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Earlier this quarter, I took a trip to New York City and visited the American Museum of Natural History. In particular, I will focus this blog post on the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs. From what I could tell, the layout of this Museum was somewhat similar to the design of the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles. This Museum in New York, however, was a lot larger and included more Dinosaur fossils. As a child, I always gravitated towards the dinosaur fossils when visiting the Museum. Even at 21 years old, I saw myself following the same impulse, and I found myself in front of the Tyrannosaurus rex.              When thinking about the process of retrieving fossils and displaying them, it was hard for me to find the connection to technology, art, and science. I knew that a paleontologist is a scientist who studied fossils, but other than that it was tough making the connection. All of the information that I have receiv...

Entrance to World of Life Exhibit Different Examples of Brains  This past week I had the pleasure to visit the California Science Center in Los Angeles, CA. Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, I have visited this museum many times on school field trips. However, this visit was a bit different. I was not going with an open mind ready to explore, but rather with prior knowledge on the exhibits prepared to learn the relation between science and art. While the California Science Center has many exhibits, I will be focusing this blog post on the  World of Life  exhibit. In this exhibit, we “examine how people, plants, animals and the tiniest living cells all perform the same life processes to survive.”  Interactive Nerve Display Entering this exhibit almost felt as if you were walking into the human body. The lessons from units four, five, and six were present in this section of the museum. There was an interactive display of how nerves interact with...

This week we learned about the influence that space has on art. The portion of the lecture that interested me the most was the part of the Sudbury Buckyballs. These ‘buckyballs” shows us how organisms operate at the nano level in space. To understand the impact that these organisms from space influence art, I will not be using art in its traditional understanding. I am not referring to art in the form of painting, sculptures, or digital media. I will be talking about the creation/evolution of life on Earth as art in itself. To see all of these complex creatures emerge from nothing is art given to us by the natural order of the universe. These extraterrestrial particles came to Earth nearly 2 billion years ago by way of meteor and asteroid impacts.  Elements that we once thought to be native to Earth are now discovered to have origins somewhere out in space. Even in contemporary accounts for evolution credit the Earth as being the source of single-cell organisms. We credit the ...

This week we learned about NanoTech and the influences that it has on art. We were lucky to have Dr. Gimzewski from the California NanoSystems Institute present the lectures this week. With over 35 years of experience in this field, it was indeed an honor. When one hears the term “NanoTech”, you immediately think of machines and technology that exist at the micro level. I learned this week that NanoTech also extends into the biological field as nature can have complex Nanostructures. Of these examples in nature, the one that caught my eye was the structure of a Gecko’s foot. Geckos can “stick to surfaces because their bulbous toes are covered in hundreds of tiny microscopic hairs called setae.” (Live Science)  This allows the gecko to walk up and down walls while supporting their weight. It also allows them to be able to sleep while hanging upside down for long periods of time. A single square centimeter on the gecko’s foot can support its entire weight. This natural example of ...

On Friday, May 3, 2019, I had the pleasure of attending the Sound + Science Symposium in the UCLA California NanoSystems Institute Presentation Space Auditorium. The first presentation that I attended was on the Sounds of Quantum Entanglement by James Gimzewski. In this presentation, we learned about waves that occur at the quantum level. The interesting fact that I learned is that everything in the world has operated in terms of waves. Even in solid objects like gold you can see waves in the top layer. Even in some sample of carbon monoxide, you can see waves at the quantum level. I thought it was really interesting how they were able to rearrange these carbon monoxide molecules into the UCLA logo.   Another interesting fact that I learned was how you can hear a monarch by using nanotech. You could record the sound of its wings by using a high powered laser. Because everything operates in waves, being able to do things like measure its sound with lasers.   ...

This week we learned about the connection between neuroscience and art. The topic that I felt exemplified this notion of neuroscience and art the most was the discovery of the “Brainbow” in 2007. Brainbow is a method that helps us visualize individual neurons. We can distinguish from the neighboring neurons by using specific fluorescent proteins. This technique helps to identify “the longer pathways that interconnect the different brain regions.” (Center for Brain Science) They saw this as a method of mapping the neural patterns of the axons in the brain to learn more about specific diseases and trends of the brain. When looking at the various images created by this process, it almost seems unreal that this is what is going on in our brain. It looks like an example of pure abstract art, but in reality, these images are beneficial for identifying neural pathways. By learning how the brain functions at the microscopic level, it opens up the possibility of learning how the brain operat...

The wings of a painted lady butterfly generated with a gene-editing technique.  BioTech in contemporary art involves artists entering labs to work with flesh and cellular tissue level. The human genome structure was a fresh palate for artists to manipulate. Most of these artists pushed the boundaries of human genetics that even scientists thought they were crazy. As a Philosophy major, the ethical considerations of biotech and art is what interested me the most. I believe that regardless of the reasoning as to why these genetic experiments are being conducted does not determine whether or not it is ethical. I think that when something genetic is done for art, then it is seen as unfavorable. I also believe that when things are manipulated for medical purposes, they are also unethical.   Alba, the fluorescent bunny One example of this is the alteration of the patterns on the wings of butterflies, which no other medical purpose other than being cosmetic, alterin...

E! Network's Television Show "Botched" The origin of plastic surgery was the material that most influenced my understanding of this week’s topic on Medicine, Technology, and Art. My knowledge about plastic surgery up to this point was from what I learned from popular culture. Shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Dr. 90210, Botched, and Nip/Tuck have shown us the artistic capabilities of plastic surgery in television. Living in West Los Angeles, I have been exposed to many people who have had plastic surgery procedures done to them. Plastic surgery to me was a way of staying young and making alterations to a part of you that you may not be comfortable with. In many ways, the cosmetic nature of plastic surgery is its primary function in contemporary society. This is not how plastic surgery was intended to be used when it was created.  Examples of Reconstructive Facial Surgery during WWI             Techno...

Earlier this quarter I attended the ARTSCI event that focused on the Eco Materialism and Contemporary Art. The Workshop that I decided to participate in was titled “Totally Warm: The Materiality of Heat.” In this workshop, participants “discovered the cosmic extremes of heat on planet Earth by foraging and preparing sweet drinks ‘cooked’ by the sun, micro-organisms, rocks, and minerals.” Out of the many workshops offered that day, this was the one that seemed to be the most interesting. The presenter of this workshop was Iain Kerr, and I was eager to learn about the characteristics of fire and heat.  To my surprise, this workshop was completely different from what I imagined it to be. We started the seminar inside where Iain lectured about various types of fermentation techniques that utilized heat for cooking. One notable example was the usage of the heat found in kitchen compost to soft-boil eggs. After the brief lecture, we went outside into the courtyard to sit in a circle o...

Professor Machiko Kusahara presented us with a new perspective on Robotics. This lecture compared and contrasted the robotic cultures in Japan and the United States. Kusahara taught us how robotics and technology were commonly used in Japan in art. Engineers had a fascination with making humanoids which varied from the Western fascination of using robotics to fuel the industrial revolution.  Astro Boy, Vol. 1             I learned that robotics and art were popular subjects in Japanese animation and Manga. She uses the example of Astro Boy to show Japan’s fascination with cybernetic biological organisms. Astro Boy was a cyborg that had human emotions and ethics who became a cultural basis for artists in Japan. By showing human emotions and ethics, we can see how robots are seen as friends in Japanese culture. Seeing robots as friends is something that is not common in Western culture. Often in Western films, robot...

From the first lectures and readings, the main focus was on locating the third culture that connected the huminites and the sciences. In this week’s readings, I learned that the medium that connects the two (art and science) is mathematics. When we think of computers and other electronics that we use on a daily day basis, we do not think about mathematics necessarily. At a deeper level, these forms of technology utilize complex mathematical systems for their operation. Mathematics is critical in the field of the visual arts even if we are aware of it or not. Anything from drawing or sculpting requires the use of math to calculate dimensions. In the reading “ The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art ,” Henderson emphasizes the paradigm shift in Euclidean geometry that led to the creation of this fourth dimension. By including a higher dimension of space, artists were able to transcend their standard forms of expression and occupy new mediums. Writers could now “dep...

A cartoon depicting C. P. Snow bridging the gap between the Two Cultures (Audiobook Cover Image)  The article “The Two Lectures and the Scientific Revolution” was a lecture given by C. P. Snow at Cambridge University. Charles Percy Snow was an English Author and Physicist. Given his background in both literary and natural sciences, C. P. Snow is the perfect candidate for discussing these “Two Cultures” in education. By holding both perspectives, he was able to give us a rich conceptualization of the relationship between these two seemingly contrasting fields. When talking about the two cultures, I am explicitly referencing humanities and the sciences. As a Philosophy major, I primarily concern my studies with humanities. As a transfer, I have not taken any science courses at UCLA. Most of my coursework is upper division requirements for my major.  Charles Percy Snow This quarter I am taking a class on the Philosophy of Medicine that attempts to bridge the gap betwe...