Med Tech + Art

This week's material was about how human body and science are related. Professor Vensa especially focused how human being and medicine changed or generated over time with the effect of technology. She talks about Gunther hagens who started the exhibition of human bodies and body parts to show anatomical structures by mentioning "Body Worlds". The first impression of the "Body Worlds" was kind of scary because each body shows the muscle instead of pure skin. I was unfamiliar with this topic but soon I found interesting that the visible human project has a specific information of body parts. It is a happy feature of a misfortune that we see people's skin instead of muscle system. The visible human project has a specific information of body parts and each human figure seems so real. The professor also commented that the visible human project has been inspiring many artists for creating so many art works.

The lecture part 3 video captured my sight the most which talked about plastic surgery and human's so-called arm the robotic arm. Its origin was from the war(especially WWI) and medical need. People's skin was wounded and bleeding. Therefore, people restore wounded and bleeding skin by putting other part of their skin for example forehead skin or fat.

The example of how people used plastic surgery during WWI

We could see how technology has been developed through such use. For the ones who did not have arms or legs, people made robotic arms and legs instead for their convenient uses. People began to invent robotic arms and attached to their arms according to their need and uses. Da Vinci surgical robot which is also known as the third hand. Basically, the third machine hand can follow the real moving hand write. I was also surprised to see one professor who tested himself to inject the chip. The "Cyborg test" gave me a shock that the robotics are really one part of human lives.

http://images.sciencedaily.com/2007/07/070706140906-large.jpg

http://www.dekaresearch.com/deka_arm.shtml

The human therapy was involved through such inventions and works. The treatments led the medicine uses which became the norm in human culture. Moreover, the plastic surgery began to be used for beauty and appearance. What can be the art piece was how plastic surgery was heavily and unconsciously embedded in out culture and society.

before the plastic surgery, a doctor marks where to "lift, fill, and plump" <http://www.bernardhealth.com/woofstreetjournal/bid/124712/Health-Savings-Account-Q-A-Can-I-use-my-HSA-for-Plastic-Surgery>

There is an example of how this technology was formed through art works. It is plastic surgery that does decorate human's features so we can call it a piece of art work. However, to be honest I do not hope to see too many people depending on beauty and appearance because it was first used as a medical use which was from the WWI. Sometimes we should keep our original characteristic as human beings if we use plastic surgery only for visual way or looks.

Resources and citations

Vesna, Victoria. “Http://www.youtube.com/v/Ep0M2bOM9Tk.” Lecture. Medicine pt1 . Youtube, 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep0M2bOM9Tk>.

Vesna, Victoria. “Http://www.youtube.com/v/FIX-9mXd3Y4.” Lecture. Medicine pt3. Youtube, 22 Apr. 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIX-9mXd3Y4>.

Vesna, Victoria. “Http://www.youtube.com/v/psjnQarHOqQ.” Lecture. Medicine pt2 . Youtube, 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psjnQarHOqQ>.

Christophe Luxereau. Future; no future. October 23, 2013. Website. <http://www.cuberevue.com/en/future-no-future/1109>

Warwick, Kevin. The University of Reading. May 2013. Web. <http://www.kevinwarwick.org/index.asp>

Robotics + Art

At first, I had no idea that the printing system was originally established by Chinese. Chinese people first invented the printing press. The spread of printing technology helped people to print newspapers, books, and other documents. The metal movable type was the dynamic invention that leads to the mass production. Later, the invention has developed to make its work precise and rapid. One of the best examples of the American industry was automobiles and especially Henry Ford improved the technique of this particular motor system to massive revolutionary transportation. However, Tayloism played an important role of representing the harsh labor. 

Ford assembly line, 1913. The magneto assembly line was the first. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_production>

While the mechanization of labor was placed in the field, the cyborgs, half human and half robot were introduced. They were easy to be found in movies where people can express their imagination without the limit to the point where the robots and humans are existed together. Karl Capek disagree with this idea of robots replacing humans responsibilities by stating how it will be horrified that humans are overestimating robots. Japanese invention of robots is highly known among robotic field. The professor Machiko Kusahara mentioned that the robots are made to have friendly manner and appearance instead of brutal or powerful models.The robots they talk about are made of purposes that they are looking for helping and kind figures to humans. The video of "homeless robot" was really interesting that the homeless seem really like a person. We can see how robot system is unconsciously embedded in our reality. It was amazing to see how humans invented robots that resemble to the human themselves.

Dirt: The Homeless Robot
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5HfmKXfp394>


 It is easy to find from the movies. Let's compare the two movies that have robots for their main characters. First, the terminator is a famous movie with the man who is not hundred percent human but is powerful with his non-human power that scares the real human. Second of all, there is "Wall-E" shows how robots have emotions like humans do. Humans are abandoned in this movie and this movie depicts how robots fall in love showing emotions and thoughts by robots.

   

Robots are both biological and artificial and are the result of collaboration of artists, engineers, and scientists. Therefore, the new era of robots are slowly binding into the industry coping with the human culture.




Sources

Vensa, Victoria. Robotics Part 1 Lecture. Cole UC online. Youtube, Apr 15 2012. Web.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRw9_v6w0ew#t=719>

Vensa, Victoria. Robotics Part 2 Lecture. Cole UC online. Youtube, Apr 15 2012. Web.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAZ8bo9T_Pk>

“Wall-E: Science, Art and the Meaning of Life.” Web log post. The Science Bit. WordPress, 1 Jan. 2012. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. <http://nbarrie.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/wall-e-science-art-and-the-meaning-of-life/>

“Traces: Henry Ford.” Traces. N.p.. Web. 18 Oct 2012. <http://www.traces.org/henryford.html>
Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Marxists. N.p.. Web. 18 Oct 2012. <http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm>.

Robotics MachikoKusahara, Lecture Video, Apr 14 2012. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQZ_sy-mdEU#t=981>.

Event 1 The Cardiac Dance: The Spirals of Life

On the October 9th, there was one event called "The Cardiac Dance: The Spiral of Life" in the CNSI building. The title captured my sight because I was interested in the combination of heart and dancing. I was surprised to see how the heart and the dance related to the medical field. Even though I am not from the south campus at UCLA, I was looking forward to it.

 

Dr. Buckberg was the one who introduced the topic and gave us explanations of the cardiac dance. Before the actual video of dancing, I was amazed at how people used art and science together, for example, building a spiral-shaped staircase inside of a tower in Barcelona. The main idea was to "return to nature" which connects to the "heart". Paco Torrent Guasp was an artist, scientist, and also an architect who made wonderful buildings and structures. While he studied and explored the spirals and folding, the idea of simplicity of nature came to his mind which later became the root of "heart".

 

The cardiac dance represents the spirals of life. The heart is made of just one single rope that you can fold and wrap to make a heart shape. The normal conical and dilated sphere together make the shape of football. The video depicts how the heart narrows, shortens, lengthens, widens, twists, and untwists. The dancers were holding the wide string or rope that symbolizes the heart. The cardiac dance itself was a beauty of art and science. While I was watching the video, the materials we learned about the combination of art and science helped my understanding of how nature art and science were working together  like assembling the puzzle. The following quote was the most memorable part of this event, "Nature is simple, scientists are complicated." Moreover, Dr. Buckberg also commented that the heart surgery operation is successful using this idea of twisting and untwisting. Sometimes, we have to believe how the nature provides easy and simple ways to human beings.

Math + Art unit 2

"Everyone single one of us has a genius in us." This quote first captured my sight from the lecture video. It was by R. B. Fuller and he commented that each person has his or her own talent which shows how each being is so special and important. I connected his idea to the influence of mathematics, art, and science. Each category has a unique characteristic.

First, let's talk about mathematics. Mathematics is simply defined as a study of relationships of numbers presenting generalization, organization, combination, symbols, measurements, and so on. Some uses this simple subject as a language. In addition, the number zero is not only defined as a historical aspect of number, but also meant empty space in interpretation. Through the various usage of numbers and symbols, some artists have created art.
The golden ratio is introduced in this week's material. Many mathematicians including Euclid have researched the process of golden ratio.



"Approximate and true golden spirals. The green spiral is made from quarter-circles tangent to the interior of each square, while the re-spiral is a Golden Spiral, a special type of logarithmic spiral. Overlapping portions appear yellow. The length of the side of one square divided by that of the next smaller square is the golden ratio."

It gives understanding of human body relationship with using the mathematics. The famous example by Leonardo Da Vinci is shown below.



















The Vitruvian Man (c. 1485) Accademia, Venice




The drawing of a man's body in a pentagram suggests relationships to the golden ratio


You can also find another example from the floor cover with square tiles with vanishing point on it.

A geodesic sphere

*Images from wikipedia


One of Maximilian Cohen's statements, it says "everything around us can be represented and understand through numbers." It is really amazing how math can be explained and further it makes art and science. Like what he said, we can add to justify what is juxtaposition. Juxtaposition is the tool or the way that help us to link mat, art, and science better. As each category develops, we see the relationship of these three special subjects as more interesting achievements and technology processes.

Sites & Sources
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>.

Wikipedia contributors. “Leonardo da Vinci.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 9 Oct. 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.
Wikipedia contributors. “Golden ratio.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Web. 8 Oct. 2013.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio>.

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

Henderson, Lynda. “The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art.” N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. <https://cole.uconline.edu/content>.

Vensa, Victoria. "Math + Art Lectures Math Intro." Cole UC online. Youtube, 26 March, 2012. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHiL9iskUWM>.

unit 1 blog

When I first read the blog assignment question, I recalled the moment when my friends and I argue about the majors in the freshman year of UCLA. People who declared science related majors had their own pride and others who had letters and science majors did not give up the argument about their own and distinct characteristics. I currently have my classes at north campus while my friends who are pre-med had no chance to visit north campus side unless they have English classes that are mandatory to finish. At UCLA, it has been common to ask which campus they belong to instead of asking their destination on campus. 

The Sculpture Garden at North Campus, UCLA

The Center of South Campus, UCLA

 Everyone at UCLA has a title called the students but they have diverse and distinct majors.

C. P. Snow introduces the article called “The Two Cultures” which is about his opinion based on the two cultures, the humanities and the science. He comments how this division causes a problem that they do not become a combination, rather just two different things that are indifferent to each other. This symptom was formed from the lack of understanding regarding education. One goal is needed to make harmony between art and science to help further generation. However, more stories about the third culture had been published. Especially these days, technology has a great massive effect on the world. Technology approached the art world and formed the third culture. If there were to be a fourth culture, i hope to see "harmonization" for next generation where all diverse sources combine and complete the puzzle.

One example of Art and technology combination from http://www.eikongraphia.com/?p=1430

Sources

Snow, C. P. “Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution.” Reading. 1959. New York: Cambridge UP, 1961. Print.

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

Brockman, John. “Match making with science and art” (2011). Web.

Wilson, Stephen D. “Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology.” College Art Association Meetings. New York, New York. 1 Oct. 2012. Lecture

Kelly, Kevin. "The Third Culture". 2013. Web. <http://edge.org/conversation/the-third-kelly>

F. Dyson, Imagined Worlds (Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, MA, 1997).Volume 279, Number 5353 Issue of 13 February 1998, pp. 992 - 993