This device and piece of art does not cross any questionable and ethical lines. The art is quite beautiful.

Biotech is included in agriculture as well and if we ever have a zombie apocalypse and have a shortish of food then it might as well save our lives. Across the world we are using genetically modified organisms (GMO'S) in our foods and it has been very successful. While the topic of GMO's have been widely debated over the years it would in fact come in handy if there was a food shortage. We may be able to relay on these "GMO's because producing would become more sufficient. Many U.S. farmers are adapting "GM crops-GM corn" due to the fact that its a much easier way for farmers to produce in different types of weather and would in fact help revenue.


 Davis, Joe. "Audio Microscope." Viewingspace.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov 2013. <http://www.viewingspace.com/genetics_culture/pages_genetics_culture/gc_w03/davis_audio_scope.htm>.

Weinberg, Hal. "Biotechnology, Ethics and the Future."Humanistperspectives.org. Humanist Perspectives. Web. 10 Nov 2013. <http://www.humanistperspectives.org/issue151/biotechnology_ethics.html>.

Kac, Eduardo. "GFP Bunny." Ekac.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov 2013. <http://www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html>.

Siyonbola. "GMO FOODS." Web. 31. Aug 2012.http://chelumumba.wordpress.com/2012/08/31/top-10-gmo-foods/
Vesna, Victoria. "5 BioArt Pt 1-5." YouTube. YouTube, 17 May 2012. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.