Skip to main content

Scott Huh DESMA9 Event 1: Symposium

On Friday, April 21st, I attended the “Eco-Centric Art + Science: Prophesies and Predictions” symposium. Out of the multitude of speakers at the symposium, the one I found most intriguing was Charles Taylor. His presentation was about the interactive installation, Bird Song Diamond. The purpose of this presentation was to help us experience the world from a bird’s perspective, which in turn, allows us to fit in better and understand the larger part of our environment. When you look into a diamond, you see many different reflections. Charles Taylor’s intentions with using the diamond was that each reflection reflects different disciplines interacting together through shared interests. These disciplines include artificial intelligence, technology, art, and engineering.

The part of the presentation that interested me the most was how computer scientists and electrical engineers work with artists to create figures that combine data collected in the environment. More specifically, these engineers were able to link the birds’ different phrases with the intentions of their songs. This reinforces Vesna’s lecture about how art and science juxtapose through the continuing advancement in technology. The intention of Taylor’s research was to have people experience the world as a bird and to understand the birds’ perspective in a more comprehensive way. Through this, more people will have a better understanding of the degenerating environment, which does not come from research papers and textbooks.

Throughout this course, the lecture that caught my eye was the one about the gap between science and art being bridged by new technology. With computers and the programs that modern technology offers, scientists are able to utilize these programs to collaborate with artists. Just like the diamond that Taylor talks about, through shared interests, these diverging disciplines are able to become one. I am glad that I chose to attend this symposium because I found the topic that has completely changed my perspective about art, and I will be designing my midterm around it.


So, my fellow classmates, if you want to broaden your perspective and further reinforce your knowledge about art and science together, I highly recommend you attend this symposium.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Scott Huh DESMA 9 Week 7: Neuroscience + Art

When I was watching the lecture videos, especially the part about cocaine and LSD, I was intrigued by Dr. Hoffman and his many experiments with LSD. In the video, Vesna describes his “trip” as seeing “unprecedented colors and plays of shapes that persisted behind [his] closed eyes. Kaleidoscopic, fantastic images surged on [him] alternating, opening, and closing themselves in circles.” Although the images shown in the lecture videos were colorful and very artsy, I did not see how the use of these drugs contributes to art. Further researching this topic on my own, I was surprised to find countless artists have experimented with the effect of LSD on their work. For example, an artist drew self-portraits over the course of 9 hours while on 200 micrograms of LSD, which is 8 times the dose that Vesna considered “enough”. The picture on the left is her drawing after 15 minutes, and the one on the right is after 6 hours and 45 minutes. LSD changed this person’s perspectives by allowi...
3 comments
Read more

Scott Huh DESMA 9 Week 8: Nanotechnology + Art

Nano-particles in textile, making clothes waterproof This week, a UCLA professor from the CNSI department, Dr. Gimzewski, gave insightful lectures about nanotechnology. Prior to this week, I did not have a very good understanding of what nanotechnology is. In fact, I thought it was merely a form of technology that focused on small products, such as circuits and microchips. Therefore, I was shocked to find that nanotechnology actually deals with systems that are as small as 100 nanometers. I was even more surprised to discover that nanotechnology products, such as nano-particles in sportswear, food, and waterproof glass, are present in our daily lives.  Food being injected with nano-particles to provide essential nutrients for humans One nanotechnology product that I found most interesting was interactive personalized food. Companies have found ways to nano-encapsulate vitamins into food, which provide essential nutrients for humans. Using this exact concept, nanotech...
1 comment
Read more

Scott Huh DESMA 9 Week 6: Biotechnology and Art

Being raised by religious parents, I was somewhat familiar with the ongoing controversy in the field of biotechnology and nanotechnology. One of the reasons for this controversy, as Vesna states, is because “artists are actually meddling with the genetic structures of natural systems.” Up until this week’s lecture, I was indifferent about the ethical dilemma involved in this topic. In my opinion, there is a major different between artists and scientists experimenting with the general structures of living organisms. Scientists in this field have experimented with things such as transgenic rats using glowing jellyfish genes. Osamu Shimomura was the first person to inject these genes into mice for research purposes. These mice served as animal models “for studying biological processes and diseases that luminescent jellyfish genes can be used to tag certain genes or proteins.” According to High, genetically manipulated animals are promising tools. This type of genetic modification...
1 comment
Read more