Space + Art

There is definitely beauty exists in the space, because the development of the structures of the milkyway and galaxy are so abstracting and attractive to people nowadays. As more advanced technologies are invented, human beings are able to explore the space in depth and recognize the endless puzzles of it.
The first topic from the lecture is the buckyball, which is discovered by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. To form a solid particle, the buckyballs must stack together, as illustrated in this artist's concept showing the very beginnings of the process. The buckyball particles were spotted around a small, hot star -- a member of a pair of stars, called XX Ophiuchi, located 6,500 light-years from Earth. Next, the lecture jumps into atomic bombs, which was a crucial weapon during World War II, then expending to the cold war between the United States and Russia. Atomic bomb is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reaction either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. This explanation of art reminds me of high school's American History class, which emphasized on the cold war between the U.S. and Russia, and the competition between their nuclear weapons.

Lecture part 4 gave a brief introduction about the "first man" in the space and the moon. The first person entered space was Yuri Gagarin 1961 and the first person landed on the moon was Neil Armstrong in 1969.

While on the surface, the astronauts set up several experiments, collected samples of lunar soil and rock to bring home, erected a United States flag, and took core samples from the crust. And thanks to the three astronauts, human beings on earth are able to recognize the structure, composition and utility of the moon. The beauty and the puzzle of an other planet was entirely revealed, and such development significantly pushed people's recognition of space and art.

More space knowledge and beauty are presented by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), President Eisenhower established the NASA in 1958 with a distinctly civilian orientation encouraging peaceful applications in space science. The National Aeronautics and Space Act was passed on July 29, 1958, disestablishing NASA's predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics(NACA). The new agency became operational on October 1, 1958. A trip to NASA really taught me a lot of knowledge that I would have never known about the space and aircrafts.

In the last lecture, several movies and TV productions are introduced and change our focus from science to entertainment. Indeed, without the exploration of the space, movies such as 'The Core,' 'Gravity' and 'Tomorrow' would have appeared. To summarize the past few weeks of lectures, arts exist everywhere, and more unexplored misery is awaiting us to develop!

Sources：
1. Vesna, Victoria. "Lecture Part 1." Space Art | Lectures. University of California Online. Los Angeles, . Lecture.
2. Military Wallpaper. N.d. Photograph. Crazy Frankenstein Web. 29 Nov 2013. <http://crazy-frankenstein.com/free-wallpapers-files/military/atomic-bomb-wallpapers/in-city-atomic-bomb-military-wallpapers-1024x768.jpg>.
3. beanz2u, . First Moon Landing 1969. N.d. video. Youtube.comWeb. 29 Nov 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMINSD7MmT4>.
4. NASA, . United States. Web. <http://www.nasa.gov/>.
5. NASA Looking To Commercial Sector For New Technology And Materials. 2013. Photograph. AERO NewsnetworkWeb. 29 Nov 2013. <http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=d3c22702-66c9-4c76-8ede-97aad1d1eed7>.

Nanotech + Art

This week's lecture starts with the definition of nanotechnology, and this term was first used by the Tokyo University of Science in 1974. Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. It is also referred to the particular technological goal of precisely manipulating atoms and molecules for fabrication of macroscale products, also now referred to as molecular nanotechnology. And the "power" is used in logarithm to describe the size of molecules, such as cells, bacteria and antibodies. Nanotechnology also integrates physics and mathematics elements. This technology reminds me of 'Criminal Minds.' At the crime scene,The most advanced applications are those related to fingerprints. Substituting materials used to develop fingerprints (such as carbon black, aluminium flake, and gentian violet) with much smaller nanoparticles increases by orders of magnitude the sensitivity of the forensic search. This makes it easier to detect old or faint fingerprints, and those left on difficult surfaces, such as adhesive or textured ones. Nanoparticles bind with the fingerprint's pattern and make it visible. A typical strategy is engineering fluorescent nanoparticle to make the development easier.

The next concept introduced in the lecture is nanoparticles, which are particles that have diameters between 100 and 1 nanometers. The color of the Lycurgus cup varies when there is light or no light, and this is due to the effect of nanoparticles. According to my recent readings about medical field, Researchers at Rice University have demonstrated that cerium oxide nanoparticles act as an antioxidant to remove oxygen free radicals that are present in a patient's bloodstream following a traumatic injury. The nanoparticles absorb the oxygen free radicals and then release the oxygen in a less dangerous state, freeing up the nanoparticle to absorb more free radicals. Moreover, Researchers at MIT using nanoparticles to deliver vaccine.The nanoparticles protect the vaccine, allowing the vaccine time to trigger a stronger immune response.

It seems like nanoparticles also play a great role in medicine. Nanomedicine ranges from the medical applications of nanomaterials biosensors, and even possible future applications of molecular nanotechnology. The primary function is to interface them with biological molecules or structures. Our school-UCLA has a well known department called David Geffen School of Medicine that specializes in the development of nanomedicine. The Division of NanoMedicine will serve as an information base about the utility of Nanoscience to the practice of Medicine. This technology allows scientists to manipulate, create, objects at the atomic scale and move individual atoms with precision. But since nanotechnology is new, which means that there is a limited amount of relevant research data to draw from and may have side-effects, such as disorders in metabolisms or other organs. Here is a little introduction of nanotechnology that I found to be really instructive. 

As we move forward with the lectures, it seems like art is everywhere throughout our daily lives, the coverage is so broad that it covers from simple math to scientific medical fields. I cannot wait to explore more about arts and its relationship to other unexpected fields.

Sources:
1. Gimzewski, . "Nanotech for Artists Part 1." Nanotech Art | Lectures. login.uconline.edu. Los Angeles. . Lecture.
2. Catanzaro, Michele . "Nanotechnology on the crime scene."Guardian. n. page. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.theguardian.com/what-is-nano/nanotechnology-on-the-crime-scene>.
3. Al Baik, Eman. Fingerprint evidence from crime scene. N.d. Photograph. Dubai MediaWeb. 18 Nov 2013. <https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRH-_ReRNVNzIIjlf4OHCXoojERdPzfz0-UTAvURvn686sp1FVH>.
4. "Nanoparticle Applications and Uses ." Hawk's Perch Technical Writing, LLC. n. page. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <http://www.understandingnano.com/nanoparticles.html>.
5. United States. University of California, Los Angeles.NanoMedicine. Los Angeles: , Web. <http://people.healthsciences.ucla.edu/institution/groups-detail?group_id=425027>.
6. Champkins, Mark. What is nanotechnology? . 2013. Photograph. Science GuideWeb. 20 Nov 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFhFhNNd1sU>.

Event 2 Griffith Observatory

Griffith Observatory has two phases and holds two completely different atmospheres for visitors. I have been there once during daytime and recently I went there again during nighttime. Drastically different perception, distinctive memories. The 
observatory is a popular tourist attraction with an extensive array of space and science-related displays.

The Ahmanson Hall of the Sky establishes human's connection to the primary objects in our sky: the Moon and the Sun. I am not an expert on universe, so I did some research and adopted some professional vocabularies to give a short explanation on what I saw. Coelostat and Solar Telescopes provide different real-time view of your local star, including sunspots and solar flares. They are often used in solar observatories where moving small tracking mirrors is preferable to moving large telescope attached to heavy equipment.

Once I got downstairs, there was the Cosmic Connection. This corridor provides the transition from ground-based and other astronomy to a new realm of cosmic perspective. Through the windows, we see a 150-foot timeline of the universe. There is the Big Bang near the Guide station, and at the bottom end, where the Edge of Space mezzanine is, the presentation of human history appears in my sight. Walking around the corridors widens my scope of both astronomy and human development.

Now lets switch gear to the nighttime Griffith. It is hard to deny the fact that the outside ground and observatory stations provide a romantic place for dating (strongly recommend to those who fell in love already and those who are on the way). The plain ground is such a great point to view the entire feature of Mount Hollywood and the great Los Angeles area. Since there is not many lights at night, it is pretty dim around the observatory.  Since we left the observatory too late at night, there was a surprise for us: A parking ticket of $60!! For those of you who wants to have a romantic date there, PLEASE remember to do so and leave before 10: 45 pm!

To summarize, here are my favorite parts: The memorial to James Dean on the right front of the complex; the Foucault pendulum in the building is wonderful at showing the rotation of the earth and believe me, it is pretty attractive when you stare at it and wonder how it rotates in a circle; the Tesla coil releases the energy surprising visitors and brings yells and surprise; finally, the planetarium would be a great place for kids of all ages. I would really recommend all of my classmates and friends to take a look and deeply explore the observatory.

Week 7 Neuroscience+ Art

This week's topic switches gear from physical art to mental art. And both scientists and artists devote plenty of time and energy into the exploration of the relationship between neuroscience and art. And this topic must link to Psychology and undoubtedly connects to Aristotle, the father of Psychology. He believed that it is the heart that controls human thought and emotion, and the purpose of brain was solely to cool down blood and emotional conflicts (Vesna Lec 1). To start the trip of neuroscience and art, it is crucial to recognize the structure of the brain. This is well explained by Franz Joseph Gall, who introduced the concept of grey matter and white matter, which are imperative parts of the brain to store memories. Not to mention more scientists, such as Camillo Golgi and Santiago Cajal. I love one of Cajal's statements: neurons are the butterflies of the soul, and Cajal is regarded as the first perfect combinator of neuroscience and art. Small neurons help scientist to visualize how synapsis and nervous systems work.

The next subtopic is the unconsciousness, which is the processes of the mind which are not available to consciousness, and this term was coined by a German romantic philosopher Friedrich Schelling. Unconsciousness, in my opinion, also includes dream and imagination. There are hot debates over the significance and existence of consciousness. Nowadays, there are plenty of abstract arts to test peoples' unconsciousness. For instance, what do you see? A creepy face or the word "liar"? For the second one, do you see a romantic date or a horrifying skull? The second picture can also intuitively express how love can also be painful and may even lead to death through the perspective of art.

The concepts of imagination and art reminds me of the horror night of Universal studio, which scared the hell out of me during this Halloween. Universal studio is an expert at extracting the scary elements that freak visitors out psychologically. And this great success should be primarily rewarded to the application of neuro-knowledge. Without psychological experts' designing of the scary themes and adventures, universal studio would not be able to create such a realistic horrifying and addicting atmosphere, which is another way of art expression.

There are definitely more creatures intertwining neuroscience and art, aforementioned are just to name a few. I am always interested in Biology and neuroscience, which is a complicated but attractive field to explore.

Sources:

1. Evil Takes Root as Halloween Horror Nights Begins This Week. N.d. Photograph. Best of Orlando, Orlando. Web. 13 Nov 2013. <http://www.bestoforlando.com/articles/evil-takes-root-as-halloween-horror-nights-begins-this-week/>.

2. Love of a Pierrot. 2009. Photograph. Optical-IllusionistWeb. 14 Nov 2013. <http://www.optical-illusionist.com/imagefiles/pierrot.jpg>.

3. Some tricky images for you - ENJOY. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 13 Nov 2013. <http://www.angelfire.com/space2/successfulldreams/trickyimages/trickyimages.html>.

4. The Sensational Brain. N.d. Photograph. Brown University, Oklahoma. Web. 13 Nov 2013. <http://www.sflorg.com/sciencenews/scn030507_01.html>.

5. Vesna, Victoria. "Lecture II." Neuroscience Art | Lectures. uconline.edu. Los Angeles. . Lecture.

Event 1 Hammer Museum

Trip to Hammer!

Last friday, I was glad that I had time to visit Hammer Museum. Once I stepped into the museum, the quietness and artistic placidity instantly attracted my mind from the crowds of Westwood. Suddenly, i felt I found a place to relax and to breath deeply. 

The first Forrest Bess: Seeing Things Invisible, which is organized by Menil Collection, and it presents 50 of the artist's visionary paintings dating from the 1940s to 1970s. The masterpieces are the collections from Menil's own holdings, private lenders, both in United State and Europe. Based on research, major institutions include the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. 

(Bodies of Little Dead Children)

I found this picture pretty interesting, because (I may be completely wrong) I see those two segments as chromosomes. Normally, chromatids are connected to each other through the center corner. But these two chromatids will never intercept, meaning there is no way to create a brilliant gene in order to create a life. I am certain that there will be many other explanations and mine probably sounds pretty naive and ridiculous, but that is just my own interpretation. This masterpiece also reminds me of week 4's topic: med+art. Due to the medical development, we are able to recognize the shape of chromosomes and expand the beauty of human life into arts and use abstract concepts to illustrate our grievance of bodies of little dead children.

The next exhibition I took quite a while to explore was James Welling: Monograph. Since no cameras were allowed inside, I only had a photo of myself in front of the guide board. James Welling's program, in particular, helps to refine our definition of a photograph while offering a meaningful new paradigm for contemporary art. 

Among the four graphs, this one is my favorite. I admire the hue transition; it is such a flawless and smooth perfection. James skillfully presented the operation of the hybrid ground between painting and sculpture with traditional photography. This graph implies one of our topics: Math+Arts. The right angles and the parallel lines construct a complete aesthetic glamor across the entire display, which made the overall structure so cohesive that anything added would be a blemish. 

There are indeed plenty of more to explore in Hammer. And the receptionist is so nice and pretty that I must take a photo with her. I would definitely recommend classmates to take a trip to Hammer, not because it is free, but it is undeniable that there are definitely precious exhibitions that help to alleviate our tension. All in all, it was a enjoyable and memorable experience.

Week 6 BioTech+Art

This week's topic is quite attractive and very applicable in daily lives. Biology, technology and art construct a term called Bioart, which has become a term referring to intersecting domains of the biological sciences and their incorporation into the plastic arts. Of particular importance in bio art is to summon awareness of the ways in which biomedical sciences alter social, ethical and cultural values in society.

According to the lectures, Joe Davis' (the pioneer of bioart) had several prominent projects: First, the audio microscope, which allows the user to image particular living cells while simultaneously listening to their greatly amplified- and species - specific - microacoustic signatures. Done by quite a few of artists. Second, Ecoli (human depend on them for digestion) responds to sound wavelengths, which extends to microbiology and antibiotics to sound waves, and how to produce sound waves that are destructive to bacteria. And third, A map of milky way and a transgenic mouse. Moreover, mice can be in different colors due to transplant of certain protein or genome. These examples remind me of Genetically modified (GM) foods, which are foods derived from organisms whose genetic material (DNA) has been modified in a way that does not occur naturally, through the introduction of a gene from a different organism. For instance, the fast growing salmon.

AquaBounty’s genetically modified salmon grows twice as fast as the conventional variety — the photo shows two same-age salmon with the genetically altered one in the rear. The company says the fish has the same flavor, texture, color and odor as a regular salmon. Genetically modified salmon has an added growth hormone from a Chinook salmon that allows the fish to produce growth hormone year-round. Recently, the FDA has approved its sale in the United States. 

According to the third part of the lecture about the blood war. I remember the lecture about transgenic animals from my high school AP Biology class. We specifically learned about the blood traits and the difference between dominant and recessive genotype and phenotype. The main concept is that any DNA or genome is different from its normal arrangement in an organism, there must be something different about this particular organism comparing to others. Here is a clip for details.

And last but not least, I relate this topic to organ transplant, more specifically called XENOTRANSPLANTATION, the transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another, primarily plays a great role in rescuing lives in medical field. Its aim is to use cells or tissues from other species to treat life-threatening and debilitating illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, liver failure and Parkinson's disease. 

In all, I am really interested in this week's topic because I have a great desire to explore the knowledge about biology and technology, especially the interconnection between the two.

Sources:

1. "Food, Genetically modified." World health Organization. (2013): n. page. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. <http://www.who.int/topics/food_genetically_modified/en/>.

2. "Future food." Bionet. (2002): n. page. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. <http://www.bionetonline.org/english/content/ff_cont3.htm>.

3. Moscovitch, Keren. "Bio Art." Visual Arts Press, Ltd. n. page. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. <http://www.sva.edu/special-programs/summer-residency-programs/bio-art>.

4. Occupy for animals. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 8 Nov 2013. <http://www.occupyforanimals.org/uploads/7/7/3/5/7735203/7066002_orig.jpg>.

5. Science, Bonzeman. Genotypes and Phenotypes. 2011. video. YoutubeWeb. 8 Nov 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaovnS7BAoc>.