Week 9 : Space and Art

This week I examined the relationship between Space and Art, which I found really interesting considering space is one of the most misunderstood and ambiguous concepts in this world. There’s so much that we don’t know and through art we try to understand what we can. Space is infinite and that mere fact is what makes it hard for me to understand really how big it is. But what really made this easier to understand for me was the video of Power of Ten.

The Power of Ten video really put into perspective how small we really are and how insignificant we are in relation to space. “The Power of 10 is instilling a real sense of purpose and value that has witnessed greater depth and higher standards in the vast majority of events across all age groups.”(1) I thought that a simple 10^20 we are completely outside of our galaxy, I would’ve never thought it would get that big. Then after going outside of the galaxy and into the orbits of other planets the video zoomed back in into the human’s hand and zoomed all the way in to the simple carbon atom, the beginning of life. The video really put into perspective of the importance of the word termed “space”.

I also found it very interesting that the first beings to go to space were dogs so that scientists could  observe any changes that would happen in space. Animals have actually taught us a lot about space that humans couldn’t do quite yet, which was surprising to me.

What interested me most in the relationship of space and art is how many movies and tv show have stemmed from it. It has continued to be a top topic in the world of media because it is so broad and can really go anywhere with it. Some examples include Star Wars, Star Trek, and the cartoon The Jetsons, all very different in their approach.

"About Power of 10." About Power of 10. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2015.

"Animals in Space." Animals in Space. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2015.

"Star Wars (film)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 31 May 2015.

Vesna , Victoria, dir. Space Part 1. 2012. Film. 31 May 2015. <

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2O5C0Iv6ROo#!>

Vesna , Victoria, dir. Space Part 3. 2012. Film. 31 May 2015. <

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xCvFdfjj404!>

EVENT TWO: Hammer Museum // May 24, 2015

The second event that I attended was the Hammer Museum here in our hometown of Westwood. I have walked by this museum so many times and continued to walk because I have never thought of myself as enjoying an art museum just for fun, and now that I’ve visited, I’m disappointed that I hadn’t visited sooner. As soon as you walk in the museum there’s this automatic serene feel with the courtyard in the middle where I played in the chairs for a while.

There’s a large selection of artists to see and in wandering around the exhibits Charles Gaines exhibit really intrigued me. I generally see myself as more of a math person than an artistic person and his use of math and numbers in his artwork is really what interested me and I was able to connect with his artwork a lot easier than normal paintings.

His thought process to his art is unlike many artists. He calls his work Gridwork and it’s truly incredible to see in person. He integrates math and numbers into his artwork to create what was once a black and white image underneath to a very colorful tree scape. The thought process was something else in reading about how he created these images; “Each vertical axis depicts them in numeric order beginning with zero at the center axis to form the trunk of the tree. As the numbers branch outward, each horizontal line depicts them in numeric order, allowing the artist to explore the links between color, representation, and meaning.”

Another part of the exhibit I found very interesting and found a connection in the class was the exhibit that had a variety of different artists but they were structures that helped solve architectural questions. The one I focused on was the structure that answered, “Can a building help change the way we learn?” The structure itself was created to make learning easier in an environment that was more learning friendly with round rooms that stack in a tower with a common area in the middle for student activities and a “spirit of openness”.

After visiting this museum I will definitely be going back. It opened a new appreciation for the arts for me.

Me in front of the Charles Gaines exhibit

EVENT ONE: International Surfing Museum, Huntington Beach // May 22, 2015

The first event that I attended was the International Surfing Museum in Huntington Beach and I learned a lot about the history of surfing. Growing up near the beach and going surfing with my dad on the weekends I was very interested in attending this museum. When visiting Huntington beach during the summers growing up, I had always walked past this museum but now after learning to appreciate more subjects throughout this class I was happy that I was able to truly appreciate the content inside.

Me at the International Surfing Museum 

It was a lot smaller than I had orginally thought but what was interesting to read about was the history and development of surfing and body surfing and how each of them developed to what we know and love today. What interested me the most was the evolution of the surfboard, not only with how it was built, but also with how the culture changed along with the different structures of the surfboards.

As I walked into the museum there are different structures of surfboards on the walls and the history and stories about them with it. The most interesting surfboard to me was the very first one, it was truly a work of art and changed the game for competitive surfing from then on. George Freeth competed on the original surfboard model and is now considered a legend in the surfing world. 

 

In the back of the museum is an exhibit on how a surfboard today is shaped and how much work and thought is put in to creating a work of art that we know as surfboards. It was really interesting to see the love for the surfing community and the art of surfing in this small museum that is run by volunteers and donations.

The exhibit of shaping of surfboards (photographed is my friend Kelsey)

Week 8 : NanoTech & Art

This week’s topic of Nanotechnology and its relation to art has been the hardest topic for me to understand so far. Through watching the lectures and reading the provided links I still had a hard time thinking about how I can better understand it, so I looked up a general definition which stated, “Nanotechnology- the manipulation of matter on an atomic, molecular, an supramolecular scale.” What made is click for me was the manipulation of matter part of the definition, this is how artists use nanotechnology in their work, like Prof Vesna said in an article I read, "This new science is about a shift in our perception of reality from a purely visual culture to one based on sensing and connectivity".

I thought that the use of nanotechnology in food was really interesting in the ways they used it and the controversies behind it. What interested me the most was their ways of changing food characteristics using nanotechnology. By using nanoparticles its possible to provide vitamins and nutrients in food and beverages without changing the taste of the food or appearance, by doing this it is actually more beneficial because it goes into the bloodstream. Another concept similar to this that I thought was really interesting is what Dr. Gimzewski talked about in lecture 6 about the “Slim Shake Chocolate,” a low calories drink that uses nanoparticles for flavoring to keep the calories down. Instead of using real flavor of cocoa and sugar the product uses the silica nanoparticles and coat those with flavor, so you think that you’re drinking a chocolate shake but really you’re just tasting the coating on those nanoparticles, keeping it low calories. Although there is a lot of controversy and little research on whether it’s actually okay for you, its opening up a whole new window in diet foods which we may see in the future.

There is little really understood about nanotechnology, but it sure has impacted many fields and I expect to see it and develop more in fields eventually changing things as we know it.

"Can Art Make Nanotechnology Easier to Understand?" National Geographic. National Geographic Society, n.d. Web. 24 May 2015.

"Nanotechnology." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 May 2015.

"Nanotechnology in the Food Industry." Nanotechnology in the Food Industry. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2015.

"The Art of Nanotech." Bits The Art of Nanotech Comments. N.p., 25 Jan. 2008. Web. 24 May 2015.

Vesna, Victoria. Nanotechnology and Art. Lecture. Video