Event 5: Hammer Museum (Extra Credit)

When I visited the Hammer Museum, one of the exhibits displayed the works of Forrest Bess.  Forrest Bess was a painter from Bay City, Texas.  From a very young age, he began having extremely vivid visions and dreams; however, it was not until the age of thirty-five that Bess began to depict his dreams through his canvas.  He would always keep a pencil and paper by his bed, so he could wake up in the middle of the night and jot down what he had seen: he wanted to make his paintings as accurate as possible.

Bess's work tied in Carl Jung's theory of the collective unconscious as we discussed in lecture.  In order to make sense of his dreams, Bess employed Jung's archetypes to decipher a hidden universal meaning. To aid his search, Bess also studied a multitude of different fields such as medicine, psychology, anthropology and philosophy looking for clues in all of their respective literatures.  Eventually, Bess came to the conclusion that male and female unison in one body could facilitate mortality.  Bess, himself, conducted numerous experiments on his own genitals to create a hermaphroditic element within himself.  

Forrest Bess and his work highlight the theme of this class: the use of underlying science to find meaning within art.  He portrayed his dreams through his paintings and analyzed them through psychoanalysis and Jungian principles.

Event 4: Biomedical Library (Extra Credit)

UCLA is such a huge campus there are many places that remain unknown to most students.  With all of the construction that occurs on campus, we tend to only focus on the new buildings being built and forget about the older buildings that are filled with years of history and knowledge.  I had no clue that the Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library existed—which made my visit to the library an interesting experience.

Tucked away in South Campus off of Charles E. Young Drive, the UCLA Biomedical Library’s History and Special Collections for the Sciences was established in 1964.  The library’s collection includes history textbooks related to just about every science topic related to the medical field.  It contains countless shelves of books pertaining to biomedical professions as well.

The biomedical library was not quite what I had expected.  Although the library is not quite as a elaborate as some of the libraries in North Campus, I had a similar feel to it.  I had anticipated that the building would be one newer, featuring state of the art facilities similar to the CNSI building.  Instead, it had a older, more traditional library feel.  The book stacks had a unique feel to them as well, as I felt as if I had entered the hull of a ship.  The stairs connecting one level of the stacks to the next were directly one on top of the other, and floor level was stamped on the steel walls next to the stairs similarly to how I would imagine it would be on a boat.  The book stacks were eerily quiet, but it makes for the perfect environment to get work done.

So far, each of the guest lectures and extra events had somehow connected the two cultures of science and art together.  The UCLA Biomedical Library was much different, as it if only focuses on the science culture.  I found this a little surprising, so I searched the library to find a connection between science and art.  I was unsuccessful in doing so, yet came to the conclusion that not everything is a pure combination of the two cultures,  However, it is the research done in this library, combined with a good amount of creativity that brings the cultures of art and science closer together.

Event 3: The Museum of Jurassic Technology

This past week, I visited the Museum of Jurassic Technology.  My visit to the museum—from my arrival to my experience at the museum—was full of surprises.  All of the museums I have visited in the past have bright lights, high ceilings and tile floors—the Museum of Jurassic Technology, was just the opposite, with very little light (sometimes no light at all), low ceilings and carpet.  All of these factors added to the effect of the museum, creating an atmosphere that accentuates the “Jurassic technology” that it features.  

The exhibit that stood out to me the most was the work of Hagop Sandaldjian.  Sandaldjan is best known for his miniature work, which he features on the eyes of needles.  His work is so minute that it can only really be seen through a magnifying glass.  At the museum, he had three examples of his work, one which featured an extremely detailed sculpture of Goofy.  It’s hard to imagine not only how he came up with the idea to create such miniature art, but also the amount of patience that went into the creation of such a tiny piece of art. He carves his sculptures using either diamond or ruby dust and paints them by using a single strand from a brush, indicating the scale on which he works. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Museum of Jurassic Technology; it features many unique pieces of art that wouldn’t ordinarily be found in a “normal museum.”  Although the title of the museum includes the word “technology,” much of the art is created without what we now refer to as “technology.”  However, the art in the museum is equally as fascinating as the art we see today being produced with modern technology.  

Event 2: What's Wrong with Fat?

In this discussion of Abigail Saguy’s work What’s Wrong with Fat?, a panel of UCLA faculty from different departments came together to provide their commentary on this book.  Although I personally have not read this book, I learned through listening to the book discussion that Saguy focused on the undeniable stigma that comes with overweight people and how that affects our perception of health in the medical field.  For most people, the word “fat” is synonymous to “unhealthy.”  However, there is actually very little scientific evidence that shows a strong correlation between body weight and healthiness.  Ed Walker from the UCLA Sociology Department commented on the societal constructs of the “obesity epidemic.”  We frame obesity as some type of disease; this ultimately causes society to limit themselves in their views.  New information, unless aided by public favor, is often ignored for the convenience of maintaining the status quo.

Obviously, public perception holds profound weight in what we accept to be true or possible.  I thought that this underlying fact paralleled with the idea of space exploration before it became a reality.  Space exploration was often thought of as something of the imagination or purely taken from science fiction; however, once society was able to shift their perspectives, people accomplished what had seemed impossible to begin with.  With a little open-mindedness, I feel like this book could change the way the medical field perceives weight and its association with body weight.

Works Cited:

Barclay, Eliza. "What's Wrong With Calling Obesity A Medical Problem?" NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2013. <http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/01/16/169540265/whats-wrong-with-calling-obesity-a-medical-problem>.

Detrick, Paul. "UCLA Professor Abigail Saguy on What's Wrong with Fat?"Reason.com. Reason Foundation, 18 Mar. 2013. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. <http://reason.com/reasontv/2013/03/18/ucla-professor-abigail-saguy-on-whats-wr>.

Saguy, Abigail. "Weight-Based Stigma and Bullying." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 11 Oct. 2012. Web. 09 Dec. 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/abigail-saguy/weight-based-stigma_b_1959578.html>.

"What's Wrong with Fat? A Book Discussion with Abigail Saguy." UCLA Center for the Study of Women. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2013. <http://www.csw.ucla.edu/events/whats-wrong-with-fat-a-book-discussion-with-abigail-saguy>.

"What’s Wrong with Fat?" UC Health. UC Health, 19 Dec. 2012. Web. 09 Dec. 2013. <http://health.universityofcalifornia.edu/2012/12/19/whats-wrong-with-fat/>.

Week 9: Space and Art

In examining something as concrete and exact as space exploration, I wondered how art could have any effect on this field that seems to be purely science.  However, after watching the lecture and further research, I realized that space exploration might not have been possible if it weren’t for art serving as propaganda.  Art was the catalyst for this field of science.

In the 1950s, the idea of manned space travel was something that only existed in science fiction or our imaginations.  During WWII, rocket power missiles were used as weapons by the Germans; so after the war, Americans though of rockets as just that: weapons.  The government paid very little attention to the potential of this field, and necessary funds were not delegated.  This all changed when Collier’s magazine released articles showing a detailed plan for manned space travel not far into the future; the articles explained how something like this could be accomplished with 1950s technology.  Beyond the in depth description the complete possibility of space exploration, the magazine utilized extremely realistic illustrations of how this vision could come to be.  The visualization of space stations, spacecraft, etc made the idea of space travel immediate and real.  They sparked the desire within the public to go to space.  Public opinion, in turn, helped to sway congress that a space program was worth funding. 

Most technological advancements start from the imagination, and in this case, almost directly resulted from the influence of art.  Without the concept art provided by artists such as Chesley Bonestell, Fred Freeman and Rolf Klep, we may have never reached space and all it’s possibilities. 

Works Cited:

Boucher, Marc. "Space and Art." NASA Watch. Spaceref Interactive Inc., 30 May 2013. Web. 01 Dec. 2013. <http://nasawatch.com/archives/2013/05/space-and-art.html>.

Parker, Charley. "How Concept Art Helped Sell the U.S. Space Program | Tor.com."Tor.com. 2013 Macmillan, 13 Aug. 2013. Web. 29 Nov. 2013. <http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/08/how-concept-art-helped-sell-the-us-space-program>.

"The Art of Chesley Bonestell." Bonestell.org. 2013 Bonestell LLC, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013. <http://www.bonestell.org/>.

Vesna , Victoria, dir. Space Part 1. 2012. Film. 30 Nov 2013. <

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2O5C0Iv6ROo#

Vesna , Victoria, dir. Space Part 3. 2012. Film. 30 Nov 2013. <

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xCvFdfjj404

Event 1: Dow Jones - A Solfége Economy

When I walked into Gareth Walsh’s exhibition, I was honestly extremely confused and at lost for words for what exactly the art was trying to portray.  It just seemed like a random sequence of people in suits reciting notes on three screens.  As I blankly stared at what seemed like nothing, Walsh begin to explain his piece and how it came to be.

Utilizing real time date, the three screens flash video clips of actors, portraying corporate executives, singing a variation of the notes do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do.  Each note was assigned a numerical value of increase or decrease which mirrored the way in which the stock market value was increasing or decreasing.  The first four keys were values below zero and the last four keys were values above zero.  Pitch also played a role in depicting the variation of the fluctuation. Essentially, Walsh displayed stock market fluctuations through musical notes.

According to Walsh, he received his inspiration from the economic recession of 2009.  This piece was created to try and make sense of all the madness during that time.  Walsh’s use of computer science to create a work of art that relays a message to its viewers ties in the main theme of this class of C.P. Snow’s idea of “The Third Culture.”

Works Cited:

"CNSI Special Lectures." CNSI UCLA. n.d. Web. 19 Nov 2013. <http://www1.cnsi.ucla.edu/events/event-category-view?category_id=174172>

"Dow Jones." Dow Jones. n.d. Web. 18 Nov 2013. <http://www.dowjones.com/>

"Gareth Walsh." garethwalsh.com. n.d. Web. 19 Nov 2013. <http://gareth-walsh.com/>

"Market Overview." CNN Money. n.d. Web. 19 Nov 2013. <http://money.cnn.com/data/markets/>

"Stocks Basics." Investopedia. n.d. Web. 18 Nov 2013. <http://www.investopedia.com/university/stocks/stocks3.asp>

Week 8: Neuroscience and Art

Art is often evaluated with the emotion it evokes from us or the way it makes us feel.  This association between art and feelings is bridged by the nervous system.  Therefore, the worlds of art and neuroscience become inseparable considering our thoughts and feelings are dictated by our brains.

Our brain is fundamentally controlled by neurons which send chemical signals through synapses to communicate with each other.  The pathways in which these signals travel determine how we think, act and feel.  By understanding these circuits, we are able to understand the basic principles of how the brain operates.  These pathways can be distinguished through brainbows.  Brainbows distinguish each neuron from each other by adding fluorescent color to specific proteins.  In this way, these brain circuits can be identified to promote scientific discovery while producing a beautiful image.

http://cbs.fas.harvard.edu/usr/connectome/brainbow/weissman_purkinje_sm.jpg

One way in which our brain interprets art is through lines.  Although things are not distinctly outlined in real life, we are able to perceive line drawings as reality.  Lines are not real, yet we think them to be. We are able to do so because the way in which we understand lines utilize the same neural process that allows us to perceive the edges of objects.

http://erinhillmyblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/kiosk-line-drawing.jpg

Artists who understand brain perception are able to make their art much more complex and dynamic.  An example of this is Leonard da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.  If you look directly at her eyes, she appears to be smiling; however if you look directly at her mouth, her smile fades.  This is due to the way your peripheral vision effects your perception.  Da Vinci intentionally blurred the lines of the mouth to create that mystery with her expression.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Mona_Lisa,_by_Leonardo_da_Vinci,_from_C2RMF_retouched.jpg/687px-Mona_Lisa,_by_Leonardo_da_Vinci,_from_C2RMF_retouched.jpg

Creative capability stems from the brain.  Without neuroscience, we would be unable to appreciate art the way we do now.  And the understanding of this advancing field will only help artists to push new boundaries and evoke new emotions from their viewers.

Works Cited:

"Brainbow." Center for Brain Science. Center for Brain Science at Harvard University, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://cbs.fas.harvard.edu/science/connectome-project/brainbow>.

"How Do Neurons Work?" University of Bristol. University of Bristol, 27 Sept. 2011. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.bris.ac.uk/synaptic/basics/basics-2.html>.

Landau, Elizabeth. "What the Brain Draws From: Art and Neuroscience." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/15/health/art-brain-mind/>.

Maria, Cara Santa. "Neuroscience & Art: Margaret Livingstone Explains How Artists Take Advantage Of Human Visual Processing (VIDEO)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 07 Jan. 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/07/neuroscience-art-margaret-livingstone_n_2339429.html>.

Vesna, Victoria. “Conscious / Memory (Part 1).” Lecture. 19 Nov 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DLVQIwOn7o8>