Week 9: The Next Great Adventure

Star Wars Poster

This week’s topic, Space and Art, was an eye-opening lecture for me. Most people have, at one time, been fascinated with the idea of exploring new worlds and travelling through space. Under the influence of modern science fiction, space exploration has been glamorized and fantasized about for years.

Heliocentric Model

I’ve also gone through my phase of “space-fascination,” enamored by various science fiction novels and media, including Star Wars and Doctor Who. As a result, it was truly interesting to learn more about modern space technology and its origins, ranging from Copernicus’s Heliocentric Model (Universe Today) to the relatively contemporary idea of a “space elevator” (BBC).

The birth of NASA also appeared to be a starting point for revolutionary technological growth (NASA); it was only under NASA that the United States was able to extend its reach into the stars. But space exploration was not without its dangers. On several occasions, astronauts have been known to have died in their line of work, such as the loss of the Columbia (History).

The space shuttle Endeavor, taking its final flight

However, despite these setbacks, space exploration is growing more than ever; commercial space travel is no longer a fleeting thought. Virgin Galactic is working towards building a new tomorrow, with space travel on the horizon (Virgin Galactic).  I’m pretty surprised that we’ve come this far, and I am definitely excited to see what will become of humanity in the future, as space exploration only serves to improve more and more.

Sources:

"Columbia Disaster." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 1 June 2015.

"Heliocentric Model." Universe Today. 22 June 2009. Web. 1 June 2015.

NASA. NASA. Web. 1 June 2015.

"Should We Give up on the Dream of Space Elevators?" BBC. Web. 1 June 2015.

"Virgin Galactic, the World's First Commercial Spaceline." Virgin Galactic. Web. 1 June 2015.

Event #2: Waste Matters: You Are My Future by Kathy High

A picture of me with the guy making sure I don't steal the exhibits

In a secret room of CNSI on May 6^th, 2015, a mysterious fusion of art and science both astounded and disgusted me. I am speaking about Kathy High’s exhibit, “Waste Matters: You Are My Future,” in which High combines immune system functions and intestine biomes with art to generate a new perspective.

Poop a La Honey

One such piece was her unique usage of honey as a preservative; there have been several instances where honey from centuries – if not millennia – have been discovered, perfectly fine and edible. High demonstrates honey’s unique preservation by preserving various fecal samples in glass. Inspired by her own circumstances as a patient with Crohn’s disease, High creates art by combining images of intestines with images of children to stress the everyday reliance humans have on their interior – albeit sometimes disgusting – systems.

Intestines and humans, eternally linked

Kathy High’s art is an example of a “third culture,” as described by lecture 2. In short, she combines both scientific methods of preservation and the scientific idea of interior self-reliance with art to spread her knowledge and make her point. Furthermore, she references the topics of Week 4, anatomy, in her study of the relationships between bacteria and intestines. Her focus, the use of fecal microbial transplants and gut biomes, are also related to Week 6’s topic, biotechnology. Suffering from Crohn’s disease, High’s research into her own safety brought about her new artistic focus and a method by which she can be cured. 

Source: 

http://artsci.ucla.edu/?q=events/exhibition-waste-matters-you-are-my-future

Event #1: Making Strange: Gagawaka + Postmortem by Vivan Sundaram

Women's undergarments become...overgarments

I visited the UCLA Fowler Museum on May 1^st to view Sundaram’s exhibit, “Making Strange.” And strange it was, filled with clothing that may border – in some people’s perspectives – on the fine line between trash and eccentric art. Interestingly enough, Sundaram’s exhibit is composed of twenty-seven individual clothing garments created from recycled materials and medical supplies. Ranging from eerie to interestingly fashionable, these clothes share a basis with the course’s focus on the human body, the subject of Week 4’s lectures.  An image on the wall of the building stated, “Sundaram’s audacious line of haute couture […] points to the inseparability of fashion, or clothing, and the human body.”

Filled with pills and also a body

Sundaram takes his art even further, combining medical supplies, which are inevitably linked to the human body, with his art. The use of materials such as pill wrappers to create clothing reminded me of the Body Worlds exhibition I attended several years ago, in which medical technology is used to accentuate the human body. In Sudaram’s case, the relation between clothing and the human body only serves to emphasize how much time he – as an artist – has put into learning anatomy, a key point in Week 4’s lecture.

Is it hair? Or is it a wig?

Overall, I enjoyed this exhibit, but I was a little – or maybe a lot – shocked by the materials Sundaram used to create his clothing, such as a hair-like substance that was either a wig or a hair. However, I think that this exhibit serves as a good commentary on several points that people are trying to emphasize nowadays: recycling, the relationship between the body and medicine and the inseparability of clothing and the human body. 

A picture of me with the security guard. (I'm the taller one).

Website: 

http://www.fowler.ucla.edu/exhibitions/making-strange-gagawaka-postmortem-vivan-sundaram

THEY'RE EVERYWHERE

They’re everywhere. In the air, in the ground, in the water… even in the food we eat and the clothes we wear. What, you ask? This week’s topic: nanoparticles.

Graphene, an artificial nanoparticle that is surprisingly durable.

I suppose I was as surprised as the next person to learn that nanoparticles are everywhere – literally everywhere. I had always known that nanotechnology has been on the rise; I mean, the technology we use is getting smaller and smaller. We no longer need to have a giant boulder as a computer. We now have laptops and the even smaller notebooks. Phones are no longer the giant rectangles you see in old war films. We now have little, efficient handheld devices with more processing power than some not-so-distant computers (I mean, honestly, my phone runs faster than the computer my family was using up until the beginning of this decade).

Nanoparticle research is performed even by cosmetics comapnies!

What surprised me, however, was that nanotechnology – and nanoparticles – have been present in our society to such a large degree. For example, Dr. Gimzewski mentioned that Loreal, a major cosmetics company, is currently researching nanoparticles for their products and is one of the world leaders in nanotechnology patents (Helix).

A pretty neat diagram of how a STM (scanning tunneling microscope) works.

Feynman was ahead of his time, it seems. He predicted the shift in current technology, and even gave a decent estimation as to the natural role of nanoparticles in organic systems (Feynman). This could not have been possible without the use of the scanning tunneling microscope, which allowed scientists to actually analyze particles (Nanoscience Instruments, Inc). The creation of man-made carbon structures by usage of nanoparticles only served to prove the efficiency, and it soon became apparent that nanoparticles were already abundant in nature. Carmelized foods, for example, have carbon nanoparticles (grist.org). Many companies are taking advantage of the efficiency of nanoparticles in providing minerals and vitamins to our modern, limited diet.

Should we worry about nanoparticles? I, for one, will not. Many are natural, and those that are man-made are already spread out in food, vitamins, cosmetic products and more to the point where it may be difficult to discern their presence. However, you can always perform your own research into products if you’re worried about nanoparticle influence. Perhaps they’ve already taken root in our lives, providing external stimulants to our cells and triggering new types of DNA methylation – and, by extension, gene expression – from the very day we enter the world and take our first meal of baby formula. Maybe that’s why our current generations are getting bigger, faster and stronger. Maybe that’s why our athletes continue to break records and set new limits, despite the pure impossibility of some of these feats. Or maybe that’s just the effects of a healthy diet and proper exercise.  Only time will tell.

"Helix Magazine." Nanotechnology and the Science of Beauty. Web. 25 May 2015.

Feynman, Richard. "Feynman's Talk." Feynman's Talk. Web. 25 May 2015.

Malcolm, Chris. Art in the Age of Nanotechnology. Bentley, WA: John Curtin Gallery, 2010. Print.

"Nanoparticles in Your Food? You're Already Eating Them." Grist. 3 Dec. 2012. Web. 25 May 2015.

"Nanoscience Instruments, Inc." Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Overview. Web. 25 May 2015.

Degrees of Separation

This week’s lecture on the relationship between neuroscience and art was very insightful. Life is a culmination of obscurities and the unknown and at the forefront stands the mysteries of the mind. Professor Vesna, in her lecture, made a very good point: where does the brain stop and the mind begin? Where is the endpoint of the biology and beginnings of the consciousness?

Different regions of the brain (with different functions!)

These are all questions posed well before my time by many wiser – and by the sheer number of dissections, bolder – than I am. Gall was able to discern the natural compartmentalization of the brain and even created his “phrenology,” perhaps in an attempt to solidify his findings (The History of Phrenology on the Web). Regardless, Gall was able to create a hypothesis that was far ahead of his time, with nothing more than a scalpel.

Jung took analysis even further, insisting on his archetypes and stating that dreams – and the unconscious – were the source of creativity (Mostert). Even Freud, whose readings many of my psychology friends consider enjoyable, albeit outdated, has left a lasting impression in the neurosciences and, by extension, the psyche (Simple Psychology).

LSD-25 chemical structure

Neurochemicals, widely regarded as dangerous, was a surprisingly natural step to take in trying to decipher the mind. Through the various advocates of cocaine and LSD 25, it can be said that there presents an out-of-body experience when under the influence (LSD History).  

Perhaps, then, the mind and the body are not as separate as everyone believes them to be. If the body, influenced by neurochemicals, can induce hallucinogenic experiences that are most effective in the mind, the two should inevitably be linked. I enjoyed learning about the progression of neurosciences and tracking the development of the interpretation of the mind-body relationship over years of research.

Neuroculture - MRI butterfly-brain superimposed

I believe that, while the mind and body are surely linked, there still remains a certain void, a degree of separation, that lays between the two. I myself am not really sure how distant my mind is from my body, and just even beginning to think about it leaves me more confused than I was when I started. Artists such as Anker try to bring into reality the role of the brain by using examples like neuroculture, whereas scientists try to find conserved proteins in other species for potential analysis. Regardless, one thing is clear: the mind and body, while often considered individual entities, rely upon each other heavily for maintenance and well-being.

Frazzetto, G., and Anker, S. (2009). Neuroculture. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 10, 816-821.

"LSD History." History of LSD. Web. 18 May 2015.

Mostert, J. P. The Spiritual Problems of Modern Man in the Approaches of C.G. Jung and M. Eliade. [KwaDlangezwa]: [U of Zululand], 197. Print.

"The History of Phrenology on the Web." The History of Phrenology on the Web. Web. 18 May 2015.

"Sigmund Freud's Theories | Simply Psychology." Sigmund Freud's Theories | Simply Psychology. Web. 18 May 2015.

Of Superbugs and Bioart

 

The Infamous "Harlequin Coat"

Steichen's unique horticulture of delphiniums

Art, like life on this planet, appears to grow over time, adapting to the shifting opinions of the populace. Much like this growth of art, life itself adapts to the environment and populations evolve. The use of transgenics, mutations, recombinance and selective breeding act as a symbol for the development of the world itself. Orlan, for example, created the infamous “Harlequin Coat” to symbolize the unification of different races (Still Living, Symbiotica). Steichen and Gessert also bred flowers to generate their unique hybrid species (InsideOut), representative of the respective artists’ nature. Symbiotica itself is a representation of what they strive to achieve: a combination of different worlds to create something potentially amazing (Symbiotica). 

While we often separate art and technology in our minds, it appears that the two are always inexplicably linked. New technology always inspires the potential for new art based on those technologies. As opposed to other technologies, which are often viewed with seriousness and understanding for its potential to save lives, artistic technology is often seen as a joke. Even the professor mentions that scientists see Davis’s work in the artistic integration into the genome to be plain silly, regardless of his multiple art pieces such as the microvenus. Personally, I believe that, unless artists are trained properly to handle intensively dangerous bioorganisms, biotechnology restrictions should be more stringent towards artists. Kurtz, for example, should not have been culturing cells in a house, of all locations (New York Times). 

A "superbug" has the potential to resist antibiotic medication

Various types of cell growth techniques are reliant on utilizing antibiotic resistances, and mishandling of these techniques can result in the development of the feared “superbug,” resistant to nearly every type of antibiotic (Miller) and, as a result, potentially able to destroy human life faster than we are already destroying ourselves.

Sources:

"Charge Dropped Against Artist in Terror Case." The New York Times. The New York Times, 21 Apr. 2008. Web. 11 May 2015.

"EDWARD STEICHEN ARCHIVE: DELPHINIUMS BLUE (AND WHITE AND PINK, TOO)." InsideOut. Web. 11 May 2015.

Miller, Kelli. "Superbugs: What They Are and How You Get Them." WebMD. WebMD. Web. 11 May 2015.

"Still, Living." Symbiotica. Web. 11 May 2015.

"SymbioticA." : : The University of Western Australia. Web. 11 May 2015.