Week 4: Medicine & Technology & Arts

In the first glance, there seems to be little correlation between arts and medical technology. Arts represents the wildest imagination, whereas medical technology is the speaker of extreme precision and strictly controlled experiments. I am not a supporter of this perspective: last year, I was invited by a neuroscience professor to watch a dance performance created by the famous choreographer, Wayne McGregor, based on a range of cognitive, biological and technological perspectives including his understanding of mind-body connection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if2RSLyDhuw

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

After this week, I have a new understanding of the impacts of medical technical on arts and the link between the two. Medical technological development has completely changed the concept of human bodies and our interpretation of human body in the artworks. 

The first time that comes into my mind is Human Genome Project, which aims to identify and map all genes of the human genome, and DNA origami, the cover story of Nature in 2006. The sequences produced by the Human Genome Project covered about 99% of the human genome's gene-containing regions and opened a new way to understand human body. 

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v421/n6921/images/nature01403-f6.2.jpg

Inspired by the Human Genome Project and the heated DNA research, DNA origami is developed that attempts to use DNA as a construction material and utilize nanoscale folding techniques to create 2D or 3D shapes at the nanoscale. 

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v440/n7082/images/nature04586-f3.2.jpg

Other interesting applications of medical technology includes X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which influence artworks in both acoustic (aural components of MRI exam) and visual form (MRI image). This viewpoint is also supported by Silvia Casini as he closely examine the correlation between MRI and elements of artworks.

Artwork inspired by X-ray:

http://assets2.thecreatorsproject.com/content-images/contentimage/no-slug/b712e16c871d8828b7383035a5093bf2.jpg

Drawing inspired by X-ray and MRI:

http://thebeautifulbrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/DPP_0282.jpg

The milestone of interconnection between medical technology and arts is plastic surgery. As mentioned by professor Vesna, plastic surgery was originally used to reconstruct soldier's faces in Ancient India. It has long been solved solely for reparation purpose and only been used as a tool for beauty enhancement in recent years. 

http://spectrum.ieee.org/image/933207

Now we see the popularity of plastic surgery the entire world and especially among the celebrities. It is incredible to see the before and after effects of plastic surgery. However, ethics issue of plastic surgery has also become a hot topic in recent years. Is it worthwhile to take the risks to modify your face or body when it is not necessary? Also, should we consider this as a form of 'art' or a diminish of true self of surgery recipients? Those are important questions to ponder and rethink of the future directions we want to take to apply medical technologies to arts.

http://cdn.smosh.com/sites/default/files/ftpuploads/bloguploads/1013/celebrity-plastic-surgery-jessica-alba-1.jpg

Citations:

Consortium, International Human Genome Sequencing. "Finishing the Euchromatic Sequence of the Human Genome." Nature 431.7011 (2004): 931-45. Web.

Rothemund, Paul W. K. "Folding DNA to Create Nanoscale Shapes and Patterns." Nature 440.7082 (2006): 297-302. Web.

"Timeline." Genome: Unlocking Life's Code. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015.

Mackrell, Judith. "Wayne McGregor: Zen and the Art of Dance." The Guardian. N.p., 13 Oct. 2009. Web.

Casini, Silvia. "Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations between Science and the Arts." Configurations 19.1 (2011): 73-99. Web.

Vesna, Victoria. "Medicine Pt1." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=368&v=Ep0M2bOM9Tk>.

Vesna, Victoria. "Medicine Pt3." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIX-9mXd3Y4>.

Week 3: Robotics and Arts

This week, we discuss the impact of industrialization, invention of computer, photography, moving images and robotics (some of the most recent, complicated creation due to technological advancement) on arts and science. I have learnt the history of mass production, from printing press to Ford’s invention of assembly line and most recently, Robotics and the emerging concept of Artificial Intelligence [1]. Industrialization and mass production offers numerous new ways for an artwork to be created (i.e. with the aid of Photoshop, video editing software) and to be replicated. Therefore, I totally agree with Douglas Davis that in this age of digital reproduction, there is “no longer a clear conceptual distinction between original and reproduction” [2]. However, concerns also arise from this technical development, as described by Benjamin as deep regret for the “relentless destruction of the aura”, blaming mass reproduction for destroying the “uniqueness, authenticity, ritual” of the classical art [3]. I disagree with Benjamin because the problem of aura destruction is not due to mechanization and technology. These technologies only offer new means of new means of art creation; human beings are the ones who eventually have the control of these tools and technology should not be the excuse for the reduced imagination of modern artists.

http://anonhq.com/education-create-adhd-kill-creativity/

Industrialization should not take the sole responsibility for the change in human arts and disappearance of its classical, elegant characteristics. It is clear that artistic works are not as creative as before, however, none of us can deny the fact that technology does introduce us new, fascinating forms of art creation. Movies and robotics are often criticized as the examples of the typical art forms of mechanical reproduction.

According to Benjamin, movies have no essence and the process of creating a movie is repetitively work of mass mechanical production at the expense of originality. But this is not the case! Throughout the years, we see movies like “Life is Beautiful” that depicts Holocaust with humor and imagination and movies like Avatar that builds a new world with James Cameron’s imagination and the aid of 3D technology. Many of the scenes in Avatar are not possible to create without 3D effects. Of course, there are many popcorn movies like Twilight that does not provoke any deep thinking or shows much imagination. In China, there is also a new type of movies that is based on real-life TV shows, which I call it the ‘fast-food’ movie: they are merely an extension of the TV shows and a mere combination of scenes and sound effects. However, we should not take these special cases as the reflection of the entire movie-production industry. Movie making is a complex form of art that requires creativity in storyline, aesthetics of scenes shooting, and aftereffects. 

http://cartoondistrict.com/avatar-wallpapers-hd-for-pc/

http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_546159290102vnsk.html

Robotics, often thought as merely mechanical reproductions, actually involves and inspires much more creativity that one may imagine. From an amateur’s perspective, I was heavily involved in VEX Robotics design and building in my high school. VEX robotics are definitely more than just a mass production product. The design, controlling program and how you want it to perform its functions vary greatly from team to team. Green Egg Robotics, a US VEX robotics team, even captures NASA’s attention with its creative designs. Moreover, robotics offers a feasible mean to realize our long-time dream of Artificial Intelligence that may be traced by to Rene Des Cartes’ Mind-Body problem [4]. WABIAN robot from Japan may walk as naturally as a human being and react accordingly to different road conditions based on its walking pattern algorithm (a demonstration of basic level of AI) [5]. Interestingly, Robotics also impact how we think of our future and movie directors frequently incorporate the concept of futuristics artificial life in movies like the Transformers [6]. I can totally imagine robotics being used creatively in many aspects in the future. 

http://morganandbill.wix.com/green-egg-robotics#!pics

http://phys.org/news/2013-06-wabian-robot-japan-closer-human.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4-zZxVSYkU

To conclude, industrialization should not take the blame for destruction of aura. In fact, it actually inspires many creations in artwork and enables the development of new art forms through creative use of technologies. Mass production and other technological advancement give us new tools for artistic work and we should take full advantages of it.

Citation:

[1] Vesna, Victoria. "Robotics Pt1." YouTube. YouTube, 15 Apr. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

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

[3] Davis, Douglas. “The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction.” The MIT Press, 1995. Web. 19 Oct. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1576221?uid=3739560&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21101286048881>.

[4] Vesna, Victoria. "Robotics Pt2." YouTube. YouTube, 15 Apr. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

[5] Nancy, Owana, “WABIAN robot from Japan steps closer to human walk” Phys Org, 2013. Web. 02 Jun. 2013. <http://phys.org/news/2013-06-wabian-robot-japan-closer-human.html>

[6] Wolpe, Paul R. "Transformers: Is Artificial Intelligence Dangerous without Emotions?" YouTube. YouTube, 28 June 2011. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

Week 2 - Mathematics and Arts

This week's topic is the relations between Mathematics and Arts. In the lectures, Professor Vesna speaks about how mathematicians and artists use arts and math respectively to improve their work. I have learnt that mathematicians, whom we stereotypically consider to be some of the most logical but least artistic people in the world, actually gain many inspirations from arts. For example, Al Haytham, in his book of Optics relates scientific methods, optics and arts together. Heavily influenced by Al Haytham, another scientist, Alberti, relate geometry to the science of optics in his treaties on paintings. Other instances of arts used in science may be seen as in the pavieto, a type of Cartesian system that create a grid to obtain the correct shape of a circle. It was also in this period that the vanishing point rule was made by Brunelleschi in 1413. Later, Piero Della Francesca, a famous artist and mathematician of his time, proposed the theory that painting has 3 parts: drawing, proportion and coloring. By the time of Leonardo Da Vinci, geometric examples are often used to supplement numerical calculations. Another interesting concept is the Golden Ratio and Da Vinci's Vitruvian man, both are perfect examples of symmetry and geometry used in architecture. The Golden Ratio is named by the Greeks and first used by Egyptians in pyramids. Vitruvian man is based on perfect human proportion and shows the geometric relationship between human body and the space we are in, including architecture.

http://kaplanpicturemaker.com/tips__info/golden_rectangle

Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man

http://kaplanpicturemaker.com/tips__info/golden_rectangle

Personally, I found Robert Lang's artwork very intriguing. Prior to reading through his website, I have never thought of origami as a subset of mathematics, not to mention that there are underlying laws of origami. For example, the Huzita-Justin Axioms describes an extremely restrictive style of folding, when only one fold at a time is permitted. Whereas "two-fold axiom" renders solution to more complex folding problems. There are also branches of related science, such as computational origami and related industrial designs. The juxtaposition of mathematics, art, and science is that by using math, artists may enhance their design and bring it to a new, complicated level that is hard to be imagined by human brain. 

http://www.langorigami.com/art/gallery/gallery.php?tag=human-figures&name=orchestra

Through this week's material, I have not only started to seriously think of the linkage between mathematics, arts and science, but also try to consciously apply arts to statistical concepts in the future because imagination is of imperative importance to mathematical thinking and innovation. In the "Flatland", the flatlanders cannot imagine a three-dimensional world. Similarly, in learning statistics, it is impossible/very hard to for me to imagine a higher level or a totally new applications of the concepts. Artistic thinking frees one's mind boundary and help people to imagine what they cannot see right now, and thus come up with creative solution to current problems. Therefore, it is imperative to incorporate arts and mathematics together when one approaches problems.

http://www.polydi.com/parents/parents.html

Sources:

Abbott, Edwin. “Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions.” N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. <https://cole.uconline.edu/content>.

Robert, J, Lang. “Robert. J. Lang Origami” N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. <http://www.langorigami.com/>.

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>

Robert, J, Lang. "The Math and Magic of Origami",  N.p., n.d. TED Talk, Feb 2008. <http://www.ted.com/talks/robert_lang_folds_way_new_origami>

Week 1: Two Cultures

Hi! I am Fangjing Li. Many of my friends also call me Alice. I am a second year Statistics major who is very interested in history, psychology and arts appreciation (i.e. visiting museums). Being a Statistics major, I feel the interaction and collision of the two cultures everyday. Even though statistics is commonly considered as a study of science, it is an important tool that may be used by almost every other fields of study, and even in those degrees of arts, such as Linguistics. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/science-discovery/nicky-clayton/

A little bit about myself: I am originally from China, went to Singapore for high school before coming to here for college two years ago. I been exposed to Chinese, Singaporean and American cultures and all three cultures influence and shape my personality in their own ways. As a result, I can emphasize the separation and interaction of the arts and science cultures better from my personal experiences of adapting to different cultures. 

http://www.bestcities.net/Singapore.aspx

http://nghiencuuquocte.net/page/2/

The separation and interaction of arts and science is certainly an interesting topic for me. Two of the readings "The two cultures and the Scientific Revolution" and "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." brings about this interesting idea about the third culture, that is a mix between arts and science. Personally, I agree with C. P. Snow on his idea of two cultures that a new third culture will emerge that will close the gap between the arts and science. At UCLA, such interactions take place very often. For example, interdisciplinary courses and programs such as computer science and linguistic combined major (a a perfect combination of arts and science!) and behavioral economics (a combination of psychology, economics and statistics). Building wise, Powell Library looks artistic and old-fashioned from appearance but inside there are a few computer labs with the most updated computers and softwares installed. 

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/top-10-most-creative-graphing-calculator-drawings

As Stephen Wilson mentions, "Some artists seek to appropriate contemporary technologies to create new kinds of images, sounds, installations and performances." Artists has been trying to utilize technological advancement and scientific concepts in their artwork creation. On the other side of spectrum, scientists have also been trying to employ a different perspective of thinking. As elaborated by Bohm that scientists must approach problems with originality and creativity in order to be successful. In today's world, we have seen the gap between arts and sciences becoming smaller. 

https://researcherssociety.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/workshop-challenges-of-interdisciplinarity/

Before this week, I have never seriously considered the separation and interaction of arts and sciences. The concept of a third culture is certainly fascinating. This shows a new possible directions for us students. For example, I, a Statistics student, may gain inspiration from arts and apply this creativity to research or data analysis work in the future. Similarly, an Arts student may certainly apply technological tools and scientific knowledge to enhance their works. 

Sources:

Wilson, Stephen D. “Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology.” College Art Association Meetings. New York, New York, 2000. Print

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.

Kelly, Kevin. "The Third Culture." The Third Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. Feb. 1998

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