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June 06, 2018

Event 3: Weak or No Signal The Weak or No Signal Exhibition located at the Wight Gallery at UCLA, was puzzling yet interesting. This art exhibition challenges the sightseer to think about the theme these art pieces express. I think a big factor of interpreting this exhibition was up to the viewer's imagination and using their own knowledge to aid with their interpretation. Me and one of the art pieces at the Weak or No Signal exhibit Without further ado, one of my favorite pieces of art from the exhibit was the one labeled as Apptopia. This segment of the exhibition showcased two clouds and on them projected this app-dominated world. Projected onto one of the clouds was apps doing all kinds of distinct motions and traveling from one destination to another. The other cloud was a virtual world with a robot as a building and apps moving as if they were cars. You get the message, it is an app themed art piece. This made me think back to the lecture on robotics and art. T...

June 03, 2018

Week 9: Space + Art In my opinion, out of all the exploring humans have done, space exploration has been one of the most remarkable achievements. Copernicus a name most of us are familiar with, known to be a famous mathematician and astronomer. Copernicus came up with the heliocentric theory that illustrated the sun as the center of the solar system and with a few scientific modifications, it is the idea we all study today. His theory was just the start of space exploration. Human's endless curiosity to find answers to the unknown, in this case outer space, has led to many to come up with ridiculous visions. These visions we will be calling science fiction, were actually the backbone blueprints scientists followed and aimed for as a possible end product. Science fiction novelists like Jules Worm or Konstantin Tsiolkosvsky discussed these space stations in which floated in space that could hold living organisms (Vesna). Their creative ideas, which can be seen as a form of expressi...

May 26, 2018

Week 8: Nanotech + Art Nano is an extremely small unit of measurement, in fact, it is so small that we aren't able to detect it with normal vision. This weeks topic is about nanotechnology and nanoparticles. You might think that nanotechnology and the use of nanoparticles is a fairly modern discovery but in fact, ancient Rome and Italy have incorporated them into their antique arts. For example, Rome used gold sized nanoparticles in their pottery that allows it to illuminate in a red color and Italy used silver plus copper nanoparticles to give their pottery and chemical glaze look (Gimzewski). Nanoparticles have very unique characteristics that are not achievable with regular paint or any other products but itself, it is in a realm of its own. This is one of the many ways that nanoparticles is directly associated with art. Nanoparticles used in pottery gives pottery a unique characteristic (red glow or metallic glazed). There are many ways that nanoparticles can bene...

May 20, 2018

Week 7: Neuroscience + Art As a psychology major, I am quite familiar with the work of scientists discussed by Professor Vesna. Psychology is also known as the study of human mind and its functions, but more specifically how it affects behavior. It is evident that psychology and neuroscience have overlapping topics, one of those topics is the brain as a whole. Franz Joseph Gall argued that by examining the shape of the head it would give the observer an idea of the individual traits, also termed as phrenology. For example, if the individual had a bump that pertained to the area of anger then they would exhibit hostile behavior (Whye). This idea later became discredited by research and science What phrenology looked like and how the brain is divided into sections While Ramón y Cajal the founder of neuroanatomy introduced the neuron theory and expanded on the functions of neurons. Cajal originally wanted to be an artist but only found fulfillment in science. Cajal refer...

May 20, 2018

Event 2: California Science Center I visited the California Science Center today and I had a blast walking around and exploring the whole building, starting from the gift shop to the world of life and ending with the ecosystems. I also got a chance to tour a special exhibition the science center had organized this weekend called, The Science of Fear . I found this exhibit to be unique and special because of its informational content that was shown through their many activities, simulations, and visual displays. Tourists were essentially walking into a lecture hall catered to the topic of fear. What I admired the most out of the science center was definitely the combination of both art and science altogether and how perfectly balanced it was. I am here to introduce you to Mr. Goosebumps a computerized visual representation of the symptoms of fear. When the amygdala detects fear, it sends signals throughout our body that activates certain organs and body parts. One of the...

May 13, 2018

Week 6: Biotech + Art It is fascinating to know that we have been able to explore the human body at a cellular level and comprehend its functions thoroughly. DNA, genes, cells, are all these components that make up the human body. A change in a gene can affect the host immensely, such as the sex chromosome. Males carry an XY chromosome and females carry an XX chromosome, a simple genetic replacement can determine your sexuality. This also applies to individuals with down syndrome and also Klinefelter syndrome too. The genetic difference between a male and female is determined by the sex chromosome (XX or XY) GFP stands for green fluorescent protein which is found in a jellyfish called Aequorea Vicotria . GFP has contributed to examining the human body by pairing it up with cells, which helped trace the development of cells. I found the story of Alba the fluorescent rabbit to be quite unique. It turns out that scientist inserted EGFG (enhanced green fluorescent gene),...