Event 3: In Focus: Electric!

I attended the exhibition In Focus: Electric! at the Getty Museum a couple of weeks ago. This photography event aims at showing the influence of the electric to human. Electricity benefits us in all kinds of aspects, but it also has downsides on our lives - people nowadays just take it for granted and depend on it too much. I can stand a few days without electricity, but definitely not an entire life! It is interesting to see how artists express these ideas through photographs.

Lights in some sense represent the progress of the world. From the birth of the light bulb to the widespread application of the lights in the streets and buildings. Artists like Alfred Stieglitz and Bureau uses their photos of streetlights in New York and Paris to demonstrate the benefits that electricity brought to our society, while American photographer Robert Adams shows the light pollution also brought along with them. (Since visitors are not allowed to take photos in the gallery I don't have the photo of Adams's work.)

A Night View of Broadway looking North from 45th Street, 1923. New York Edison Co. Photographic Bureau. 

The Glow of Night — New York, 1897. Alfred Stieglitz.

Electricity is also employed in many scientific experiments. Testing Synchronized Flash Powder is a photo took by George Watson in 1920. In the photo, two researchers jump into the air to test flash power. Other interesting photographs are those of Guillaume-Benjamin Duchenne's experiment with electric to trigger different facial expressions. This experiment reminds me of the topic "biotechnology and art" that we discussed in week 6. I am amazed at how electricity can control our expressions.

Testing Synchronized Flash Powder, 1920. George Watson.

Plate from the book The Mechanism of Human Physiognomy, 1876, Guillaume-Benjamin Duchenne.

"Great are the powers of electricity. . . . It makes millionaires. . . . It hides in the air. It creeps into every living thing. . . . Energy begets energy."(“Magnificent Power Celebration Banquet,” Buffalo Morning Express, January 1897). These artworks remind people about the huge change of the society that the technology brought to them, whether good or not. I recommend this exhibition since it demonstrates the complex relationship of human, art and technology and how this relationship promotes each other to better stages, just like what we discuss in this class. Also, the Getty Center has a lot more to explore the beautiful merge of the Two Cultures!

Sources & Photos:

"In Focus: Electric!" Getty Museum. Web. 1 June 2016. 

"The Glow of Night - New York." PhotoSeed Blog RSS. Web. 01 June 2016. 

"A Night View of Broadway Looking North from 45th Street (Getty Museum)." The J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles. Web. 01 June 2016. 

Event 2: LACMA

I visited the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for my second event. I am very excited since I have heard about it a couple of times even before I landed in LA. And the truth is, it was indeed an interesting experience.

Rain Room is definitely the most impressive work on this trip. I got the last-minute ticket for it luckily. Honestly, I didn't see that coming since the Rain Room is so popular!

Rain Room

Rain room is created by Random International, a collaborative studio founded in 2005 that use technology to create interactive experiences of art. In the black room, water pours from the ceiling and seeps into the floor made by iron wire. When people move through the water, the rain will pause so that the water will only fall around them. Just like what stated on the website of LACMA, the Rain Room offer the visitors "the ability to control rain."

Me in the Rain Room

Behind this stunningly beautiful experience are ten 3-D cameras that detect body motion. Computers receive the signals that these cameras send back and then determine whether the 36 sprinkler nozzles on the ceiling to release water or not. 528 gallons of water is used in the Rain Room and will be recycled throughout the exhibition.
I absolutely love the experience of Rain Room. Instead of standing there watching and imaging, I can feel the work and the feeling that the artists want to express. I believe this is also the most charming aspect of the combination of art and science - people can actually feel the art.

Miracle Mile by Robert Irwin

Metropolis II by Chris Burden

Other works in LACMA are also fascinating such as Metropolis II and Urban Light by Chris Burden and Miracle Mile by Robert Irwin. After this trip, I have a better understanding of Two Cultures. I highly recommend this event since it shows lots of amazing artworks when technology and art come together!



Sources:

Vankin, Deborah. "First Look inside LACMA's Rain Room: An Indoor Storm Where You Won't Get Wet...honest." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. Web. 31 May 2016.

 "Rain Room." Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Web. 31 May 2016.

Week 9: Space + Art

Space, a concept that human has been interested in for centuries, keeps holding people's attention today. In ancient times, people named stars in the universe after different gods, such as Jupiter, Mars and Venus. Stories about this unknown space then started to flourish.

Artists, scientists, musicians and writers in all times are all fascinated by it, creating thousands of beautiful works. Many movies and novels have depicted the travel in space, such as E.T., the Jetsons and Planet stories. These artworks evoked many people's curiosities of space as well as inspirations for scientists. My favorite work about space exploration is Interstellar directed by Christopher Nolan. The beautiful scenes of the universe along with the amazing music created by Hans Zimmer are really impressive.

The scientific exploration of space also started early in human's history. People used to believe that the Earth is at the center of the universe until Nicolaus Copernicus formulated a model that the Sun is actually at the center. However, space is huge, much huger than mankind can ever imagine. Neither the Sun nor the Earth is at the center of the space. Actually, we are all tiny pieces of the universe, just like what shows in the video Powers of Ten.

Space is indeed fascinating but also terrifying. On November 3, 1957, Laika, a stray dog, was the first living being that human sent into space. It only survived hours due to overheating, not six days that most people believed. But Laika was not the only life that was taken away by the universe. Many died for the space exploration, for example, the Space Challenger disaster in 1986. Though tragedies did happen, human also made progress. Yuri Gagarin was the first human in space and finished a 108-minute orbital flight. On July twenty, 1969, American astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon - one of the most historical moments in the human history.

Space dog Laika

Space is an excellent topic to end our discussion in art and science since itself is a perfect combination of them. It connects all the topics that we have learned so far together: nanotechnology, mathematics, robotics and much more, and shows us a beautiful picture when all these subjects come together. With artists and scientists working with and inspiring each others, I believe we will find out the mystery of the universe one day.



Sources:

EamesOffice. "Powers of Ten™ (1977)." YouTube. YouTube, 2010. Web. 29 May 2016. 

"The Poetics of Spaces: Outer Space." ENTROPY RSS. Web. 29 May 2016. 

"Heroes of Space: Laika the Space Dog | Space Facts – Astronomy, the Solar System & Outer Space | All About Space Magazine." Space Facts Astronomy the Solar System Outer Space All About Space Magazine. Web. 29 May 2016. 

"The Copernican Revolution." Copernicus. Web. 29 May 2016. 

"INTERSTELLAR - Official Movie Site." Interstellar. Web. 29 May 2016.

Uconlineprogram. "8 Space Intro 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, 2013. Web. 29 May 2016. 

Uconlineprogram. "8 Space Pt1 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, 2013. Web. 29 May 2016. 

Uconlineprogram. "8 Space Pt3 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, 2013. Web. 29 May 2016. 

Uconlineprogram. "Space Pt4." YouTube. YouTube, 2012. Web. 29 May 2016. 

Uconlineprogram. "Space Pt6." YouTube. YouTube, 2012. Web. 29 May 2016. 

Week 8: Nanotech + Art

Nanotechnology is a technology that manipulates matters at the nanoscale, which is about 1 - 100nm. Before this week's lecture, I have heard about it a couple of times and have learned that it is a powerful area in the future. However, I am surprised that nanotech is already widely used in our daily lives. Nanotech has existed in clothes, medicines, tennis balls, food, and of course, design and art.
I always believe that nanotechnology is a brand new area in science. But the truth is, the Romans have employed nanotechnology in art dated back to 400 B.C. even if they were not aware of it. Lycurgus Cup, an ancient Roman pottery, appears to be green in daylight, but red if the light comes from inside. This rare coloration, according to Dr. Gimzewski, is made by nano-sized gold particles due to their special properties. (Gimzewski, p3)

Lycurgus Cup

Not only the does the gold particles change their properties at nano-sized but also do the other particles. At the nanoscale, opaque change into transparent, solids into liquid, inert material into a catalyst and insulator conductor. These changes open up a door to further applications of nanotech such as waterproof clothes and self-cleaning glass.

Scanning Tunneling Microscope

In order to observe atoms at the nanoscale, two German scientists Gred Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer invented the Scanning Tunneling Microscope. This technology enables people to not only get a more accurate image of atom structures but also manipulate chemical reactions at atom-level. Lisa, a graduate student in Dr. Gimzewski's group, produced an image of UCLA by the Scanning Tunneling Microscope. IBM, the birthplace of the Scanning Tunneling Microscope, also used this technology to manipulate the carbon monoxide molecules to made a logo of their own.

UCLA image made by Lisa

IBM logo made by carbon monoxide

Though nanotechnology brings us convenience and lots of possibilities, it also brings risks to us. However, as long as people are aware of its risks and as the research in nanotech goes deeper, I believe scientists and artists can develop more applications and create more stunning arts by the nanotechnology.

Sources:

"New Under Sol: Nanotechnology in the Roman Empire." New Under Sol: Nanotechnology in the Roman Empire. Web. 22 May 2016. <http://newundersol.blogspot.com/2013/09/nanotechnology-in-roman-empire.html>.

Gimzewski, Jim. "Nanotech Jim Pt2." YouTube. YouTube, 2012. Web. 22 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEp6t0v-v9c>.

Gimzewski, Jim. "Nanotech Jim Pt3." YouTube. YouTube, 2012. Web. 22 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0HCNiU_108>.

"The Scanning Tunneling Microscope." The Scanning Tunneling Microscope. Web. 22 May 2016. <http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/physics/microscopes/scanning/>.

"Atoms Were Moved with an IBM-invented Scanning Tunneling Microscope - IBM Unveils 'world's Smallest Movie' Using Atoms - The Economic Times." The Economic Times. Web. 22 May 2016.

Week 7: Neuroscience + Art

The brain is always the most interesting part of the human body. It connects people to the world and enables them to feel, to think and to create. Neuroscience is a relatively new area that people try to learn more about how the brain works. But scientists are not the only one who want to figure out this mystery. For centuries, artists have obsessed with the connection between the human mind and body. The combination of these two fields enables people to understand their minds and individualities more.
The perfect example of this relationship between neuroscience and art is a technique, first developed by a team led by professors at Harvard University, Brainbow. By using fluorescent proteins with different ratios of red, green and blue, scientists can distinguish individual neurons from the other neurons next to them, creating a rainbow-like image. Brainbow not only is a technique that inspires lots of fascinating artworks but also is a major contribution to the study of the neuron connections in the human brain.

image of neurons when using Brainbow

Brainbow, Work No.11047, Meline S (2011)

Another topic that I found interesting is the dream. People can see impossibles in their dreams - things that are often unbelievable in the reality. Throughout the recorded history, scientists and artists have spent lots of time on this mysterious human brain activity, trying to interpret and understand it. Though it is often considered unreliable in the psychology field today, the theory of Sigmund Freud is the most widely spread technique to interpret dreams. He separated human mind into conscious, preconscious and unconscious. Dreams, according to Freud's theory, is driven by people's wishes in their unconscious minds. In my point of view, though can not completely control it, people are able to free their creativities in their dreams. The dream is exactly a combination of art and neuroscience.

Human brain itself is a piece of a masterpiece by nature. Art and neuroscience are just two different ways to interpret the activities of the human brain. With them, artists and scientists can dive more into the area of the brain and cognitive science, but of course, there is still a long way to go.



Sources:

"Brainbow 101 : IGTRCN." IGTRCN. Web. 15 May 2016. <http://igtrcn.org/brainbow-101/>.

Brainbow. Web. 15 May 2016. <http://www.meline-art.com/brainbow>.

"Id, Ego and Superego." Id Ego Superego. Web. 15 May 2016. <http://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html>.

 "Brain Cells Colored To Create 'Brainbow'" LiveScience. TechMedia Network. Web. 15 May 2016. <http://www.livescience.com/1977-brain-cells-colored-create-brainbow.html>.

Freud, Sigmund. The interpretation of dreams. Read Books Ltd, 2013.

 "The Interpretation of Dreams Sigmund Freud (1900)." Web. 15 May 2016. <http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Freud/Dreams/dreams.pdf>.

 "Sigmund Freud on Dreams: Releasing Repressed Impulses." Amy Cope Dream into Life. 2014. Web. 15 May 2016. <http://amycope.com/sigmund-freud-dream-theories/>. 

Week 6: BioTech + Art

BioArt is an art process that human work with living things such as tissues and organisms to express their ideas. It enables artists to further explore the meaning of life and extend the existing forms of art.

The artwork that interested me most in this week's lecture is fish and chips created by Simbiotica, a group that engages artists in the science lab. I am always curious about what is happening in our minds when we are thinking. In this project, the scientists created a robotic drawing arm that moved by the activity of goldfish neurons to produced art.  Though the art seems like kind of a mess, it has its unique beauty and meaning.

Another worth-mentioning project is Alba, a genetically modified glowing rabbit made by Eduardo Kac with the GFP genes. The scientists injected the GFP genes, which came from a kind of  fluorescent jellyfish named Aequorea victoria and was modified to glow twice as powerful, into the rabbit to make it glow. Kac described Alba as a transgenic artwork. However, animal rights activists believed that what Kac did was an abuse manipulation on the animal.

Eduardo Kac is not the only artist that caused ethical debates about BioArt. BioArt does inspires lots of people to think about life. But since it is deeply related to biotechnology, which possesses great power but is also considered dangerous if it is mistakenly used, BioArt is facing the same ethical and social inquiry as it started to be practiced by more artists in the world.
In my opinion, life itself is an expressive medium with or without artificial manipulations. Indeed, using biotechnology as an artistic technique is an innovative way to explore what living beings are capable of and what lives truly are. However, if artists who what to create BioArt are not experts in biotechnology, they may cause unpleasant damage. BioArt should have a certain restrict boundary which defined by today's laws and morals. But this boundary should neither be more nor less stringent than that in the industrial and academic area.
There are no limits to human creativity, but there are limits to human practice. And these limits, believe it or not, will change as the time goes by.



Sources:

 "GFP Bunny." Vimeo. Web. 8 May 2016. <https://vimeo.com/9762314>.

"the Portrait Series" MEART. Web. 8 May 2016. <http://www.fishandchips.uwa.edu.au/project/project_portraits.html>. 

 "Mutant Bunny." New Scientist. Web. 8 May 2016. <https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16-mutant-bunny/>.

Vesna, Victoria. “5 BioArt pt2.” Lecture. Youtube, 17 May 2012. Web. 8 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7&v=MdSt-Hjyi2I>.

Vesna, Victoria. “5 BioArt pt1.” Lecture. Youtube, 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 8 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaThVnA1kyg>.

Event 1: Leap Before You Look: Black Mountain College

I visited the Leap Before You Look: Black Mountain College 1933-1957 exhibition a few weeks ago. As stated on the website of the hammer museum, it is the first comprehensive museum exhibition in the United States about the experimental liberal arts college - the Black Mountain College. I have not heard about this college before, but after doing some research, I am very interested in its style of education.

The entrance of the exhibition

The Black Mountain College employed liberal arts education style that seen the study of art as the center. The students did not only focus on art education: they could choose their courses freely and had to participate in the daily operation of the college. In the first lecture, we talked about the separation of art and science. I believe the education that the Black Mountain College uses is one of the good ways to bridge this gap.
Though I am not a big fan of visiting museum, I found many of the artworks interesting. They are not pure arts but a combination of all the other subjects.
The most impressive work to me is Ruth Asawa's Untitled (S. 272). Asawa used copper and iron wire to construct a sophisticated object. The weaving style was first learned from Mexican craftspeople on her trip to Toluca.

Untitled (S. 272), Ruth Asawa, c. 1995

When I first saw this object, I thought about the trigonometric functions sine and cosine. Since these functions typically appear in the mathematic area, this work caught my attention immediately. I am not sure what Asawa tried to express through this work but I saw the beauty of the combination of math and art from it. I am also surprised by the precision of this extremely sophisticated object since it was completely hand made.

Me in the Hammer Museum

Despite this amazing work of Ruth Asawa, there are much more to explore in the exhibition. As Josef Albers said, “We do not always create ‘works of art,’ but rather experiments; it is not our intention to fill museums: we are gathering experience,” unlike typical artworks that people see in the museum, the works of the Black Mountain College are all derived from the "third culture". I highly recommend this event since it exhibits a way to approach the ideal education style that brings art and science together.

Sources:

1 "In-Gallery Performances." The Hammer Museum. Web. 3 May 2016. <https://hammer.ucla.edu/exhibitions/2016/leap-before-you-look-black-mountain-college-1933-1957/#>. 

Midterm Project

https://drive.google.com/a/g.ucla.edu/file/d/0B3xBhopdEAeuQ25zN0Z4UjdXN0U/view?usp=sharing

Week 4: Medicine + Technology + Art

The human body is always a popular topic among artists from the very beginning of the history of art. Actually, the body itself is a fantastic artwork. The eyes, arms, legs and fingers are all little pieces of art made by nature. These pieces are connected by the muscles and finally form the most incredible art in the world - the human body. Medicine, on the other hand, approaches the human body in a more precise and scientific way. In this case, I am surprised that people seldom related medicine to art when both of them have deep connections with human bodies.

Anatomy is the first attempt that art and medicine come together. In the time of renaissance, artists and doctors worked together to document the human body. Andreas Vesalius, usually considered as the founder of modern human anatomy, published the first reliable human anatomy books in the world, On the Fabric of the Human Body. In 1858, English surgeon Henry Gray published his book Gray's Anatomy which still regarded as one of the most influential anatomy books by artists and scientists. These books enable artists to study the human body better and create accurate human portraits. But the fusion of medicine and art can enlighten things far more than that.

Orlan, a French artist, is a perfect example of the fusion of art and medicine. Orlan underwent 9 plastic surgeries not for her own beauty but in order to examine the true meaning of beauty. She chose some person figure in the classic masterpieces and decided to replicate some part of their bodies. These figures are not chosen because of their beauty or her personal preferences, instead, they were in their place because the histories behind them. For example, Mona Lisa was chosen because Da Vinci hid himself in the portrait of Mona Lisa, causing a question on identity. By using medical methods, Orlan was able to express her idea to  the public.

Medicine, like any other science-related areas, is closely related to art and vice versa. Whether being a reference or a tool to express ideas, medicine is always standing beside the art and helps artists to create better works.

Sources:

"Artiste Transmédia Et Féministe. Météorite Narratif Du BIO ART. Son Oeuvre Questionne Le Statut Du CORPS Dans La Société. Ses Sculptures, HYBRIDATIONS Et Autoportraits Réinterprètent Le Rôle Des Nouvelles Technologies." Artiste Transmédia Et Féministe. Météorite Narratif Du BIO ART. Son Oeuvre Questionne Le Statut Du CORPS Dans La Société. Ses Sculptures, HYBRIDATIONS Et Autoportraits Réinterprètent Le Rôle Des Nouvelles Technologies. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <http://www.orlan.eu/>.

"ORLAN, Omniprésence, 1993. Extrait." YouTube. Ed. Diy Artem. YouTube, 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN1teX2xzh0>. 

Vesna, Victoria. “Medicine and Art: Part 1.” YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 24 April. 2016.

Vesna, Victoria. “Medicine and Art: Part 2.” YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 24 April. 2016.

MutleeIsTheAntiGod. "Orlan - Carnal Art (2001) Documentary." YouTube. YouTube, 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. 

 "Andreas Vesalius." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. 

Week 3: Robotics + Art

In today's lecture, professor Vesna talked about robotics and art. It all started at 1439 when Johannes Gutenberg introduced printing press to the west and dramatically speeded up the transfer of knowledge. Many years later Industrial Revolution brought industrialization to the world. Indicating those who worked in the factory, the word "robot" first appeared in Rossum's Universal Robots, a science fiction theater play in 1920.

                                     

I believe many people like me were surprised that "robot" was first defined by a theater playwriter but not a scientist, let alone robotics was not only born from art but also brought to the world by it. Thousands of films and books try to depict the world where humans and robots live together, inspiring many robotics scientists. For example, a 1989 movie called The Terminator depicted a future that robots overruled people, which is still a common concern to robotics today as robots develop closer to those in the film. This movie was a huge success and greatly promoted the influence of robotics.

Despite the concern of powerful robots ruling over the earth, a more realistic concern was mentioned by Walter Benjamin. In his essay The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction, Benjamin wrote, "Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be." He pointed out that those reproductions of art by robots in the factory or machines did not possess the uniqueness and originality. Indeed, the replicas of the art can never have the aura that the original has. But does this really has a negative influence on art?

As we can see today, those nearly perfect replicas such as posters, postcards and photographs actually increase people's awareness of the original art which in the old times were always found out their beauty after the death of the artists. Moreover, in my point of view, industrialization and mechanization are not diminishing people's creativity but enhance it. It frees people from doing repeated work and enables them to focus more on the creation of new technology or art.
Robotics was born from art, new art was born form robotics and the cycle continues. They are bettering and depend on each other. They are inseparable.


Sources:

TheRecluseeee. "[The End of Mankind Tale] Rossum's Universal Robots (R.U.R.), SF Audiobook by Karel Čapek." YouTube. YouTube, 2014. Web. 17 Apr. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeOSlC_yvk0>.

 "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." Walter Benjamin. Web. 17 Apr. 2016. <http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm>. 

 Transfofa. "The Terminator Movie Trailer." YouTube. YouTube, 2006. Web. 17 Apr. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4Jo8QoOTQ4>. 

Vesna,Victoria. “Lectures Part 1.” Robotics + Art. 17 Apr. 2016. Lecture.

Vesna,Victoria. “Lectures Part 2.” Robotics + Art. 17 Apr. 2016. Lecture.

 "RUR Title Page." RUR Title Page. Web. 17 Apr. 2016. <http://www.umich.edu/~engb415/literature/pontee/RUR/RURsmry.html>. 

 "MONA LISA IS MISSING: A BOOM IN MONA LISA POSTCARDS." MONA LISA IS MISSING: A BOOM IN MONA LISA POSTCARDS. Web. 17 Apr. 2016. <http://monalisadocumentary.blogspot.com/2010/09/boom-in-mona-lisa-postcards.html>. 

Week 2: Math + Art

Among all the things that go against the art, math may always be the first that jumps out of people's minds. However, in this week's lectures, professor Vesna related art and math together by talking about how math help artists to produce stunningly beautiful arts. She introduced perspective, golden ratio and other math-related techniques that enable many artists to make their art more realistic.

A Song Dynasty watercolor painting of a mill in an oblique perspective, 12th century

As a person who deeply in love with drawing, though not very good at it, I always found those techniques useful. The Golden ratio is largely employed by architects and logo designers. The concept of perspective and vanishing point help artists to create realistic art better and easier. But instead of continuing the examples of the paintings in the old days, I want to introduce a relatively new art form to prove the importance of math to art in this blog.

The Flying Carpet by Kurt Wenner

Artists can actually do much more things than just depicting the reality with math. Nowadays, a new form of painting has gradually come in front of the stage - 3D sidewalk painting. Instead of creating realistic paintings on the canvas or paper like those artists mentioned in the lectures, as one of the top 3D sidewalk painter in the world, Edgar Müller produced false impressions of those impossibles to the audience on the street using the same math-related techniques mentioned before. He used lines, shapes, vanishing points and the concept of perspective to create those astounding paintings.

Oliver the Xu uploaded two videos on Youtube that explain the concept and the procedures of 3D sidewalk paintings a few years ago. These two videos clearly show that artists can not create those paintings without the help of mathematics.

                                   

As what professor Vesna indicated in the lectures, people are making math and art into one thing - they are not as separate as what people used to think. With math, art can evolve into higher levels - just like from realistic paintings to 3D sidewalk paintings. Although some of the mixtures of art and math may not be accepted easily by people by now, as indicated in the novel "Flatland", they do push art onto new roads. Math and science are not only the tools to create art but also part of it.



Sources:

Song Dynasty Hydraulic Mill for Grain. Wikipedia. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspective_(graphical)>.

The Flying Carpet by Kurt Wenner. Top 10 Inspiring and Creative 3D Painting Arts. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. <http://www.elist10.com/top-10-inspiring-creative-3d-painting-arts/>.

Mueller, Edgar. "The Crevasse - Making of 3D Street Art." YouTube. Edgar Mueller, 2009. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SNYtd0Ayt0>. 

Oliver the Xu. "3d Street Art Tutorial How to Part 1." YouTube. YouTube, 2010. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. 

Oliver the Xu. "3d Street Art Tutorial How to Part 2." YouTube. YouTube, 2010. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. 

Abbott, Edwin. “Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions.” Web. Apr 10, 2016. http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/eaa/FL.HTM

Week 1: Two Cultures

As a student who major in computer science and have a strong interest in design, I have experienced the phenomena mentioned in the readings "Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution" and "Third Culture: Being in Between" through my first college year.

UCLA has a quite separate campus organizing with art majors on the north campus and science majors on the south. Moreover, many courses in design and media arts majors are not available to students in other majors, even those which are closely related to other fields, for example, game design. Due to this separation in education, I barely have a chance to study design.

Game programming and design cooperate together

However, things changed after I joined a game-developing club. I was not restricted to my major and could active as both a programmer and a designer. During the development, I found out that science and art are closely intermediate. Programmers had to change designer's ideas into code and designers had to think about how to make their design easier for people to use with current technology. Only with this cooperation between art and science could our team make a good game. Luckily, being the "third culture" in this club enabled me to discover the beauty of this merge.

merge of art and science

To be honest, I never thought about the separation of art and science seriously until this week and suddenly all my previous experiences linked up. Indeed, gaps exist between art and science but they are never entirely separate. The "third culture" act as a bridge between them and light up lots of new possibilities. I believe this "third culture" will become the mainstream of education in the future as Sir Ken Robinson mentioned in his video about changing the education paradigms. With different academic fields link together, new ideas will bump up, for example, those that may change the world.



Sources:

Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York: Cambridge UP, 1959. Print.

Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between.” Leonardo 34.2 (2001): 121-25. Web. 03 April. 2016.

TheRSAorg. "RSA ANIMATE: Changing Education Paradigms." YouTube. YouTube, 2010. Web. 03 April. 2016.

"The Two Cultures." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 03 April. 2016.

SkookumScipt. Web. 03 April. 2016. <http://skookumscript.com/unreal/>. 

EQ. Web. 03 April. 2016. <http://www.eqsa.co.za>.

Sogeti Lab. Web. 03 April. 2016. <http://labs.sogeti.com/author/joo-serk-lee/>.