Event 3: Singular Spaces: From the Eccentric to the Extraordinary in Spanish Art Environments

  This exhibition features a series of photographs taken by Jo Farb Hernández. The subject of these photographs are various types of artistic creations by eight Spanish artists. These artists, however, are not professionally trained, and therefore their works are deviated from main stream art world. Each of these artists have a unique style of their own; some are quite weird, others are cute and exquisite.

  The above photo is one of the first photos that I saw when I entered the exhibition, and I think it is quite cartoonish but still has that bizarre atmosphere to it. It is more like a "childhood nightmare" kind of sculpture. I would't say this one is my favorite, but it is still quite fun to look at.

  This one, on the other hand, is so beautiful and elegant in my opinion. This is a labyrinth made of branches that is more than one mile long. The high level of intricacy and volume of work amazed me, and I really want to visit this place myself someday. It reminds me of Alice in Wonderland, which is my favorite fairytale.

  Another thing to note is how the photos are arranged in this exhibition. The photographer traveled thousands of miles to find these pieces and take photos of them. The photos are arranged on walls of a foursquare route. So when you walk through the exhibition to see the photos, it feels like that you are traveling with the photographer to different places. I would recommend this exhibition to my classmates, it was very fun seeing so many different styles of art all in one place.

Event 2: Making Strange: Gagawaka + Postmortem by Vivan Sundaram

 

  Before seeing this exhibition, I basically knew nothing of Indian art. When I think of Indian garments, I instantly think of sari and head scarves. However the exhibition is nothing like what I imagined. It is very edgy, bold and not conservative at all. The show is composed of two parts as the name suggests: Gagawaka, which is a series of sculptural garments, and Postmortem, a collection of sculptures and models related to human anatomy.

  The garments in Gagawaka are all made of medical supplies and recycled materials. The dress above is my favorite piece from the collection and it seems to made of old leather boots. I love the concept of turning trash and useless stuff in to fashionable art pieces. 

  Compared to Gagawaka, Postmortem is much more strange and bizarre. In this photo there is a female mannequin whose arms and head have been cut off, and there is a plastic child tied to her back. Since there were no description of the sculpture, I will have to speculate that the meaning behind this sculpture is the hardship of mothers raising their children. 

  Overall, I prefer the Gagawaka part of the exhibition for its fashion elements. I wish they had descriptions of the sculptures since they are a bit hard to comprehend for viewers. I would recommend this exhibition to those of you who have stereotypes of Indian art, because for me it was mind-blowing. 

Event 1: The Getty Center

 

  I have heard of the Getty for a long time for its art collections and stunning views but never got a chance to actually visit it. I finally took the trip yesterday and it was very rewarding and well worth the time. The Getty Museum is built on a hill and I took the tram to get there (very fun). On the edges of the hill you could see both ocean and city. There were also grasslands, maze, and artificial streams that produce a calming and lovely atmosphere for appreciating art.

  I love European impressionist paintings, and I was able to find paintings of some of my favorite painters including Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. Although I've seen their paintings a lot of times on books and albums, seeing them in person was a very different experience and absolutely amazing. Below is Vincent van Gogh's painting Irises.

  Apart from paintings, the Getty Museum also has great collections of sculptures and contemporary photographs. The photograph below caught my eye. I don't remember the name of the photograph, but it shows the difference between dog raised by human and dog who grew in the wild. It made me think about animals in zoos. Maybe sometimes when we try to protect animals, we are actually limiting them. 

  Overall, I would highly recommend visiting the Getty Center. It has been a wonderful experience for me, and I will definitely be visiting again. 

Week 9: Space + Art

 

  This week's subject is quite mysterious and different yet very interesting. Space is a much larger scale than any other platform we've discussed before. Like the video "Powers of Ten" shows, human are trivial creatures compared to the universe. I feel like with areas like nanotechnology or biotechnology, artists use them as raw materials and create art pieces using these technologies. However, the relationship between space and art is more like as if they provide inspirations for each other, and artists cannot manipulate space like they do with other technologies, they can only explore it.

  Before actual space voyage occurred, people with wonderful imagination already wrote about it in sic-fi novels or drew about it in paintings. These ideas were later utilized by scientists as prototypes for space constructions. After successful space exploration, art forms like movie drew even more inspiration from what people had achieved, and hypothesized scenarios to the next level. Although many of these ideas are only fictional, some of them are actually worth a lot of consideration. For instance, recent movie "Interstellar" introduced the concept than time is just another measure like distance or speed. I believe that this is true and will certainly be investigated more by scientists.

Sources

Eames Office,. 'Powers Of Ten™ (1977)'. YouTube. N.p., 1977. Web. 2 June 2015 . <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0>.

Interstellar,. 'INTERSTELLAR - Official Movie Site'. N.p., 2015. Web. 2 June 2015 . <http://www.interstellarmovie.net>.

NASA,. 'National Aeronautics And Space Administration'. N.p., 2015. Web. 2 June 2015 . <http://www.nasa.gov>.

Vesna, Victoria. '8 Space Pt1 1280X720'. YouTube. N.p., 2013. Web. 2 June 2015 . <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZIqTR332l8#t=374>.

Vesna, Victoria. 'Space Pt6'. N.p., 2012. Web. 2 June 2015 . <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYmOtFjIj0M>.

Images Used

Interstellar. 2015. Web. 2 June 2015 . <http://theologygaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/interstellar-3840x2160.jpg>.

Puggioni, Paolo. Spaceship. 2015. Web. 2 June 2015 . <http://www.pllewellynjames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/SpaceShip.jpg>.

Universe. 2013. Web. 2 June 2015 . <https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcua_lA6WEUAQBCdQBzFXYMrA-Nzp7_Dk9_UFjq1CQ2VegnQ8mP-I0k3sGYUq46UZt_VHJF4jUYgss4L04Gi9rG0C8YUNNKUNqpV9565Q-mAWZAZ1vr-r8R3EU6bv51IUI2aaVWK3SKiA/s1600/galaxy_universe-normal.jpg>.

Week 8: NanoTech + Art

 

  When I was young, my family and I often went to amusement parks together. There I was often fascinated by artisans who could carve your name on a tiny piece of rice, and you can see it using a magnifying glass. That was probably my first impression of nano art, although now I realize a piece of rice is too large to be called "nano." Each week of the class I get amazed by how broad art can be used and made using unimaginable materials. I believe that in nature, the larger something grows, the more limitation it faces. Nano particles are very tiny, and therefore has a much larger room to develop compared to materials that can be directly seen by our eyes.

  During my research, I discovered works of artist Jonty Hurwitz. In his work "Trust," Jonty Hurwitz produced a nano sculpture of a dancing woman, and put it on different objects such as a needle and human hair. His other works include "Cupid and Psyche," which is another stunning piece of sculpture of two lovers kissing. The level of exquisiteness of the sculptures impressed me so much as they were no different from normal statues except that they are on a much more smaller scale. I would definitely recommend checking out his work and I will link his video down below.

Sources

Hurwitz, Jonty. 'Nano Sculptures By Jonty Hurwitz'. Jonty Hurwitz. Web. 28 May 2015 . <http://www.jontyhurwitz.com/nano/>.

Hurwitz, Jonty. 'The Story Of Trust: A Nano Sculpture'. YouTube. N.p., 2014. Web. 28 May 2015 . <https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUsJTahxI36FEd4dKjOdZdpQ&v=DLP_A4kLnBc#t=27>.

John Curtin gallery,. 'Art In The Age Of Nanotechnology On Art.Base'. art.base. N.p., 2010. Web. 28 May 2015 . <https://art.base.co/event/2104-art-in-the-age-of-nanotechnology>.

YouTube,. 'Nanotech Jim Pt1'. N.p., 2012. Web. 28 May 2015 . <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7jM6-iqzzE>.

YouTube,. 'Nanotech Jim Pt2'. N.p., 2012. Web. 28 May 2015 . <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEp6t0v-v9c>.

Images Used

De Wilde, Frederik. Scanning Electron Microscope Image _ Nano Black Material. 2010. Web. 28 May 2015 . <http://frederik-de-wilde.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/flyer-labau-2010.jpg>.

Hurwitz, Jonty. Cupid And Psyche. Web. 28 May 2015 . <http://static1.squarespace.com/static/541afcd4e4b09246971aad4b/542eb247e4b0030abb76a7ac/54629da5e4b06e0eecabaab6/1415749033877/Cupid-ant-heavenly-01.jpg?format=2500w>.

Hurwitz, Jonty. Trust. Web. 28 May 2015 . <http://static1.squarespace.com/static/541afcd4e4b09246971aad4b/543cc633e4b0c8a2c78094fb/54629d51e4b06e0eecaba94a/1415748955911/Trust-needle-full-heavenly-01.jpg?format=2500w>.

Week 7: Neuroscience + Art

  Continue on the theme of medicine, this week professor Vesna introduced us to a specific area: neuroscience. I believe that neuroscience is the most intricate field of medicine due to the dominance of brain in our body. Brain controls everything: movements, thoughts and so on so forth. However it is not easy to understand the way brain functions, and this is when art comes into play. Art allows people to illustrate what they've seen and how they've felt under different circumstances that are otherwise incomprehensible through verbal description. Brainbow impressed me so much aesthetically and amazed me with the precise organization with human brains.

  Among everything brain controls, emotion is probably the most abstract. Different things can evoke different emotions, and religion is one of the strongest forces. I personally am not religious, but I've seen many people who are religious and how religion have affected their life so much. Religions like Buddhism can calm people and make people understand fundamental truths. Believers like Lobsang Rapgay do daily meditations and visit temples on festivals, and Buddhism is reflected in many other aspects of his life as well. It is amazing how believing in things can change people not only mentally but also physically.

Sources

Fortenbury, Jon. 'The Health Effects Of Leaving Religion'. The Atlantic. N.p., 2014. Web. 20 May 2015 . <http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/the-health-effects-of-leaving-religion/379651/>.

Hutton, Noah. 'Fearing - The Amygdaloids'. YouTube. N.p., 2010. Web. 20 May 2015 . <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMI3hbgRj6o>.

Lin, Judy. 'Neuroscientist Helps Pave Way For Dalai Lama's Visit | UCLA'. Newsroom.ucla.edu. N.p., 2011. Web. 20 May 2015 . <http://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/lopsang-rapgay-192875>.

Stibich, Mark. 'Religion Improves Health'. About.com Health. N.p., 2014. Web. 20 May 2015 . <http://longevity.about.com/od/longevityboosters/a/religion_life.htm>.

Vesna, Victoria. 'Neuroscience-Pt1.Mov'. YouTube. N.p., 2012. Web. 20 May 2015 . <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzXjNbKDkYI#t=715>.

Images Used

Brainbow. 2012. Web. 20 May 2015 . <http://www.sickchirpse.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Brainbow-3.jpg>.

Meditation. 2012. Web. 20 May 2015 . <http://www.onlinemba.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/meditate/1.jpg>.

Neuroscience. Web. 20 May 2015 . <http://www.mcgill.ca/neuroscience/files/neuroscience/images/iStock_5809739_403px.jpg>.

Week 6: BioTech + Art

  This week Professor Vesna introduced to us a new genre of art that involves the uses of biological technologies, which I find fascinating. Artists across history have used almost every kind of material they could find to illustrate their artistic ideals. Biological materials and technologies, on the other hand, is and will always remain special and controversial because of their inclusion of living things and even human bodies. Of all works demonstrated this week, ORLAN's Harlequin coat impressed me the most. The use of skin cells of different colors reflex the multiculturalism theme very well.

  Due to the special nature of biological art, it has to be restricted and evaluated differently from other forms of art because of ethical reasons. Deliberate harms to animals and people should be prohibited. Kathy High's Embracing Animals project is a very good example which values the lives of animals.

  I believe life itself is meant to be a form of expression. Nature formed each one of us to be different because of a reason. Many people argue that transgenics are "unnatural" and will lead to catastrophic consequences. But I feel that genetics, like other sciences, can be properly studied and then applied to create significant contributions. When surgeries are first conducted, there were many opposing voices too. However, the development of surgeries ends up saving so many lives. 

  I do believe that techniques like transgenics have to be throughly studied and managed before developing their practical uses. Decades ago scientists developed genetically modified food that were effective in combating with pests. However after the application, many harmful effects have shown to deteriorate people's health and even cause permanent birth defects. 

Sources

High, Kathy. 'Embracinganimal.Com'. Embracinganimal.com. Web. 12 May 2015 . <http://www.embracinganimal.com/index.html>.

Mercola, Joseph. 'GM Foods: The Shocking Cause Of Birth Defects'. Mercola.com. N.p., 2012. Web. 12 May 2015 . <http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/05/13/ge-food-cause-birth-defects.aspx>.

Vesna, Victoria. '5 Bioart Pt1 1280X720'. YouTube. N.p., 2013. Web. 12 May 2015 . <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaThVnA1kyg>.

Vesna, Victoria. '5 Bioart Pt3'. YouTube. N.p., 2012. Web. 12 May 2015 . <https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7&v=3EpD3np1S2g#t=15>.

Vesna, Victoria. '5 Bioart Pt4'. YouTube. N.p., 2012. Web. 12 May 2015 . <https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7&v=2qSc72u9KhI#t=115>.

YouTube,. 'ORLAN: The Harlequin's Coat'. N.p., 2008. Web. 12 May 2015 . <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v4miEBFXTY>.

Images Used

Keenan, Robert J., and Willem P.C. Stemmer. Transgenic. 2002. Web. 12 May 2015 . <http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v20/n3/images/nbt0302-215-F1.gif>.

Rat Detail. 2009. Web. 12 May 2015 . <http://filter.anat.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/rat_detail.jpg>.

Skin's Diamonds And Extracted Cells. 2010. Web. 12 May 2015 . <http://images.vogue.it/imgs/galleries/peole-are-talking-about/zoom/003999/orlan-skin-s-diamonds-and-extracted-cells-while-2056777_0x440.jpg>.

Week 4: MedTech + Art

  This week's topic is by far the most fascinating to me of all four topics I've encountered in this course. Human bodies are nature's masterpieces, precise yet flawed artworks. Clothes and makeup can temperarily decorate the surface of out bodies, but only medicine can change us permanently from the interior.

  

  Medicine has enabled people, especially women, to become more beautiful by doing plastic surgeries. Among all countries, South Korea is probably the most famous for their plastic surgeries. It is estimated that at least one-fifth of women in Seoul have done the surgery, and it is common for Korean people to discuss this matter during daily conversations. Almost every celebrity in Korea did plastic surgery before their debut. Below is a photo of my favorite K-pop girl group f(x).

  

  Medicine has also provided a solution for people who feel that they are born with the wrong gender. Transgender surgeries change a person's gender by altering his/her sexual characteristics to those of his/her preferred gender. Men in Thailand are known for their inclination to transform to women, also known as "ladyboys". They usually start when they are very young by injecting female hormones. However, many Thai men now do the surgery only to be able to participate in sexual services.

Sources

Jackson, Peter. 'Intersections: Performative Genders, Perverse Desires: A Bio-History Of Thailand's Same-Sex And Transgender Cultures'. Intersections.anu.edu.au. N.p., 2003. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue9/jackson.html>

Marx, Patricia, John Seabrook, and Rebecca Mead. 'The World Capital Of Plastic Surgery'. The New Yorker. N.p., 2015. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/03/23/about-face>

Vesna, Victoria. 'Medicine Pt2'. YouTube. N.p., 2012. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psjnQarHOqQ>

Vesna, Victoria. 'Medicine Pt3'. YouTube. N.p., 2012. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIX-9mXd3Y4>

YouTube,. 'Pattaya Walking Street Ladyboy'. N.p., 2014. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oYCehu1Fdo>

Images Used

F(X). 2014. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <http://i.imgur.com/vc2EgfC.jpg>

Grey's Anatomy. 2015. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <http://netflixlife.com/files/2015/03/Greys-Anatomy.jpeg>

Ladyboys. 2007. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/photo/att/site1/20070215/xin_59020415202076465187.jpg>

Week 3: Robotics + Art

  When it comes to industrialization and art, I would definitely say that there is a love-hate relationship between them. In fact, not only art, the whole society is affected by the development of technology in both good and bad ways. In early days, approximately the time of industrial revolution, media works started to portray or satirize the influence of industrialization, more than often the negative influences. In Charlie Chaplin's film Modern Times, the protagonist suffers from modern industrialization after having to screw nuts at high speed and being fed by the feeding machine that he eventually goes nuts. Nonetheless, in the movie Metropolis, a disparity between the rich and the poor due to industrialization is shown and the robot brought huge chaos to the city, implying the detrimental effects of industrialization. 

  Walter Benjamin addressed the effect of mechanization, particularly on artworks, in his article The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. He claims that artworks have aura and aura relies on authenticity. He believes that mechanical reproduction destroyed the aura of arts and therefore the value of arts. I do believe this is true since people don't appreciate the original works as much when they can easily get access to replicas. However, Marshall McLuhan believes that medium is just as important as the message it carries. Mediums like movies and Internet can enable people to see things in very different ways than writings. To sum up, technology has both positive and negative influences on art and the whole society. But I think overall the positive weighs out the negative. 

Sources

Benjamin, Walter, and J. A Underwood. The Work Of Art In The Age Of Mechanical Reproduction.

       London: Penguin, 2008. Print.

McLuhan, Marshall, and W. Terrence Gordon. Understanding Media. Corte Madera, CA: Gingko

       Press, 2003. Print.

Metropolis. Germany: Fritz Lang, 1927. film.

Modern Times. United States: Charlie Chaplin, 1936. film.

Vesna, Victoria. 'Robotics Pt1'. YouTube. N.p., 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.

Vesna, Victoria. 'Robotics Pt2'. YouTube. N.p., 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.

Images/Videos Used

Metropolis. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://thefridacinema.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Metropolis-gold.jpg>

Modern Times. 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://www.ridleymcintyre.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/chaplin-charlie-modern-times_01.jpg>

YouTube,. 'Charlie Chaplin - Factory Work'. N.p., 2010. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfGs2Y5WJ14>

Week 2: Math + Art

  This week Prof. Vesna talked about the relationship between art and math. Before this week, I thought that art and math are completely different from each other, primarily due to the impression that people who are good at math often do poorly in arts and vice versa. But now I believe that art and math are inseparable. In fact, there was no real art until math is utilized in the process of creating art.

  How to portray three-dimensional space on a two dimensional canvas was a problem for artists in the past. Brunelleschi is seen to be the first person in the west to solve the problem by using correct formulation of linear perspective and discovering the vanishing point. He was able to calculate the scale of things in accordance to distance. Brunelleschi is also famous for his construction of the doom of the Florence Cathedral shown below.

  Leonardo da Vinci is an artist whose work incorporated math very well. He distinguished the artificial perspective and natural perspective. His famous work includes The Last Supper and Mona Lisa. Mona Lisa is also a classic example of the use of golden ratio, which is referred to as "the ultimate connection of math and art" by Prof. Vesna.

Sources

da Vinci, L. Mona Lisa. Retrieved from http://www.davincilife.com/mona-lisa.jpg

da Vinci, L. The Last Supper. Retrieved from http://www.leonardoda-vinci.org/The-Last-Supper-1498.jpg

Florence Cathedral Dome. Retrieved from http://www.passports.com/sites/default/files/brunelleschi___s_dome_on_the_florence_duomo_(cathedral)1351780530236.png

Nielsen, I., Landa, A., & Shutterstock,. (2014). Mathematical Masterpieces: Making Art From Equations. Retrieved from http://discovermagazine.com/~/media/Images/Issues/2014/April/Math%20art%20gallery/math-cover.jpg?mw=1000&mh=800

Vesna, V. (2012). Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov. YouTube. Retrieved 13 April 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmq5B1LKDg#t=1377