Week 4 - Art that Evokes an Inner Sensation

For centuries, many artists have been trying to create graphic pieces/installations to target certain sensations inside the viewers that are not normally felt. The purpose of pinpointing these unknown sensations is to make the viewer think, “What is this strange, unknown feeling inside?” and “Why am I feeling it?”
Many artists believe the best way to get their viewers feeling this unfamiliar pit in their stomach is to incorporate the human body into their artwork. Although the human body has been sculpted and painted for centuries, new technological advances have immensely helped artists get a better glimpse of the intricate inner working of the body.

(Figure 1 Female Thorax Cross-
Section by Lisa Nilsson)

Lisa Nilsson is one of many artists inspired by human anatomy that has benefited from these technological advances. Inspired by the Visible Human Project, Nilsson created paper sculptures depicting cross sections of the human body.  According to Nilsson’s TED talk, she states, “Through the push and the pull of the beautiful and the creepy, the work was serving as a means of connecting people to a greater familiarity with the internal landscape of the body.”

(Video Lisa Nilsson at TEDMED 2012)

(Figure 2 Orlan and her Plastic
Surgery Performance Art)

Also using the human body in her artwork is French performance artist Orlan, also mentioned by Professor Vesna in Lecture.  Orlan has undergone numerous plastic surgeries on her face and body to challenge the standards of beauty that society has set for women. She believes that “art must shock to justify itself”. According to NBC News, “Orlan’s work is graphic and bizarre, a mixture of the absurd and exotic... It’s an expression of the sublime and grotesque, eccentricities carved into human flesh and sculpted in living bone.”

(Figure 3 Diane Gromala and VR)

Another artist inspired by the body’s inner working is Diane Gromala, who successfully combined art, science, and technology to benefit patients with chronic pain. Gromala connected virtual reality, biofeedback, and mediation to enable her patients to focus inward, and ultimately achieve inner awareness. Despite being different from the artists who sculpt/paint the human body, Gromala’s work still evokes a type of inner responsiveness.

Although artists use countless technological methods to explore human anatomy for their art, most of them strive for the same goal: To make viewers aware of their confusing, unknown, and inner sensations.

Works Cited

Associated Press. "Artist's surgeries defy beauty standards." Associated Press (2004). NBC News. Web. 25 Oct 2013.

Figure 1. Nilsson, Lisa. Female Thorax. 2013. Photograph. n.p. Web. 25 Oct 2013. <http://static.otherpeoplespixels.com/r1362684542/images/clear.gif>.

Figure 2. Heise, Axcel. Orlan. 2013. Photograph. n.p. Web. 25 Oct 2013. <http://www.creative-mapping.com/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Opération-omniprésence-4.jpg>.

Figure 3. Simon Fraser University. Prof. Gromala demonstrates virtual meditation. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 25 Oct 2013. <http://www.fcat.sfu.ca/2009/11/25/virtual-reality/>.

Gromala , Diane, dir. TEDxAmericanRiviera - Diane Gromala - Curative Powers of Wet, Raw Beauty. 2011. Film. 25 Oct 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRdarMz--Pw>.

Nilsson, Lisa. Are you ready for a new slice of reality?. TEDMED, 2012. Film. 25 Oct 2013. <http://www.tedmed.com/talks/show?id=7371>.

Orlan. Orlan - Carnal Art (2001) Documentary. 2011. Photograph. n.p. Web. 25 Oct 2013. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no_66MGu0Oo>.

Vesna, Victoria. “CoLE.” CoLE. N.p.. Web. 25 Oct 2013. <https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/63226/wiki/unit-4-view?module_item_id=970434>.

Week 3 - Robotics, Mass Production and the Diminishing "Aura"

(Figure 1 The Gutenberg Press.)

Before industrialization introduced mass production, the process of distributing literature throughout society was extremely tedious, as mentioned by Professor Vesna. This challenge of replicating ones work lead to a dis-proportionality of culture in society. Only the few with the right amount of money would have been blessed with one of the scarce copies of literature or artwork.

(Figure 2 Thinking Walter Benjamin
 in 18 Frames per Infinite Seconds
 Delineates Aura)

Although mass production was a promising solution to ensure proper distribution of products, some downfalls did accompany it. In his essay, Walter Benjamin discusses how mechanical reproduction of artwork causes the piece to lose its originality and authenticity, or aura. In a summary about Benjamin, Ginal stated, “A painting has an aura, while a photograph does not; the photograph is an image of an image, while the painting remains utterly original”. This loss of an “aura” can be seen in many products of mass production because of the inflexibility. Since all products of an assembly line are nearly identical there is little room left for the customers who crave some variety.

(Figure 3 David Hanson merges
 robotics and art to design life-like,
 social robots that can mimic human
expression and emotion.)

Despite its negatives, however, mass production offers many benefits to society as well, such as equal distribution mentioned above. Allowing machines, or “robots”, to mass produce items on assembly lines has greatly decreased the probability of human error, reduced labor costs, and increased the rate of production. Although some could argue the use of robotics in mass production takes away jobs from the public, I believe the benefits that come with an increased use of robots greatly outweigh the negatives. For example, in David Hanson’s TED talk, he discusses the production of robots that could show emotion. Although robots could never replace people, because of the need for actual human touch, many believe that robots could serve as companions to the lonely or elderly. According to an article in the NBC News, “The biggest benefits that robots could stand to give the elderly: they'll be left with more choice, more independence ... and less loneliness.”

(Figure 4 Satsuko Yatsuzaka (84)
holds a therapeutic robot named
Paro at the Suisyoen retirement
home in Iwaki, Fukushima.)

Although mass production can take away the “aura” of the original product, as discussed above, there are still many added benefits. For example Ginal states, “The cameraman intervenes with what see in a way which a painting can never do. It directs the eye towards a specific place and a specific story…” Also, according to Eduardo Kac, “…kinetic art contributed to free sculpture from static form and reintroduced the machine at the heart of artistic debate.”

Works Cited

Figure 1. Pearson, Barry. The Gutenberg Press. 2013. Photograph. N.p. Web. 20 Oct 2013. <http://www.leafletprinting.co.uk/blog/printing-history-the-gutenberg-press/>.

Figure 2. Kobayashi, Toshiyuki . Thinking Walter Benjamin in 18 frames per infinite seconds delineates aura. 2011. Photograph. Like You Art Network. Web. 20 Oct 2013. <http://www.likeyou.com/en/node/36997>.

Figure 3. Hanson, David. 2009. Photograph. TED. Web. 20 Oct 2013. <http://www.ted.com/speakers/david_hanson.html>.

Figure 4. Kyung-Hoon, Kim. Satsuko Yatsuzaka (84) holds a therapeutic robot named Paro at the Suisyoen retirement home in Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture, July 28, 2011.. 2011. Photograph. NBCWeb. 20 Oct 2013. <http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/my-robot-friend-people-find-real-comfort-artificial-companionship-6C10146787>.

Ginal. "Summary: The Work of Art in The Age of Mechanical Reproduction." Introducing the Frankfurt School. Word Press, 28 Feb 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

Hanson, David. “David Hanson: Robots that "show emotion". TED, 2009. Film. 20 Oct 2013. <http://www.ted.com/talks/david_hanson_robots_that_relate_to_you.html>.

Kac, Eduardo. "ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF ROBOTIC ART." Art Journal. 56.3 (1997): 60-67. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

Subbaraman, Nidhi . "My robot friend: People find real comfort in artificial companionship." NBC News Technology. NBC News, 03 Jun 2013. Web. 20 Oct 2013.

 Vesna, Victoria. “CoLE.” CoLE. N.p.. Web. 14 Oct 2013. <https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/63226/wiki/unit-3-view?module_item_id=970429>.

Week 2 - The Intertwining of Mathematics and Art

Only when closely examining mathematics and art as one, can their intertwining similarities be recognized. As Farsi and Craft state in their article One in Two, Two in One: Mathematics and the Arts, “….it is clear that both disciplines share a wonderful creative aspect. While the external expressions and techniques of art and mathematics could not be more different, the fundamental creativity required to be practitioners is central to both disciplines”.

(Figure 1 The Golden Ratio can even been
 seen in the famous Mona Lisa)

Farsi and Craft believe that art and mathematics form a type of “harmony” when put together.  The Golden Ratio is a key example of something that has harmoniously combined both disciplines. Many artists have proportioned their works using the golden ratio because it is believed this proportion is aesthetically pleasing. As Professor Vesna points out in Lecture, one famous painting done according to the golden ratio was the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci. In order to draw attention to the face, Leonardo used the intersection of the golden rectangles incorporated into his painting as a focal point. 

(Figure 2 Mandelbrot Fractal)

Some artists who may not appreciate mathematics may not even realize they are incorporating symmetry, geometry and measurements into their pieces. Although these simple mathematical concepts are universal in the art world, the truly great pieces tend to utilize more complex mathematical tools, such as the Golden Ratio mentioned above. For example, one type of art that utilizes multiple complex mathematical tools is Fractal art. As seen in the Fractals-Mandelbrot video, Fractal Artwork involves imputing mathematical formulas into the computer to produce beautiful pieces of digital art.

(Figure 3 How the stock market was
depicted as a spiral in the Fibonacci,
Fractals, and Financial Markets video)

Although the connection of math and art can be hard to see, I would have to agree with Farsi and Craft and say “like the yin/yang symbol, art and mathematics are really one in two, and two in one”. Mathematics has given art uncountable tools to create masterpieces, and art has helped mathematicians see math in a multitude of lights. For example, spirals have proved beneficial to Socioeconomics according to the Fibonacci, Fractals and Financial Markets video which states that the “idealized depiction of a stock markets progress can be seen as a spiral…”.

Researching the relationship between mathematics and art has shed light on how blinded I was prior to this class. Now, everywhere I look I see how much mathematics is entangled in our everyday lives. In architecture. In science. In nature. In art. Its  presence is almost overwhelming…

Works Cited

Craft, D., and C. Farsi. "One in Two, Two in One: Mathematics and the Arts." . University of Colorado. Web. 14 Oct 2013. <http://staff.washington.edu/rockne/math-art.pdf>.

Fibonacci, Fractals and Financial Markets - Socionomics.net. Socionomic Institute, 1997. Youtube. 13 Oct 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RE2Lu65XxTU>.

Figure 1. Da Vinci, Leonardo. Mona Lisa. 2002. Painting. Coastal Style. Web. 13 Oct 2013. <http://www.coastal-style.com/mona-lisa.html>.

Figure 2. Fractals, Fantastic. Mandelbrot Fractal. 2007. Graphic. Fantastic FractalsWeb. 13 Oct 2013. <http://www.fantastic-fractals.com/Mandelbrot-Fractals.html>.

Figure 3. Figure 1. Fibonacci, Fractals and Financial Markets - Socionomics.net. Socioeconomics. YouTube. Socioeconomics. Web. 13 October 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RE2Lu65XxTU>.

Fractals - Mandelbrot. Fractint Development Team, Youtube. 13 Oct 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ivRQDbAduoM>.

Vesna, Victoria. “Math + Art.” Lecture 2. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.

Week 1 - The Two Sides of the Educational Spectrum

It has been decades since C.P. Snow blamed the educational systems for widening the gap between literary intellectuals and scientists. However, the debate about whether these two cultures are still divided is continuously being discussed. 

(Figure 1 Sir Ken Robinson made this statement
during his Changing Educational Paradigm video.)

This idea, of Two Cultures residing on polar ends of the educational system, is something I relate to deeply. Throughout my schooling, I have noticed that the curriculum seems geared toward pushing students to one end of the educational spectrum or the other in order to ensure the work force in the future economy remains diverse and productive.

Going through America’s rigorous educational system, I have always felt burdened with an immense pressure to find a financially stable, yet suitable career. However, after a while I found that the best, or easiest, way to smother that gnawing anxiety about my future was to place my focus into just one academic field. Besides, where could I even find the time to study other fields? 

Honestly, I never even considered the possibility that I could be successful in several fields. Since creativeness never came easily, I felt the only chance I had at success was to enter into the only remaining field: the sciences.

(Figure 2 This Cartoon depicts the need for a change
 in the way General Educational courses are run in America.)

Although Snow states that America’s Educational System has been more successful since its curriculum encompasses all the academic fields, I strongly believe that the system is still majorly flawed. Despite any attempts at making each field equal, the idea of superior fields still weaves its way into the system. Coming to UCLA the idea of two truly separate cultures was further reinforced. Although the requirement of General Education classes makes a small attempt at bridging the gap, the bridge is only weakened by the campus separation and the dreaded feeling of taking classes outside of one’s comfort zone.

One last debatable and convincing statement that has been hammered into my being is stated perfectly by Tom Ashbrook in a Humanities Studies Debate: “Should American students throw their resources, their minds, their futures, into the ancient pillars of learning…Or are those somehow less relevant, less urgent studies today in a hyper-competitive global economy?” I can’t help but feel torn between my two fears: wasting my schooling on a less promising academic field and regret about not expanding my knowledge to all fields.

(Figure 3 This images depicts that the process to obtain a
Humanities PHD is long and does not guarantee a job.)

Works Cited

Ashbrook, Tom. On Point with Tom Ashbrook. Trustees of Boston University, 2013. Web. 6 October 2013.

Changing Education Paradigms. Perf. Sir Ken Robinson. YouTube. Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. Web. 6 October 2013.<http://youtu.be/zDZFcDGpL4U>.

Figure 1. Changing Education Paradigms. Perf. Sir Ken Robinson. YouTube. Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. Web. 6 October 2013. <http://youtu.be/zDZFcDGpL4U>.

Figure 2. Chelsea Myers. Graphic Design.6 October 2013. http://www.themaneater.com/stories/2010/3/19/general-education-requirements-need-change/

Figure 3. Lisa Wade. Graphic Design. 6 October 2013. http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2010/04/27/debt-time-and-the-job-market-for-humanities-phds/

Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1961. Print.

Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between.” Leonardo 34.2 (2001): 121-25. Web. 6 October 2013.