Week 8

What is Nanotechnology?

Nanotechnology is the study of the branch of technology that deals with the dimensions of nanometers of atoms and molecules (National Nanotechnology Initiative 2017). This week’s topic was definitely interesting because usually nanotechnology to me seems like it only deals with technology and science. This allowed me to see the insight into how artists use nanotechnology as well, just like Professor Vesna.

Ted Talk. Paul Rothemund 

In the Ted Talk by Paul Rothemund, he showed us how DNA folding can effect the output of things. From taking small molecules and changing the different strands of DNA, there could be a big difference on what the product outputs as. For example, he showed us images of different people and then changed the DNA sequence of it which then produced a different human, and changing even more of the DNA sequence would make a dog or even a tree. He showed us that each molecule is carried out in one way or another and then later on it is either removed or used.

Similar to this is the work done by Paul Thomas and Kevin Raxworthy where they explore the comparisons of life and death by analyzing a single cell. This tries to answer the questions of what constitutes living. This attempts to redefine the meaning of the atom on an atomic level, as currently an atom is what makes up life today. 

Transjuicer, Boo Chapple.

Artists in this field work together with scientists and collaborate on new inventions. One example of this is the project worked on by Boo Chapple, which is to make speakers out of bone. She did this by working with bone matrix in order to make the vibration of sound to occur, called the Transjuicer. (Boo Chapple 2011). This is interesting because artists usually like to see, touch and feel their art, and with their perspective they are able to innovate these features on anything. To be able to make sound from bone and having the idea of making it through bone matrix is something never done before. These artists go one step beyond even the field of nanotechnology.

The field of nanotechnology would not be as interesting or have such innovations that allow us to see the actual work of the molecules had it not been for artists who work together with scientists to attempt to make the field more "visible". 

Works Cited:

“Art in the Age of Nanotechnology.” Artabase. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://www.artabase.net/exhibition/2104-art-in-the-age-of-nanotechnology>.

Boo Chappel. The University of Western Australia. August 5 2011. Web. http://www.symbiotica.uwa.edu.au/residents/chapple

Nanotech for Artists Part 1. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=q7jM6-iqzzE

National Nanotechnology Intiative. “What is Nanotechnology”. Nano.gov. 2017. Web. https://www.nano.gov/nanotech-101/what/definition

Paul Rothemund: DNA Folding, in detail. Ted2008. https://www.ted.com/talks/paul_rothemund_details_dna_folding#t-544111

“Visceral: Interview with Boo Chapple.” Sciencegallery.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://sciencegallery.com/blog/2011/01/visceral-interview-boo-chapple>.

Week 7

Santiago Ramon - Founder of neuro anatomy 

Artist Santiago Ramon was very fascinating as he was the founder of neuro-anatomy. He was the one who really understood on a macroscopic level the nervous system. He introduced neuronal generation and degeneration and how neurons work together. This was very interesting to me, because as a Cognitive Science major who studies neurology as well, I have never been taught who the founder of all these neural mechanisms was. We learn about the different neural changes and mechanics in the brain and body, but are never taught the history behind the founders of it.

Weather App 

One big thing related to neuroscience as well is the idea of consciousness. Based on the advancements in the technological industry, many people worry about the impact that computers have on society. One main concern is whether we as humans have become slaves to the machines. As of right now, we can safely say there is a fine line between humans and computers, however we see subtle changes within our society that can one day erase this line. For example, we depend on our devices for most pieces of advice. We used to be able to look outside and check the weather then decide what to wear that day, but now instead of heading for the window, we head for our phones to check what the weather app says.

Turing Test

One experiment done from this was the Turing test. A person was on the other side of the machine and responded to it and their task was to see if they could tell whether they were talking to a machine or a person based on the responses they heard. In most cases, they were able to tell, but there were also instances where they were not able to tell the difference. This is where concern rose. Just like our human brain, and the neural connections in our brain, with an input and output, this is how the machine works. Once we give an input, then we are able to get a proper output. 

Works Cited:

Giovanni Frazzetto and Suzanne Anker. “Neuroculture”. Science and Society. November 2009. Web.

Mark Halpern, "The Trouble with the Turing Test," The New Atlantis, Number 11, Winter 2006, pp. 42-63. http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-trouble-with-the-turing-test

  

Turing. “Computing Machinery and Intelligence”. The Imitation Game. Web. http://www.loebner.net/Prizef/TuringArticle.html

Vesna, Victoria. “Conscious / Memory (Part 1).” Lecture. 16 Nov 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DLVQIwOn7o8

Vesna, Victoria. Lecture. “Conscious / Memory (Part 2).” 16 Nov 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Xlg5wXHWZNI

Event 2

"Physical Properties" 

The event I attended was at the Axis Gallery in Sacramento, California. The artist whose artwork is shown below is Roma Devanbu. She is from Boston Massachusetts and completed her graduate education in Art and History at Carnegie-Mellon University. She believed a lot of her artwork came from the spiritual reality of things and from history. This particular artwork shown below is inspired from the physical properties of the earth. She enjoyed a lot of the physical matter in science and physics and made some art pieces based on that. The image shown on the right is the mountain glaciers shown in the arctic and she believed this is a type of spiritual ability and science combined in order for there to be water built upon water. One property is of water, which is the ocean and the other property is ice, which is the mountain. The spiritual component of this is that this occurs because of a higher power which allows one property of water to have two different forms, solid and liquid; and then an artistic phenomenon of science to have the two be placed together, one on top of the other. 

"Verging Eyes"

Other pieces of her artwork were very abstract, but very beautiful. Her favorite piece of mine is the one shown on the left. It is listed for $9,000 if she were to ever sell it. This piece is called the "Verging Eyes" and it is said that when one person looks at another then their two eyes, souls, and hearts meet and they become one, which is why this art piece is showing the converging of two “souls” per say and in the middle we see eyes and resemblance of faces to show the convergence of two people.

"Table Spiders"

I would definitely recommend other students to check out this artwork because this artist seems to have many different interests in the field of art. I have attached more pictures of the artwork and sculptures of this exhibition. Mainly this showcase was dealt with the art and history with science and physics incorporated in it as well. I think it’s really cool how modern artists today are able to find inspiration from other fields as well. I look forward to her future pieces of artwork. On the right is another piece of artwork by Roma. 

"Olympics Loops"

Week 6: Biotechnology & Art

BioTechnology Engineering 

Biotechnology is known as using biological processes for industrial and other purposes. I never really looked into Biotechnology as being in the art fields until this class. There has been a lot of controversy of where art stands in the field of biotechnology. Some say that art is in the genomes, in the cellular, biological input of the cell and some say art is the scientific process and collaboration with scientist’s and artists in the engineering of new technology.

This technology is valued more upon when there is artistic input in it. Biotechnology is a very fragile and complicated field. There are many different fields like, art, science, neurology, biology and genetics to make up this phenomenon. When dealing with the human genome that is made within our body, it is very hard to alter something like this and still have it run normally. Any mutation, or small alteration made by biotechnology can have a lasting impact in the gene.

Dolly the Sheep 

Within this field however, once is it perfected in how to deal with the gene then we can invent and experiment with much more. For example, there is a famous experiment of the cloning with Dolly, the sheep. This sheep was the first mammal that was cloned by an adult somatic cell by the process of nuclear transfer. This sheep lived the majority of its life in a University lab. With this invention though we have been able to prove the ability of cloning and have opened up doors to many other unique types of developments.  

Alfred Vendl Art Work 

One person I found very interesting was Alfred Vendl. He is both a chemist and a filmmaker. This alone is very different and from two different mediums. He is known for making hidden scientific phenomena visible. One of his artworks is to follow the movement of crystals growing. He did this by using a scanning electric microscope (SEM) to see the intricate details of the process that would be almost impossible to see with the naked eye. He was able to turn this scientific sensation into an artistic one by having it be filmed in photography.

Biotechnology is one field I find to be very creative and filled with geniuses. This field has so many layers to it and so much good can come from it that I don’t think there should be a limit to one’s ability to create. After all, what we surround ourselves with today was once imagined and then created by someone else before. 

References: 

Biotechnology: Week 7. Biotechnology. Art, Science & Technology. September 7, 2011. Web.

The Roslin Institute. Cloning Dolly the Sheep. Animal Research. 1996. Web. 

http://www.animalresearch.info/en/medical-advances/timeline/cloning-dolly-the-sheep/

Vendl, Alfred. Science Visualization. University of Applied Arts.  May 2014. Web. https://www.alfredvendl.com/

Vesna, Victoria. Lecture. DESMA 9. Web. 30 Oct. 2012.

Weintraub, Karen. 20 Years after Dolly the Sheep led the way. Scientific American. July 5 2016. Web. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/20-years-after-dolly-the-sheep-led-the-way-where-is-cloning-now/

Midterm

Midterm Link: file:///Users/komelchoudry/Downloads/Desma%209%20Midterm.pdf