Week 9: Space and Art

I really enjoyed this week’s topic because it’s something that I would have never thought of as being part of Art. I didn't even realize how WW2 was integrated and made the shift to the learning of space. Another thing I did not now is that the planets are named after gods except for earth, as mentioned by Abbey Cesna in Names of the Planet its name derives from the German and old English word "ground"; which is honestly really interetsing. Know that I think of it makes sense but I never knew this. Another thing that I found really interesting is that animals were sent into space before humans. As we have seen in previous weeks animals have been used in other areas of art but I didn't know how deep they go into our social structure. I previously mentioned that there should be some limitations to animal use/abuse when it comes to experiments and when I saw Laika in her space home I felt really sad. But, as mentioned in First Dog in Space by Matt Williams "Laika’s sacrifice paved the way for human spaceflight and also taught the Russians a few things about what would be needed in order for a human to survive a spaceflight."

Moreover, I really believe that the competition between the United States and Russia had really did help. In the competition "as each side sought to prove the superiority of its technology, its military firepower and by extension its political- economic system and the world"(The Space Race- History). This was much needed in order to advance this research because without the competition I believe out knowledge of space would have been delayed. Another thing that I am grateful for is that it integrated more math and science into the schools.

What this did make me notice is the amount of money that it costs for such things to be built like an aircraft and stuff. Honestly, saying that it’s extremely expensive seems like an understatement. In a sense it is more reasonable for this to become part of the private sphere because it allows for more funding to the schools that develop such people that study space. On another note, in the beginning professor Vesna mentioned that science exploration is very well incorporated into our social sphere, and I do believe this. Today we don’t hear much about explorations and competitions or even about when a shuttle is going up into space but we do hear a lot about how the things that we do affect our planet earth. Lastly, these explorations have allowed for some of the greatest TV shows like the Jetson's and even within the shows, you have new ideas like the one of the flying car.(Recapping The Jetsons- Episode 03- The Space Car) and also some magnificent art. Like Jeff Foust exclaims in The Space Review "The art was one of the things that made exploration a cultural event. It was very much part of the way we as a culture experienced space exploration, even aside from the photographs, because it was really art that conveyed the excitement. 

References

Williams, Matt. First Dog in Space. Universe Today. Web. Oct 2010

Cessna, Abbey. Names of the Planets.Universe Today. Web. July 2009

History.com Staff. The Space Race. Hstory.com. A&E Networks. 2010. http://www.history.com/topics/space-race

Foust, Jeff. When Space and Art Intersect. The Space Review. Web. Sep 2009
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1460/1

Novak, Matt. Recapping The Jetsons- Episode 03- The Space Car. The Smithsonian. Web. Oct 2012
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/recapping-the-jetsons-episode-03-the-space-car-67174086/?no-ist

Week 7 Neuroscience and Art'

This weeks lectures were really interesting because it talked about different things and some that I never knew were connected. First off, it continues to surprise me the way that art is correlated with science especially the human body. Before when I looked at the images provided in the lectures by Joseph Gall and Paul Broca I just thought of them as a simple illustration but now its an important art form and without it we would never have understood what these artists/scientists were talking about. Suzzane Ankers work was incredible and before this I had never heard of her. In an article by Regine on Suzzane Anker it is explained that Anker used these images because with them, "one begins to assess new meanings:bones, sea creatures, body parts. These are surrogates for the imagination itself, opening up a dialog between the mind and body. What happens when you pick up a psychology test in your hand? The mind essentially has been embodied." (Regine, Common Sence). Which helps explain this new thing with sea sponges. In the article "From Sea Sponge to HIV Medicine" we see that scientists were able to find 2 chemicals that have been used as anti viral and anti cancer drugs. This I think is awesome, which is great because unlike last weeks topic and ethical questions I believe that this use of sea sponges is great and should continue to be used. 

Moreover, I never knew that cocaine and LSD were used to experiment and that people actually wrote books on the dreams they had. I personally also agree that using these drugs are bad and they shouldn't be used to experiment especially on people but I understand that the before people didn't really know about the powerful addiction these drugs have. As expressed in "Effects of Cocaine" from the Drug Free World these drugs are not good to use because people become fiend's meaning with each new dose they want more than the next which leads to death at times. 

In conclusion, this section still leaves me wondering with why do we remember some dreams and not others. Also, what do they mean or do they even mean anything. In an article from the New York Times,  Benedict Carey explains that "Dreams are so rich and have such an authentic feeling that scientists have long assumed they must have a crucial psychological purpose."(Benedict, NY Times) Kendra Cherry also wrote an article and explained they will forever continue to be studied. With this we can see that the brain is a wonderful and mysterious work of art. 

References:

Regine, Brain Waves:Common Sense. March 26, 2008

http://we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2008/03/brainwave-common-senses.php#.VVmHDjHF81I

"From Sea Sponge to HIV Medicine" Ocean Portal. Find your Portal. Smithsonian Natural Museum of Natural History.

http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-photos/sea-sponge-hiv-medicine

"Effects of Cocaine". Drug Free World. 

http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/cocaine/effects-of-cocaine.html

Benedict, Carey. "A Dream Interpretation: Tuneups of the Brain" New York Times. Web. Nov 2009. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/health/10mind.html?_r=0

Cherry, Kendra. "Dream Interpretation, What do dreams mean"About Education

http://psychology.about.com/od/statesofconsciousness/p/dream-interpret.htm

Event 1-Natural History Museum

For my first event I went to the Natural History Museum. I want to start of by saying that out of all the times that I have been there, this is honestly the first time that I was able to look at this museum within the concept of art and not history. Something like the Getty is different for me because the Getty has actual paintings on the walls but the Natural History Museum doesn't at least not like the Getty. I say this because, I took my daughter and as I walked into the museum, you notice that its an art piece in itself because its setup to be unique and this architecture is designed/ modeled with artifacts and bones.

The picture below shows, what I would call a 3D figure of Indians Walking West. When I looked at this I felt like I was looking at art and it was not a painting. I always referenced art to drawing and painting, art was whatever Da Vinci, Picasso,  and Kahlo painted. So looking at this 3D figure it hit me that its art. Just like the stuffed animals, that was art and the scenes, they were encompassed in was part of the art. For example, the bison have a backdrop of mountains but the artists put dirt and bones and a stream so that we can have a full picture in our heads. Or the Dinosaur bones, they aren't just sectioned off with labels. The real art is that the artifact is used as a decoration and it makes it much more valuable because you don't only indulge in the beauty of the artifact but in the way that it is displayed.  


 

Another thing that I really liked were the rock/ mineral collections. I have always found rocks fascinating. I especially love Amethyst. I like how this simple rock/mineral, is something that is part of nature and it grows in nature. It leaves you at awe because this is not something designed it just creates it self some of these things are the most beautiful of the world. So it comes to tell you that are is not just something that someone creates and incorporates into the world but it is something that can create and and replicate it self.


Lastly, I always enjoy coming here because its a place in which you can see a lot of different things, displayed in different forms. I appreciate that now I wont just look at museums as a part of history that is representing an old history but as an art form.
 

Week 6 Bio Tech and Art

Bio Tech and Art

I put a picture of butterflies because of what was mentioned in Lecture 3 about Diminezas(I dont know how its spelled) and wing modification. I never even thought that one could even try to modify butterflies wings. To me this is incredible, especially since this week I visited the Natural History Museum and I entered the Nature Lab were they have a set of butterflies which you could look closely and really see the details in wings and all the butterflies I looked at were real/not modified. So to think that someone would actually try to do this is crazy and even though it might have beautiful outcomes I think that this is one of those things that goes to far. I say this because after researching what wing color is for, you see that the wing color have a purpose and its usually about, camouflage warning, attraction to mates, deceiving predators and soaking up heat. So by modifying you would essentially get rid of this and make butterflies and predators confused. That is why this is a place in which I believe should have some limitation.


Another section that really influenced me this week was the hybridization of plants and in some sense animals(with the lab rats). I actually know someone who has hybridized two different species of plants and to them this was an achievement. So in some sense I understand what someone like Edward Stichen feels when producing his delphiniums. Also, like Eduardo Kac who makes "Transgenic Art", he put his genes into a plant and created it. I never even thought of this as art so to me this was amazing to see what some artists will do to really create something abstract. Just like Whatley mentioned in The Art of Hybridizing it is "The opportunity to create new things", something unique. 

 Moreover, it might seem weird but after this lecture I will really try to value rats more. I have always known of them being used in experiments for our benefit but I never really valued them and it makes sense what Kathy High said about them. As she mentions in her website, they are powerful tools that we use and that is why we should embrace them.  Even an article by Joseph Castro which mentions that just like us rats are empathetic which makes them our close relatives so we should treat them that way.

In all, I could see why artists feel the need to use technology to help them create abstract art but as mentioned above I do believe that there's boundaries. It's one thing to manipulate a few chemicals in creating something but to try and manipulate human nature that is different and it should be dealt with  differently/ with some rules.

Resources
Gambino, Megan. “The Story of How an Artist created a Genetic Hybrid of Hmself and a Petunia”. Smithsonian. Feb 2013. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-story-of-how-an-artist-created-a-genetic-hybrid-of-himself-and-a-petunia-25148544/#eO5FxYBM1vXWPI8K.99

Whatley, Oscie. “The Art of Hybridizing”. The Daylily Journal. Americam Hemerocallis. 1990. http://www.daylilies.org/Whatley/WhatleyTheArtOfHybridizing.htm

Kathy High Website - Embracing Animal -http://kathyhigh.com/project-embracing-animal.html

Butterfly Wing Anatomy - http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/butterflies/anatomy/Wings.shtml

Castro, Joseph. “Empathetic Rats Help Each Other Out”. Live Science. Dec 2008. http://www.livescience.com/17378-rats-show-empathy.html