Week 9: Space and Art

For centuries, space has been a mystery and only within the last hundred years have humans begun to explore the new frontier. Beginning in 1957 with the Soviet launch of the satellite Sputnik, the race for space began. Back and forth, the Soviets and the Americans battled for control of space with neither yielding until the dissolution of the USSR. Since then humans have made it to the surface of the moon and have turned their attention towards Mars and the commercialization of space travel.

The space race has spawned numerous pop cultural shows, such as Star Trek and the Jetsons, that continue to impact society today. The Jetsons, first released in 1962, depicted a futuristic world complete with flying cars and robot maids. This is what people of that era envisioned for the future. Interestingly some speculate that the show was set in the 21^st century and as of 2015 neither flying cars nor robot maids are readily accessible to the public. Although only released originally for one season, the cartoon has become a significant point of reference when speaking about the future.

Another movement somewhat related to the space race was that of the Futurists in the 20^th century. Although not solely focused on space, futurists fully embraced the idea of technology and the future. They too sought a world of flying cars and life changing technology. They embraced any medium of art to express this and influence of this movement can be seen in new age looking houses and accents on cars. As the space age continues, it will be interesting to see the influence it has on art and the style of homes, clothes, and machines.

"Futurism Artists." An Introduction to Art History. Art in the Picture, n.d. Web. 20 May 2015.

"Futurism Movement, Artists and Major Works." The Art Story. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2015.

"Journey to Mars." NASA. NASA, n.d. Web. 20 May 2015.

Novak, Matt. "50 Years of the Jetsons: Why The Show Still Matters." Smithsonian. N.p., 19 Sept. 2012. Web. 20 May 2015.

"What Is the Jetsons?" History. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2015.

Week 8: NanoTech+ Art

Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter on the nanoscale, at which the laws of classical physics no longer apply. At that level, we can see antibodies and water molecules and are even smaller than a common cell. This technology has many uses ranging from medical application to the development of new materials.

Nanoparticles in particular have come to dominate my undergraduate career. When I first joined a research lab, I began synthesizing polymeric nanoparticles that glowed due to a fluorescent tag which we used to image cancer cells. Now, working with gold nanoparticles I am developing a diagnostic assay to test for malaria. The gold nanoprobes act as a purple colorimetric indicator to visualize test results. What surprised me when I first joined the lab was that, this technology is employed in a generic pregnancy test which is already ingrained in society.

Gold NanoShells

Gold is conventionally visualized as a vibrant yellow color but at the nanoscale this all changes. Due to the oscillating electron cloud, they often appear purple or red for my research as the quantum physics dominates. Using a gold shell instead of a solid particle, gold can even be manipulated to different colors depending on its thickness. This completely changed the way I thought about gold and its actual coloring. My lab often uses these different colored particles in order to visualize material and gain more insight into the work we’re doing.

Visualizing material on a nanoscale can be done using scanning tunneling microscopy. It is amazing to see that each atom can be manipulated one by one and used to create words and beautiful structures. These microscopic technologies have given us great insight into how materials are structured and will continue to improve our understanding of how atoms operate. 

Boysen, Earl. "Nanoparticle Applications and Uses ." Understanding Nano. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2015.

Chiu, Ricky Y.t., Erik Jue, Allison T. Yip, Andrew R. Berg, Stephanie J. Wang, Alexandra R. Kivnick, Phuong T. Nguyen, and Daniel T. Kamei. "Simultaneous Concentration and Detection of Biomarkers on Paper." Lab on a Chip Lab Chip 14.16 (2014): 3021-028. Web. 14 May 2015.

"New Nanoparticles Make Blood Clots Visible." NanoWiki. N.p., 7 Feb. 2011. Web. 14 May 2015.

Oldenburg, S. J., J. B. Jackson, S. L. Westcott, and N. J. Halas. "Infrared Extinction Properties of Gold Nanoshells." Applied Physics Letters Appl. Phys. Lett. 75.19 (1999): 2897. Web. 14 May 2015.

"The Scanning Tunneling Microscope." Nobel Prize. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2015.

Week 7: Neuroscience + Art

The brain is the most complex structure in the human body. Due to its difficult nature, much of what is known about the brain has drastically evolved over the years. From Aristotle’s views that the brain was nothing more than a cooling system to Gall’s views on phrenology, many theories behind the brain function have been hypothesized. Ramon y Cajal was the first scientist to speak about neuron theory. He examined the shape and structure of the neurons or the “butterflies of the soul” for scientific advancement and even drew them to allow others to visualize their beauty. A true renaissance man Ramon y Cajal not only pioneered the field of neuroscience but was also an accomplished artist.

Drawing from his work, BioArtist Suzanne Anker, created the MRI butterfly which depicts a series of butterflies over lain on MRI scans. It is beautiful to see the parallelism between nature’s butterfly wings and a part of humans that controls our every thought and action. It helps to remind me that genomically humans are not much different than other organism on the planet.

What is pleasing to see is how art is helping to advance scientific discovery and vice versa. For example, the “brainbow” which uses fluorescent probes to help visualize the intricate neurons. It helped map multiple neurons and is also pretty to look at. Going back to the two cultures lecture, it is apparent that when art and science come together they both can be driven forward symbiotically. 

Event 3: The People's United Nation's

Amidst the never-ending headlines depicting the world’s problems, artist, Pedro Reyes, put on a project The People’s United Nations or pUN at the Hammer Museum. It brought together everyday citizens connected to the 195 member countries of the United Nations it order to create a forum where they could peacefully discuss solutions to the world’s problems. There the delegates discussed everything from the development of the digital world and its impact on privacy to economic equality and water shortages.

Reyes used his artwork to depict the major issues in today’s society. He drew inspiration from professionals with ideas about problems and made them into an artistic piece.  One piece called “Abolish Genetic Tyranny” speaks about the court case Diamond v. Chakrabarty in which the court allowed man-made organisms to be patentable. This has allowed for restrictions on access to medical technology and GMO crops. In particular this piece, falls in line with Professor Vesna’s lectures about BioTech+ Art and the questions surrounding the ethical use of tissues and DNA. As genetic modification becomes more prominent, more questions will arise regarding the proper use of these unique creations.

In another piece “Force Field Analysis”, Reyes depicts a tug of war scene. This piece captures the ideas of Kurt Lewin, a social scientist who relates social change to the laws of physics. He claims that situations are in a constant state of flux and forces impact actions. As Newton’s third law states, for every force exerted on a system, the system exerts an opposing force in response. Through a tug of war, Reyes depicts this phenomenon in relation to social problems. Merging social issues, science, and art, Reyes created a unique exhibit the serves to educate viewers and inspire change in the society. 

"Pedro Reyes: People's United Nations." The Hammer Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2015.

Week 6: Biotech + Art

The week’s topic covered Biotech and Art, or the use of cells and tissues to create unique living art. Working in a research lab I have used fluorescent proteins and the GFP filters in order to visualize the uptake of nanoparticles into cancer cells. Although I knew GFP was a very popular tag for research purposes I did not know that it was being used a cancer diagnostic and even more abstract uses such as with the GFP Bunny, Alba. Through Alba, Eduardo Kac has created a one-of-a-kind piece of art that can never again be perfectly replicated. However, the ethics been his creation is questionable. For now, until it is proven that the insertion of the GFP gene is harmful to the bunny, I think Kac’s attempt to create a social project through the bunny is admiral and at the forefront of forward thinking.

Plants are another tool that have utilized in art. Steichen cross breed irises to create new species. Considering this, Mendel was the pioneer for cross breeding with his study of pea plants to determine the inheritance patterns of the plants. He was able to determine which generations would get a certain color using a certain set of parents. Further along in history, tulips have also been studied for coloring. Multiple books were written to describe the push to create a black colored tulip and the race among plant growers. The Biotech and art displayed in this week’s videos show a new kind of art that will continue to evolve over the next generation.

Dumas, Alexandre, A. J. O'Connor, and Octave Uzanne. The Black Tulip. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1902. Print.

"Luminous Cells from Jellyfish Could Diagnose Cancers Deep within Human Body." ScienceDaily. Yorkshire Cancer Research, 6 Nov. 2010. Web. 07 May 2015.

Kac, Eduardo. "GFP BUNNY." GFP BUNNY. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2015.

Vesna. "5 BioArt Pt3." YouTube. UC Online Program, 17 May 2012. Web. 07 May 2015.

Zimmer, Marc. "Cool Uses." Green Fluorescent Protein. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2015.