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Week 4 - Medicine + Technology + Art I never thought about medicine and technology as being art before, however, after studying the material this week, I realize that medical practitioners are actually artists.  They are constantly studying and staying ahead of the latest trends and innovations in their particular speciality.  Plastic surgeons are artists and their work involves beautifying people on the outside.  Other types of surgeons perform their craft on the inside of bodies and while their work cannot be seen from the outside, a patient can benefit from their work on the inside.   In Orlan’s documentary, she creates “carnal art” by undergoing several plastic surgeries on her own body to demonstrate her beauty.  While I understand this is a form of art, I was quite uncomfortable watching the film because it pushed the boundaries of art. Too much plastic surgery can lead to too much transformation   Another example of medicine and technology merging with art is when

Event #1  April 11th: Design Media Arts graduate solo show - Youjin Cheng  After attending this event, I was able to see how art, technology, and science are closely related (week 1 blog).  This event was hosted by Youjin Cheng, an art student at UCLA, and it was held at the Broad Art Center.  In the middle of the room, there was an xbox controller attached to a couple of long strings which were connected to the main screen in the front of the room.  After reading and writing about the connection of art and technology in week one, it was interesting to see this displayed up close and in person.  Math, technology, and science all played a role in making the artist’s project come to life. Attending this event inspired me to think creatively as it was eye opening to see it first hand.  I thought the layout of the room was quite unique which helped me think outside of the box.  The xbox controller on the top level of the room gave depth to the exhibit as the screen was on the b

Week #3 – Robotics + Art When I was growing up.  I always imagined robots being larger-than-life sized figures made out of heavy metal and stainless steel.  I never considered robots as a form of art or that there was any sort of connection between these two entities.  Robots looked cold on the outside and I assumed they were cold on the inside too.   However, after watching David Hanson’s TED Talk about robots showing emotions and being able to respond to other people’s emotions, I started to think differently.   Perhaps robots aren’t so cold afterall? In Professor Machiko Kusahara’s lecture, she discusses Japan’s infatuation with robots and how robots are not nearly as well received in Western cultures.  This may be because Western cultures have not been exposed to humanoid robots as much as the Japanese.  Osamu Tezuka created Astro Boy, an animated robotic child with super strength.  Astro Boy merged Japanese animation, entertainment, and art with robotics.  Walter Ben

Week 2: Math + Art I never gave much thought about how math has had such a profound influence on art and science until this week’s assignment.  After reviewing the material, I soon realized how critical science and math are to music and art.  Music involves structure and form just like math.  I began playing the piano when I was three years old and learned how to count to the beat of the rhythm.  I also learned how to play scales, chords, and melodies in a wide range of musical styles.  While I excelled in music, math was one of my weaker subjects.  According to Cindy Zahn, there are people that do well in music but not in math.  I learned that it doesn’t matter if complex patterns in music resemble math because it is not relevant to musicians. Value of musical notes  According to Robert Lang, applying the basic principles of math are essential requirements in the art of Origami.  I discovered that math is the study of shapes, forms, relationships and information and those

Week 1:  Two Cultures As a freshman and student-athlete at UCLA, I have experienced CP Snow’s concept about two cultures by simply attending class everyday on campus.  My science classes are in classrooms on South Campus while my arts and humanities classes are on North Campus.  In 1959, Snow created a “cultural controversy” (Vesna) and declared that literary intellectuals were separate from the natural sciences.  While I have never given any thought to this notion prior to this week, I can appreciate why he felt that way.  I believe the UCLA campus was originally almost 100 years ago separating its arts and sciences buildings because it was universally understood and accepted that literary intellectuals did not need to connect with scientists and vice versa. I grew up surrounded by television, movies, advertisements, and an education system that taught me that scientists wore white lab coats and worked on secret projects while artists, writers, and musicians blended into societ