Week 4 Blog

The human body in art is a duo that many people often associate with each other. This week's top was very interesting and gave me deeper insight on the use of art, medicine and technology coming together. Earlier this year, I had a stress fracture in one of my toes and had to get an MRI as a result. Professor Vesna speaks of x-rays, MRIs, etc. as something that "arouses great scientific interest" and is also seen as a form of art to some. I remember when the doctor first showed me my MRI result, and the detail and intricacy of what lies beneath the skin of a foot actually amused me. These new medical devices that are part of the medical world now are indeed forms of art.

Another form of body and art is plastic surgery. Many people seek plastic surgeons in order to enhance some aspect of their body to their liking. Many cosmetic surgeons sculpt, repair, and enhance what is already naturally there ("Is Cosmetic Surgery..."). So deductively, cosmetic surgery and art go hand in hand as the surgeon has to have similar traits as any other artist including tentative skills and focusing for long periods of time. There are also people out there who modify their body to look like something that is not human.

Artists also create bodily art in order to appeal to many enthusiasts out there. Andres Serrano takes this to extreme. Although it may be disturbing to some, others find great interest and artistic quality in his works such as his "blood and semen" works. I find this very interesting as it uses something many find gross and molds it into art. (link below)

andresserrano.org

“Is Cosmetic Surgery a Science or an Art?” Galanis Plastic Surgery, 5 Oct. 2017, www.galanisplasticsurgery.com/blog/cosmetic-surgery-science-art/.

Vesna, Victoria. “Http://www.youtube.com/v/Ep0M2bOM9Tk.” Lecture. Medicine pt1 . Youtube, 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep0M2bOM9Tk>.

Vesna, Victoria. “Http://www.youtube.com/v/FIX-9mXd3Y4.” Lecture. Medicine pt3. Youtube, 22 Apr. 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIX-9mXd3Y4>.

Vesna, Victoria. “Http://www.youtube.com/v/psjnQarHOqQ.” Lecture. Medicine pt2 . Youtube, 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psjnQarHOqQ>.

Event Blog

Michael Benson's book, Space Odyssey, revolves around the making of the iconic Stanly Kubrick's film of the same name, 2001: A Space Odyssey. At the LACM, Michael Benson spoke of how the movie was a game changer in the sci-fi world. Many predecessors were not living up to the genre's fans liking. One thing i thought about the movie was it's unique approach for entertainment. Much of it would be considered "boring" due to the silent sequences with not much action. Digging deeper into the movie and the creation of it offers a different perspective however into why the movie has put itself into cinema history as one of the greats.


Benson spoke of how the author, Arthur C Clarke, and Kubrick were fans of each others works prior to the making of the film and both set out to create a groundbreaking sci-fi epic. One fact I saw interesting in the making of the movie was, at first, Clarke was scared to work with Kubrick since he was homosexual. Both, however, set their egos and differences aside in order to accept each other.
Many things throughout the film too were changed such as traveling to Jupiter instead of the originally planned Saturn. Benson also spoke of how Kubrick had his own teaching techniques to help the cast follow and execute the script well.

In relation to recent lectures, one thing I see evidently tied together was the idea of robots in cinema. HAL, the AI robot in the film demonstrates robotics within cinema, which is a form of art. HAL even seems to be her own person within the film which was a creative touch.

Above is a picture of HAL. Although it is a basic looking robot, the complexity lies behind the artificial intelligence that is demonstrated in the movie. In my opinion, simple art often looks better in many situations. I believe HAL was created in such a basic and simple way that it somehow ends up being more artistic than something that looks more complex.

Benson did a great job at explaining many of the details often overlooked and many hidden meanings revealed throughout the film. If you are a fan of the movie, I recommend going as it will give you a different outlook on the sci-fi epic.

Week 3 blog

Robotics and art are two subjects that can coincide to make beautiful and innovative creations. In particular, computers are used much of the time to create art with the use of different programs such as adobe illustrator. With software such as this, art can be taken to more extreme lengths to create new and unique art.
Art made with adobe illustrator

One very interesting subject this week from Professor Vesna's lectures are the Japanese robots. I find it very interesting how robots are such a prominent piece of technology in Japanese culture. These robots are a great example of art and robotics coming together. The outter shell of the robots are much of the time intricately decorated and formed to look human like.

Human like robot developed in Japan

Evidently, art was a major factor in creating the robot shown above. The small details along with hair follicles and blemishes were all designed for the purpose of making this robot as human like as possible. According to a CBS article, "In Japan, the human population is shrinking ... and robots are on the rise" (Fieldstadt). Perhaps this statistic is a reason for the increase in robotics in Japan. Robotics is a very intellectual topic that is further improved with the involvement of art. I hope to watch closely as the two coincide and new technologies are created.

“Adobe Illustrator.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Apr. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Illustrator.

    Fieldstadt, Elisha. “Creepily Human-like Robots.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 2 Aug. 2017, www.cbsnews.com/pictures/creepily-human-like-robots-2/.

    https://www.google.com/search?q=art+with+adobe+illustrator&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS707US709&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjUh4H9hMnaAhWD7lMKHZhtDZIQ_AUICigB&biw=1280&bih=615#imgrc=F7lFfj2ZiH_mIM:
   
    https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS707US709&biw=1280&bih=615&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=H6XaWsWJC-qMjwTlxKfIBA&q=human+like+japanese+robot&oq=human+like+japanese+robot&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i8i13i30k1.11972.14759.0.14880.13.11.1.0.0.0.189.1075.0j7.7.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..6.6.735...0i13k1j0i8i7i30k1j0i8i30k1.0.KIF7aNmYfiI#imgrc=zB6f6sXPGcKO-M:

Uconlineprogram. “Robotics MachikoKusahara 1.” YouTube. YouTube, 14 Apr. 2012. Web. 19 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded>.

Week 2 blog

The week's topic about math and art was one that offered me more insight into the world of art and how math applies and relates to it. One of the most interesting areas where math and art come together that Professor Vesna spoke of was the golden ratio. The golden ratio is the idealic geometrical measurements that is applied to many different areas of art. Architecture and many of the buildings we see today are made using this ratio such as the parthenon.


Another oddly aesthetically pleasing type of art that utilizes the golden ratio is art work done by Piet Mondrian. With the use of geometry and color, the artist creates unique pieces and is a great example of art and math coming together. In my opinion, when art and math come together to create a new type of art, these pieces are the most creative.


This work by MC Escher is one of my favorites because it forces the mind to think and distinguish mathematical patterns within the art. It not only looks artistic and beautiful but engages the mind as well. Another very beautiful pattern that puts math and art into one is a fractal. Fractals look the same a various different scales and many have very complex patterns.

This weeks topic has made me think of art as more than just art because combining subjects such as mathematics can drastically change the beauty of all creations.



“Fractal Fun on the Web.” Boing Boing, 18 Jan. 2016, boingboing.net/2016/01/18/fractal-fun-on-the-web.html.

“Fractals | World of Mathematics.” Mathigon, mathigon.org/world/Fractals.

Meisner, Gary. “The Golden Number.” Goldennumber.net, www.goldennumber.net/parthenon-phi-golden-ratio/.

Poole, Steven. “The Impossible World of MC Escher.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 20 June 2015, www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/jun/20/the-impossible-world-of-mc-escher.

Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov.” Cole UC online. Youtube, 9 April 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watchv=mMmq5B1LKDg&feature=player_embedded>

Week 1 blog

Being a business economics major, the idea of two cultures, art and science, being separated from each other never really struck my mind. After watching lecture videos and digging into some reading, science and art are often never taught or thought of together. Professor Vesna even brought up how arts and humanities and math and sciences are on opposite sides of the UCLA campus furthering the seperation between the two cultures.

 CP snow also explains how college curriculums are strongly to blame for the separation between the two culture. The layout of the UCLA campus proves this claim by Snow since art and science are on different sides of campus. I also found it interesting that the third culture (combination between the two) is growing stronger and more prominent today. "The bridge, in fact, is being triangulated and made more stable with the work of artists utilizing new technologies, who are in active dialogue with both sides" (Vesna 122). Advances in technology have alowed people in art culture to expand their works into a more scientific approach since new technology opens up the use of new tools.

Like Vesna said in the lecture videos, the third culture could be a major breakthrough. The combination of art and science can open up new ways of thinking and engaging in different everyday tasks. As the third culture grows, stereotypes of artists and scientist, as seen with Vesna's explanation of children all depicting the stereotypical scientists in the same way, will be eliminated and the future could bring a place where science and art come together. As a person that leans more so into the love for art than science, digging into the side of science and combining the two cultures could open up many more opportunities.

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

Snow, C. P. "The Two Cultures: A Second Look." New York: Cambridge UP, 1963. Print.  

Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." Leonardo. 34 (2001): 121-125. Print.

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