Unit 4: Medicine, Technology, and Art

From our learning from the previous unit, we've seen how technology has made robots and other machines more prevalent in our everyday lives. Although technology is more prevalent in the form of tools and helpers, we're beginning to see an increasing association of machines and the human body.

Prosthetic limbs have been around for centuries. For a long period of time they were treated solely as attachments to help people with missing limbs to carry on with their daily tasks. For the most part, people with prosthetic limbs were looked down upon. Recently, however, artists have taken to using prosthetics as a form of art and give their subjects a form of pride .

Anatomical Leg from the Alternative Limb Project

Technology has also found itself in our lives (literally) in the form of medical implants. There are small implants, like the RFID chip Dr. Kevin Warwick had implanted in his arm, that play a rather passive role in people's lives. More recently we've started to see a mix between medical implants and prosthetics. With developments in how we study signals sent through our nerves we have created bionic arms that can be controlled by the same signals that our natural arms are.

Brain-Controlled Limb from DARPA

In her TEDx talk, Diane Gromala describes the experience that virtual reality has on our body. With retinal implants, a similar concept can be applied to allow the blind to see again. For some people, what we can distinguish as a distinct difference between art and science must be blended together in order benefit their lives.

Retinal Implants that Use a Patient's Real Eyes

Despite the fear that some people have of machines and how far they've entered today's society, the incorporation of technology with the human body acts as a strong argument against that fear. Are we less human if we have an artificial limp or have a chip injected into our arms? It is another case of making our lives easier and using our own ingenuity to improve the lives of human beings.



References
Anatomical Leg. Digital image. The Alternative Limb Project: Imaginative and Bespoke Prosthetics. N.p., 2015. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.thealternativelimbproject.com/>.

Brain-Controlled Limb from DARPA. Digital image. Popular Science. Popular Science, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-08/building-my-dream-bionic-body?image=5>.

Curative Powers of Wet, Raw Beauty. Perf. Diane Gromala. YouTube. TEDx, 7 Dec. 2011. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRdarMz--Pw>.

"Kevin Warwick - Home Page." Kevin Warwick - Home Page. University of Reading, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.kevinwarwick.com/>.
Nosowitz, Dan. "State of the Bionic Art: The Best Replacements for My Flimsy Human Parts." Popular Science. Popular Science, 23 Aug. 2011. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-08/building-my-dream-bionic-body?image=5>.

Retinal Implants that Use a Patient's Real Eyes. Digital image. Popular Science. Popular Science, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-08/building-my-dream-bionic-body?image=5>.

Vesna, Victoria. “Http://www.youtube.com/v/Ep0M2bOM9Tk.” Lecture. Medicine pt1 . Youtube, 25 Apr. 2015. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep0M2bOM9Tk>.

Vesna, Victoria. “Http://www.youtube.com/v/psjnQarHOqQ.” Lecture. Medicine pt2 . Youtube, 25 Apr. 2015. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psjnQarHOqQ>.

Vesna, Victoria. “Http://www.youtube.com/v/FIX-9mXd3Y4.” Lecture. Medicine pt3. Youtube, 25 Apr. 2015. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIX-9mXd3Y4>.

Unit 3: Robotics & Art

Ever since the invention of the movable type, literature and art have been made easily available to the masses. Through the industrial revolution, machinery found more and more ways into everyday life. Although convenience was greatly improved, technological advancements in technical reproduction inadvertently introduced the concern of preserving uniqueness. As pointed out in Walter Benjamin's The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, "The presence of the original is the prerequisite to the concept of authenticity". For art, even though there may exist an "original", reproductions in the form of copies may decrease how special viewing a piece is. Instead of enjoying a minute details of the brushstrokes of a painting modern viewers may be satisfied by looking at a digital print of the same work.

Fine Art Giclee Print on Moab Entrada Paper vs. Original Watercolour on Strathmore cold press Paper

A relationship between advancement and authenticity can also present itself when we look at robotics - although it happens from a different perspective. As mentioned in the lectures, we've seen a movement towards robots that take on the semblance of living things. Whether it's humanoids or hexapods, humans are creating machines than resemble less and less the machines that normally come to mind.

Humanoid Robot

One example of this is Big Dog, created by Boston Dynamics. Although it is a large robot featuring sophisticated control systems, it is still built to resemble's man's best friend. The combination of a robot that helps humans (in this case, to carry heavy equipment) that is designed in a form we are all familiar with also shows how we are moving towards a greater fusion between technology and art.

Big Dog

References

Benjamin, Walter, and J. A. Underwood. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London: Penguin, 2008. Print.

Big Dog. Digital image. Boston Dynamics: Dedicated to the Science and Art of How Things Move. Boston Dynamics, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://www.bostondynamics.com/>.

"Boston Dynamics: Dedicated to the Science and Art of How Things Move." Boston Dynamics: Dedicated to the Science and Art of How Things Move. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015. <http://www.bostondynamics.com/robot_bigdog.html>.

Davis, Douglas. "The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction." Leonardo 28.5 (1995): 381-86. Print.

Duncan, Braden. Fine Art Giclee Print on Moab Entrada Paper vs. Original Watercolour on Strathmore Cold Press Paper. Digital image. Art Scene Seattle. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://art-scene-seattle.blogspot.com/2012/11/bfa-classiest-fine-art-scanning.html>.

Humanoid Robot. Digital image. Beach News. Beach News, 13 Feb. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://beach-news.com/interview-humanoid-robot/>.

"Micromagic Systems Robotics Lab." Micromagic Systems Robotics Lab. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015. <http://www.hexapodrobot.com/index.html>.

Norman, Jeremy. "From Gutenberg’s Movable Type to the Digital Book, and Other Studies in the History of Media." Relating the Rapidly Changing Present to the Distant Past as Far as Book History Is Concerned. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://Fwww.historyofinformation.com/Fnarrative/Findex.php>.

Unit 2: Math + Art

Through the advancements and increased availability of technology, we have seen a move away two distinct cultures towards one where the fields of art and science have become intermingled. Even though the two disciplines seem to have completely different backgrounds, they manage to converge towards the same ideas.

As highlighted by American artist Tony Robbin, "[w]e are not in the least surprised, however, to find physicists and mathematicians working simultaneously on... a four dimensional space" (Henderson, 209). Although their reasoning and uses may be different, artists and scientists can be fascinated and driven to explore the same subject. On one hand, scientists use the fourth dimension to explain how the physics of the universe while artists are able to use it to represent new ways of thinking (as is the case with Edwin Abbott and his work Flatland).

Flatland by Edwin Abbott

Examples can be found everywhere. The Mobius Strip, which started off as a mathematical concept of a single-sided surface, has been used both as a model in engineering as well as a focus in art. On one hand, it is a basis for designs of conveyor belts and circuit elements while on the other hand it is a subject of exploration for artists like M.C. Escher.

Mobius Strip II (Red Ants)  

Another example, and perhaps one that interests me more, is the subject of fractal geometry. With the help of technology, artists are able to create works that would not have been possible 50 years ago. At the same time, fractal geometry, found in modern-day antennas, are what enable our cell phones to be small yet powerful.

Fractal Art

People in the fields of arts and sciences are constantly finding new ways to take concepts in math and use them in their own terms. Considering what's already been done I'm curious on what we will see next.


References
Abbott, Edwin Abbott. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1963. Print.

"African Fractals." African Fractals. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2015. <http://www.ccd.rpi.edu/Eglash/csdt/african/African_Fractals/>.

Escher, M. C. Mobius Strip II (Red Ants). Digital image. The Mathematic Art of M.C. Escher. Platonic Realms, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2015. <http://platonicrealms.com/minitexts/Mathematical-Art-Of-M-C-Escher/>.

Fractal Art Wallpaper. Digital image. Fractal Art Wallpaper HD. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2015. <http://galleryhip.com/fractal-art-wallpaper-hd.html>.

Henderson, Linda D. "The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion." Leonardo 17.3 (1984): 205-10. Web.

"The Fourth Dimension." The Fourth Dimension. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2015. <http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/cl/tb4d.htm>.

"The Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher." The Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2015. <http://platonicrealms.com/minitexts/Mathematical-Art-Of-M-C-Escher/>.

Unit 1: Two Cultures

In "The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution", C.P. Snow describes the idea of how intellectuals are split into two very different camps: the humanities and the sciences. Although Snow presented his ideas over 50 years ago, we can still see the divide created between these two cultures.
Looking at our campus here at UCLA, the existence of a North and South campus serves as a prominent example of two cultures. Both schools of thought mentally isolated from one another -- they are physically separated based on the geographical locations of their buildings. The difference between North and South Campus has evolved to the stage where both sides have jokes about the other and even their own shirts.

UCLA Main Campus Map

Today, the setting is much different compared to the 1950s and 60s. Although examples for the two cultures exist, we are gradually moving towards a compromise between the two as the world becomes more intermingled. As mentioned by Victoria Vesna in "Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between", technology has enabled artists to build a bridge between them and their scientist counterparts. These influences can be seen movements such as STEM to STEAM, where supporters (including the Rhode Island School of Design) call for the association of art and design with science, technology, math and engineering. 

STEM-TO-STEAM Movement Led By RISD’s John Maeda

As an engineering student, I would fall in the scientific category of the two cultures. My sister, who studies art, would on the other hand fall into the artist category. Do our different thought perspectives reflect our respective "cultures"? Sure. Does it create a divide between us or act as reason for us to be able unable to understand each other? I wouldn't say so.

Engineering IV Building

Citations

Engineering IV Building. Digital image. UCLA Energy & Propulsion Research Laboratory :: Facilities. UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering & Applied Science, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2015. <http://seas.ucla.edu/combustion/facilities/index.html>.

Map of the UCLA Main Campus. Digital image. UCLA - Earth Planetary and Space Sciences. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2015. <http://epss.ucla.edu/directions/map/>.

McCormick, Tim. STEM-TO-STEAM Movement Led By RISD’s John Maeda. Digital image. Tim McCormick. N.p., 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 05 Apr. 2015. <http://tjm.org/2012/12/20/public-library-of-humanities-envisioning-a-new-open-access-platform/stem-to-steam/>.

Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge UP, 1959. Print.

"STEM to STEAM." STEM to STEAM. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2015. <http://stemtosteam.org/>.

Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between." Leonardo 34 (2001): 121-25. Print.