christinelDESMA9 Unit 4

http://www.uocodac.com/anatomy-art/anatomy-art/

Through my art history classes, I knew that medicine influenced art, but I never thought about the extent medicine could influence art. I also knew that art can be tricky to define. This unit definitely challenged my definition of art.

In her lecture, Professor Vesna mentions that in the Renaissance, people started to dissect cadavers to accurately depict the body (Vesna). I had previously learned this in other classes. Artists used this newfound anatomy to accurately depict physical features, like muscles, in human figures in paintings and sculpture. I found it interesting that artists very much used Henry Gray’s book Gray’s Anatomy even though it was written for medical purposes (Vesna). Professor Vesna also talks about how medicine influences television shows. For example, to bring all full circle, the medical drama Grey’s Anatomy probably got its name from Gray’s Anatomy.

https://www.amazon.com/Greys-Anatomy-Season-Ellen-Pompeo/dp/B01E7XUONI

Some of the artists’ works in this unit made me reconsider how I define art. Some of these works really surprised me and slightly even horrified me. At first, I considered how these works could be considered art. For example, Orlan underwent plastic surgery in the name of art (Vesna). Then in the Orlan documentary, when questioned about it, one of the doctors claimed that she believed what Orlan was creating art. Then Professor Vesna mentions some artists that implanted chips in their bodies (Vesna). Lastly, Diane Gromala used VR as a remedy for chronic pain (Gromala). I never thought about the visual art that was necessary for these VR experiences before. This lead me to conclude that everyone has their own definition of art.

Diane Gromala using interactive VR http://grand-nce.ca/archives/news/2013/confronting-pain-project-basis-for-new-chronic-pain-research-institute-at-simon-fraser-university.html

Works Cited:

Orlan, carnal art. Dir. Stephan Oriach. Myriapodus Films, 2001. Film.

TEDx Talks. “TEDxAmericanRiviera - DIane Gromala - Curative Powers of Wet, Raw Beauty.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 7 Dec. 2011. Accessed 20 Apr. 2017.

Vesna, Victoria. “Medicine pt1.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 21 Apr. 2012. Accessed 20 Apr. 2017.

christinelDESMA9 Unit 3

Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times https://mubi.com/films/modern-times

When I think of robotics, I don’t usually think about art. I usually only thought about robotics in the context of technology, science, and engineering. I don’t really know about robotics, but I was aware of it because my brothers and my boyfriend are part of the robotics club at school, and they aspire to be engineers. This reinforced my idea that robotics only has to do with the sciences.

This unit made me think about how robotics could be related to art. My boyfriend, former president of my high school robotics club, told me “An Arduino is the name of a popular hobby development board. This board was created to cater to beginners and allow an easy way into the world of microcontrollers” (Miyaguchi). On the Arduino Blog, I found a robot that could “make drawings on a massive scale” (Arduino Team) on sand.

Next, Professor Vesna mentions artists’ commentary on machines, such as Charlie Chaplin’s film Modern Times (Vesna). I think that this film humorously, yet accurately, depicts the relationship between workers and machines (Chaplin). Even though machines don’t evoke thoughts on art, Chaplin used machines as inspiration in his art.

“Pablo Odysseus” is a robot that makes art in the sand. https://blog.arduino.cc/2017/04/18/pablo-odysseus-is-an-autonomus-bot-that-rakes-art-in-the-sand/

Then, Professor Kusahara talks about how the Japanese gave support for the creation of helper robots in the case of disasters, such as earthquakes (Kusahara). This evoked me to think about the Disney movie Big Hero 6. In the movie, Baymax is a robot programmed to help humans and provide medical attention. To me, this was the first Disney film that had depicted a theme of technology and robotics. Even though this movie has a science theme, it still successfully evokes strong emotions, which art aims to do. Big Hero 6 definitely showed me how robots can influence film and art.

Works Cited

Arduino Team. “Pablo Odysseus Is an Autonomus Bot that Rakes Art in the Sand.” Blog Post Type. Arduino Blog. Arduino, 18 Apr 2017. Web. 18 Apr 2017.

Kusahara, Machiko. “Robotics 1.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 14 Apr 2012. Web. 18 Apr 2017.

Modern Times. Dir. Charlie Chaplin. United Artists, 1936. Film.

Vesna, Victoria. “Robotics pt 1.” Online video clip. Youtube. YouTube, 15 Apr 2012. Web. 18 Apr 2017.

Walt Disney Animation Studios. “‘Discover’ Clip - Big Hero 6.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 2 Sept 2014. Web. 18 Apr 2017.

christinelDESMA9 Event #1: Science of Pixar

Do you remember the first few minutes of the Pixar movie Up? If you have ever watched a Pixar movie, then you know one can send you through an emotional roller coaster ride. And that is exactly what the creators and producers want you to experience. In consequence, we do not notice and take for granted the math and science behind these movies. The Science Behind Pixar Exhibit at the California Science Center wonderfully showed me how art, math, and science come together to make something beautiful. I would strongly recommend this event to everyone, but unfortunately, the exhibit has already ended.

When I was in the line, posters on the wall gave a glimpse of what I could expect inside the exhibit. For example, this infographic for the movie Cars hints at the science of paint and reflections. This showed me how much they relied on math and science to give the 3D animations realistic qualities. It astounded me that they did millions of calculations to create realistic paint. In my mind, paint seems like such a mundane feature to focus on, but the animators really wanted a realistic effect. I think they do this because the realism gives more life to the story.

Inside the exhibit, there dozens of examples of art collaborating with math and science. For example, in the movie Brave, animators simulated Merida’s hair using math. The animators also had to rely on physics to simulate the springs of her hair. This gave me an example of how math and science helped art. They showed us clips of what Merida’s hair would look like without core springs, which made her hair too bouncy. The results of the extra bouncy hair was funny.

Another example of art collaborating with science is the lighting in Finding Nemo. The animators had to study the properties of light in water. The correct lighting created a realistic environment, but it also strengthened the story emotionally. I can definitely see how lighting can affect mood, just like how the type of lighting in a restaurant can tell you how fancy it might be.

Next, I saw how animators mathematically create 3D objects. They just simply rotate a 2D shape around an axis to create a 3D image. This process is actually more simple than I thought it would be. This definitely showed how math and geometry helps ease animators’ jobs.

It is amazing how thoroughly Pixar relies on math and science to create their films. This exhibit showed the obvious harmony between art and math/science. Despite that, the movie makers do not want you to notice the science while you are watching these movies. They want you to focus on the animations and emotions. Just by watching these movies, audiences cannot see how important science is in the creation of them. In my experience, I know that I do not think about science when I watch a Pixar movie. This exhibit finally showed me the science behind their movies. That is why I think this exhibit was so important in bridging art, math, and science together for even common people. From now on, because I learned about the science behind Pixar, I will appreciate the films much more than I already have.

christinelDESMA9 Unit 2

“We have the ability to do both” (Vesna). I had good teachers in both art and science classes. I never considered that was the reason why I enjoy both art and science.

In this unit, it was interesting to look at a brief history of math and art. For example, I learned that Brunelleschi was credited with the first correct formulation of linear perspective in about 1413 in the West (Vesna). In previous art history classes, I learned how artists began using the vanishing point to create depth in their paintings, but I did not know that Brunelleschi actually calculated a mathematical formula for linear perspective. Next, I learned how Leonardo da Vinci took linear perspective to the next level and started painting with natural perspective, which was more realistic. This definitely shows how he had to take the science of optics into consideration to create realistic art.

Perugino, The Delivery of Keys to St. Peter

http://www.radford.edu/rbarris/art216upd2012/15th%20century%20Italian%20arts%20S11.html

The movie clip of Pi (Dir. Darren Aronofsky) gave me a new perspective on how math is everywhere. The clip did explicitly give examples of math in nature: the Fibonacci sequence and Torah numerics. The cinematography really reaffirmed my new perspective of how math is everywhere. After the two characters converse, the camera focuses on cream dispersing through coffee and smoke dispersing through air. The cinematography forced me to think about the math and physics about how the coffee creamer and smoke dispersed.

Scene from Pi

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/filmchat/2014/10/the-thematic-and-visual-links-between-noah-and-darren-aronofskys-earlier-films-a-gallery.html 

The short novel Flatland also had some quotes that changed my perspective of how I view the world. For instance, “Place a penny on the middle of one of your tables in Space; and leaning over… It will appear a circle… But now… when you have placed your eye exactly on the edge of the table… will have become… a straight line” (Abbott 1). Even if you always see an object as 3D, it will still consist of 2D lines, which is explained by math.  

In comparison to these artists using math in their work, I thought it would be interesting to talk about a time when it seemed artists tried to separate itself from math, perspective, and line of previous art eras. The painting below is called Place de la Concorde by Edgar Degas. Degas made it seem like perspective did not exist and the plane in the background is rising up. The brush technique also makes it so there are no actual lines. Despite this, math and science is still involved, intentionally or not. Even though Degas tries to create something that distinguishes painting from other fields of study, it does not negate that the science of optics is still needed to view the painting. This reveals the juxtaposition of art and math/science. Even when you they seem distinct and separate, they will always be related.

Edgar Degas, Place de la Concorde

http://www.arthermitage.org/Edgar-Degas/Place-de-la-Concorde.html

Works Cited

Abbot, Edwin A. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. 1884. PDF file.

Degas, Edgar. Place de la Concorde. 1875. Collection of Margarete Scharf. http://www.arthermitage.org/Edgar-Degas/Place-de-la-Concorde.html. Accessed 12 April 2017.

Perugino. The Delivery of the Keys to St. Peter. 1481-3. Sistine Chapel. http://www.radford.edu/rbarris/art216upd2012/15th%20century%20Italian%20arts%20S11.html. Accessed 12 April 2017.

Pi, Dir. Darren Aronofsky. Artisan Entertainment, 1998. Film.

Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics.” DESMA 9. Web. 9 Apr. 2012. Lecture.

Hello, I am Christine. I recently just switched from an art history major to a sociology major. Even though I am north campus major, I am still very much interested in science. I have always been interested in science in relation to art, and that is why I wanted to take this class. Unfortunately, I am very aware of the divide between the realms of science and art. I can see the divide at UCLA, even geographically, as Professor Vesna mentions in her lecture, where the sciences are in the south and humanities are north. This prevents easy interaction/collaboration between the two campuses.

I can also see the divide in memes on the UCLA Memes for Sick AF Tweens page on Facebook. These types of memes are probably due to lack of understanding between the campuses. For example:

Even though I have always been aware of this divide, Professor Vesna’s lectures have also made me realize that even though the divide is a problem in itself, the divide also prevents these people from solving larger world problems like wealth inequality. And this is why, as the RSA Animate video highlights, we need to change our education paradigm. Since we are so used to it, we have taken our education system for granted and do not blame it for creating this divide.

RSA ANIMATE: Changing Education Paradigms

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

In her article Toward a Third Culture, Professor Vesna highlights how necessary collaboration between art and science is in bridging the two worlds (Vesna). As of now, art and science are literally two separate worlds. This is because, as Snow explains in his essay, the divide persists because scientists and artists literally live separately and create separate cultures that the other culture sometimes cannot understand (Snow).

In our education, the university teaches us to be tolerant and understanding of other cultures, ethnicities, political views, and religions. Unfortunately, the university does not make sure we are understanding of majors across campus. As a north campus major, I will use what I have learned in this unit to try to be more compassionate and understanding toward south campus majors.

Works Cited 

Almalvez, Miguel. ‘The saddest thing you realize is that on here and the Berkeley page, 50% of

the memes are just South Campus majors bashing North Campus majors because they are

trying to justify their decisions in life and unhappiness in the strange hope that their

suffering will have been worth it when most times if they don’t like it now...it won’t be.”

1 Dec 2016, 2:01 p.m. Facebook post.

“Maps.” ucla.edu. UCLA, Feb 2017. Web. 8 April 2017.

The RSA. (2010, Oct 14). RSA ANIMATE: Changing Education Paradigms [Video file].

Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

Snow, C.P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. Cambridge University Press, 1961.

Vesna, Victoria. “Towards a Third Culture: Being in between.” Leonardo, vol. 34, no. 2, 2001,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/1577014?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents. Accessed 6 April

2017.