Week 9: Space and Art

This week’s unit is about space exploration and art. Professor Vesna started this week’s unit off with talking about the beginning of space exploration through the telescope. In 1608 a Dutch eyeglass maker named Hans Lippershey applied the first patent for a telescope. He claimed that it could see things with three times the magnification. However, Galileo Galilei was the first to point his own design of a telescope skyward in order to study the stars. With this he discovered that the moon had craters and mountains and that Jupiter had many moons.

I enjoyed learning about how space began to influence modern culture beginning in the 1920’s. Many writers began to write books about space travel, which in a way marked the beginning on the fusion of space and art. For example, in 1929 Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was the first person to write about a complete space station with the means to do research and have people live in it for long periods of time. This was 28 years before the first simple small satellite; Sputnik was successfully launched into orbit. Many TV shows and movies about space such as The Jetsons, Star Trek, and Star Wars became very popular around this time.

          

       

In today’s world space and art have been intertwined even more. I found the KSEVT institute to be really interesting and I enjoyed looking at all the different ways they combine art and performance with science. The Cultural Space Programme’s goal is to work on the culturalisation of space in today’s society and has done projects such as a zero gravity theater performance. They focus on the humanities and art and are constantly asking the question “What is it like to be a human in space? (KSEVT)”

Works Cited

Contributor, Lauren Cox SPACE.com. "Who Invented the Telescope? | The First Telescope | Space.com." Space. N.p., 13 July 2013. Web. 31 May 2015. <http://www.space.com/21950-who-invented-the-telescope.html>.

"Corning Museum of Glass." The Quest to See More: Glass Lenses. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2015. <http://www.cmog.org/article/quest-see-more-glass-lenses>.

"Cultural Space Programme." KSEVT. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2015. <http://www.ksevt.eu/2015/?page_id=1849>.

"Dragan Zivadinov «Zero Gravity Biomechanical Theater» 1999. | Φrbit° Sφaceφlace :: Art in the Age øf Φrbitizatiøn." Dragan Zivadinov «Zero Gravity Biomechanical Theater» 1999. | Φrbit° Sφaceφlace :: Art in the Age øf Φrbitizatiøn. N.p., 23 Apr. 2006. Web. 31 May 2015. 

Pinchefsky, Carol. "CBS Blocks Production of 'Star Trek' Fan Film."Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 29 Mar. 2012. Web. 31 May 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolpinchefsky/2012/03/29/cbs-blocks-production-of-star-trek-fan-film/>.

"SFE: The Science Fiction Encyclopedia." Authors : Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin : SFE : Science Fiction Encyclopedia. N.p., 29 Oct. 2014. Web. 31 May 2015. <http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/tsiolkovsky_konstantin>.

"6 Signs We Are Living Like The Jetsons - ON.com Blog." ONcom Blog RSS. N.p., 20 June 2014. Web. 31 May 2015. <http://blog.on.com/6-signs-we-are-living-like-the-jetsons/>.

Week 8: Nanotech and Art

Nanotechnology is a fairly new science and “involves the control and manipulation of materials on an atomic scale (Massey University)”. It came about with the invention of the electron microscope in the 1930’s, which allowed scientist to observe extremely small things such as the structure and texture of crystals and other things that cannot be seen with the naked eye (Wikipedia)”. I became more interested in nanotechnology when Dr. Gimzewski said that it impacted much of our lives through food, energy, electronics, and agriculture.

Nanotechnology is important in our daily lives because it can lead to advancements in things such as medical therapies, imaging done in living organisms, and in the medical drug industry. Nanotech has become important in the fight against diseases like cancer. The earlier we can identify diseases in peoples bodies the more time doctors have to treat them which greatly increases the chance of survival.

Agriculture and food have also been influenced by nanotechnology in a positive way also. Nanotubes and nanocapsules have been created to be inserted into plants and foods and do things like make things taste better or remove pathogens from food to make the plant healthier. Nanoclays and films have been created to be put on produce and meats to prevent them from spoiling quickly.

The advances in the medical and agricultural worlds due to nanotech are amazing but they are not the only thing that nanotech is good for. I was curious about the more artistic side of nanotechnology which led me to look more into nano-art. Nano-art consists of nanolandscapes and nanosculptures. The extremely small size of sculptures that can be made using nanotech is incredible.

(Left picture: example of nanolandscape. Right picture: example of nanosculpture.)

Works Cited

Berger, Michael. "Blow-up: The Startling Landscapes of Nanotechnology." Blow-up: The Startling 

Landscapes of Nanotechnology. N.p., 29 Dec. 2006. Web. 24 May 2015.

<http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=1456.php>.

Berger, Michael. "Nanotechnology in Agriculture." Nanotechnology in Agriculture. N.p., 25 Aug. 

2014. Web. 24 May 2015. <http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=37064.php>.

Griffin, Andrew. "The Smallest Sculptures Ever Made: Nano-scale Creations Are Dwarfed by Even a 

Human Hair." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 17 Nov. 2014. Web. 24 May 

2015.

"NanoArt." NanoArt. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2015. <http://nanoart.org/index.php>.

"Nanoart." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 5 June 2014. Web. 24 May 2015.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanoart>.

"Researchers Take First Prize for Nano-art." Massey University. N.p., 13 Sept. 2010. Web. 24 May 

2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.massey.ac.nz%2Fmassey%2Fabout-

massey%2Fnews%2Farticle.cfm%3Fmnarticle%3Dresearchers-take-first-prize-for-nano-art-13-09-

2010>.

"Why Nanotechnology Is Important." CISN -. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2015. 

<http://cisncancer.org/research/new_treatments/nanotechnology/importance.html>.

Week 7: Neuroscience and Art

While watching the video lectures for this weeks topic, I first became interested by the very first ideas about the brain. Starting with the ideas of the scientist Franz Joseph Gall and how he thought their was a direct correlation between a persons personality and level of intelligence and the size of their head. We know today that that theory isn’t entirely correct. However, Gall “was convinced that mental functions are localized in specific regions of the brain and that the human behavior is dependent upon these functions”(Vesna). This idea that different parts of the brain control different emotions and behaviors has been proven correct in today’s science.

What caught my attention the most in this week’s topic was the relationship between neuroscience and meditation. In my opinion meditation is closely related to art. It is a way of channeling and helping control ones emotions, similar to expression through art. They are both a type of creative release. Through neuroscience we have learned that there may be a link between meditation and bigger brains. A study done at UCLA has shown that “meditators showed significantly larger volumes of the hippocampus and areas within the orbito-frontal cortex, the thalamus and the inferior temporal gyrus”(Wheeler). All these areas of the brain help control emotion. Along with better emotional control, we know that meditators have better focus and reduced levels of stress and therefore better immune systems compared to those who do not meditate.

What I really liked about this research is that it is not only a bunch of cool facts to live a more focused and relaxed life, but that it has also been studied as a way to make the world a better place. UCLA psychologist, Lobsang Rapgay and the Dalai Lama are working together to try and find out “how Tibetan Buddhism and western neuroscience can work together to help people gain greater mental flexibility, creativity and compassion”(Lin).

Works Cited

Brophy, Maria. "How Meditation Helps the Creative Process." N.p., 19 Nov. 2009. Web. 17 May 2015.

"Evolutionary Theory." Evolution/Race and Nation/Socialism. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2015. <http://www.cla.calpoly.edu/~lcall/111/week_seven.html>.

Lin, Judy. "Neuroscientist Helps Pave Way for Dalai Lama's Visit." N.p., 24 Feb. 2011. Web. 17 May 2015. 

"Monks Meditating | All Points East." All Points East. N.p., 3 May 2012. Web. 17 May 2015. <http://allpointseast.com/tours/cambodia-photography-tour/attachment/stanndard-cambodia-3/>.

"The Neuroscience of Mindfulness." Mindfulnet.org:The Independent Mindfulness Information Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2015. <http://www.mindfulnet.org/page25.htm>.

Wheeler, Mark. "How to Build a Bigger Brain." How to Build a Bigger Brain. N.p., 12 May 2009. Web. 17 May 2015. 

Week 6: Biotech and Art

The two questions that I decide to focus on for this week’s unit were:

Is life itself a valid expressive medium?

Are there and should there be limits to human creativity?

And the project that caught my attention the most was Eduardo Kac’s “GFP Bunny” named Alba. Alba is an albino rabbit that was injected with a protein from a Jelly Fish that would make it glow green when put under the correct light. Scientists use this glowing green protein to track the movement of certain drug throughout a body to see how they work.

 Alba has raised a lot of controversy for two reasons. First, many people question if Kac can call Alba his own art work since he is not the first to have an animal with the ability to glow green because many scientists had been working with this gene for years. The second controversy is brought up by animal rights activist saying that “the project is needless and abusive manipulation of an animal (Vesna)”. With these two controversies in mind I go back to the first question I chose to think about, “Is life itself a valid expressive medium?”. In this case I do believe that life is a valid expression medium. I think that because the rabbit is being injected with an organic material and not a harmful chemical that this should not be an issue of ethics since nothing is being harmed. Now with the second question in mind, I do believe that there should be limits to human creativity if it affects an organism in a negative way.

Another art medium that I found to be interesting was Natalie Jeremijenko’s “NoParks”. I like how she is using life (In this case plant life) to make city streets more visually appealing. I also thought it was interesting how she ties it into medicine by making these parks a sort of anecdote from her “xDesign Environmental Health Clinic”. These small parks aren’t only visually appealing but also helpful to the environment because they use toxin absorbing plants. These plants would absorb pollution and standing water.

Works Cited

"Bioarte." Bioarte. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2015. <http://compreendendobioarte.blogspot.com/>.

"Green Fluorescent Protein - Cool Uses - Alba." Green Fluorescent Protein - Cool Uses - Alba. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2015. <http://www.conncoll.edu/ccacad/zimmer/GFP-ww/cooluses8.html>.

Hoyt, Dale. "Eduardo Kac Flunks the Rabbit Test." Eduardo Kac Flunks the Rabbit Test. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2015. <http://www.viewingspace.com/genetics_culture/pages_genetics_culture/gc_w03/hoyt_alba_response.htm>.

Kac, Eduardo. "GFP BUNNY." GFP BUNNY. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2015. <http://www.ekac.org/gfpbunny.html#gfpbunnyanchor>.

"Seed Presents: Revolutionary Minds: Natalie Jeremijenko." Natalie Jeremijenko. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2015. <http://www.inspirationgreen.com/natalie-jeremijenko.html>.

"To Life!" University of California Press. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2015. <http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520273627>.