MedTech + Art

“Human dissection is at the intersection of art and science.” Professor Vesna stated and I couldn't agree more. Countless artists actually studied anatomy through experimentation to bring their artwork into life. Leonardo Da Vinci is a famous Renaissance Man who “did not even see this divide between art and science.” In fact, he was one of the first to have drawings of the heart, vascular system, and other muscle bone structures. (1)

Leonardo reconstructs the human anatomy
http://www.artcrimearchive.org/article?id=88001

As an artist, I remember being forced to study and sketch the human anatomy countless times. However, the human anatomy is important in artwork because it distinguishes a realistic drawing from a flat drawing. (2) For example, an active muscle (contracted) is bulged and hard — this must be emphasized in order to provide an accurate drawing of an athlete.

Observe the muscle in this football player
http://coreyheck301.com

Today, the anatomy has still retained both its artistic and scientific features. Plastic surgery is an excellent example of this. “Good judgment, dexterity, and creativity, are what elevates a good plastic surgeon from the rank of a technician to the status of an artistic,” Raja Srour stated in the Art of Cosmetic Surgery (3). Plastic surgery involves extensive scientific knowledge — it is the “organized knowledge of the fundamental principles involving the transplantation and shifting of tissues.” (4) However, it also involves art as the surgeon can replicate famous paintings or icons’ specific feature. (5) Overall, I believe the human anatomy still is an applicable and widespread proof that art and science isn’t all that different; in fact, it is more similar than we actually know.

Plastic Surgery
www.newscientist.com

Citations: 

1. "Leonardo da Vinci." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.

http://www.biography.com/people/leonardo-da-vinci-40396#humble-beginnings

2. Human Anatomy Fundamentals: Muscles and Other Body Masses

http://design.tutsplus.com/articles/human-anatomy-fundamentals-muscles-and-other-body-mass--vector-22756

3. The Art of Cosmetic Surgery

http://www.cosmeticart.net/

4. John Davis, John Staige. “THE ART AND SCIENCE OF PLASTIC SURGERY.”Annals of Surgery 84.2 (1926): 203–210. Print.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1399227/

5. Priscilla Frank, “ORLAN Talks Plastic Surgery, Beauty Standards, and Giving Her Fat to Madonna” Huffington Post, Jan 29, 2013  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/29/performance-artist-orlan-interview-beauty-surgery_n_2526077.html

Week 3 Robotics + Art

“Around 1900 technical reproduction had reached a standard that not only permitted it to reproduce all transmitted works of art and thus to cause the most profound change in their impact upon the public; it also had captured a place of its own among the artistic processes,” Walter Benjamin argued about the mechanical reproduction of artworks. His proclamation exclaimed his belief that originality was being destroyed by replication. I agree with this statement ― originality is defined by little quirks that make an artwork unique and mass reproduction simply eliminates the uniqueness.

For example, no one really recalls each and every storm trooper in Star Wars. Each robot looks identically and the beauty disappears. However, R2D2 is a character we remember because it looks quite different. 

R2D2

Army of Storm Troopers

Society responds to industrialization by no longer recognizing the difference in the production but how it is produced and implemented into everyday society. “The fictions of ‘master’ and ‘copy’ are now so entwined with each other that it is impossible to say where one begins and where one ends.” Douglas Davis stated. Therefore, the only concrete distinction we can make is communicative network and discovery.

This unique interactive homepage draws attention to his different exhibits.

With this in mind, this is how artists like Ken Rinaldo capture an audience’s attention. His website (kenrinaldo.com) uses an extremely creative design for his homepage. The branches are quite atypical of a regular website and draws attention to his other artworks.

Citations

1. Walter Benjamin “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” (1936)

2. Douglas Davis “The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction” (1991-1995)

3. Storm Trooper Image

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Stormtrooper_Corps

4. R2D2 Image

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R2-D2

5. Ken Rinaldo

http://kenrinaldo.com/

Week 2: Math + Art

This week’s lesson made me realize that mathematics is art. Dr. Vensa mentioned math ultimately describes the relationships of operations, combinations, abstracts, symbols, shapes, and generalizations. Sound familiar? It should — that is how I would define art. The two perfectly juxtaposes each other: I don’t see them as two distinct topics but one that is extremely interlocked and compliments one another.

I learned that mathematics greatly influenced art. Perspectives and vanishing points greatly brought portraits and paintings into life. I was genuinely surprised to discover that math first used those ideas and art incorporated it later. The difference is truly magnificent.

Frankfurt Paradiesgartlein, a German panel painting in circa 1410
An example of a painting that lacks perspective

A Realistic Portrait by artist Giovanni Moroni

In the second photo, the person looks like it was photographed. Looking at the photo and observing the shadows, I noticed the perspective is at an angle. For example, the nose rim comes out more due to the white color and the darker shade pushes the side of the nose in. This gives the nose a three-dimensional look. Although it may not be apparent, the vanishing point is used to make the ear and the background seem further away than the eyes or the nose.

Ultimately, the use of perspective and vanishing points give depth and reality into a photo. As a painter, I believe mastering this ability changes a painting drastically. In addition, this connectivity of mathematics and art is not just simply present on two-dimensional canvases but also in real life; origami is another example of perspective in three-dimensions.

A 6-foot Heron folded for the Mingei Masterworks of Origami Exhibition
www.langorigami.com

The geometry is so precise and shows the endless possibilities math presents in art.

Citations:

1. Vanishing Points and Looking at Art

http://www.cs.ucf.edu/courses/cap6938-02/refs/VanishingPoints.pdf

2. The Geometry of Perspective Drawing

http://www.math.utah.edu/~treiberg/Perspect/Perspect.htm

3. Renaissance Art and Mathematical Perspective

http://www.mcm.edu/academic/galileo/ars/arshtml/renart1.html

4. Mathematical Origami by Robert Lang

http://www.langorigami.com/art/art.php

5. Frankfurt Paradiesgartlein, a German panel painting from circa 1410 Image

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panel_painting#/media/File:Meister_des_Frankfurter_Paradiesg%C3%A4rtleins001.jpg

6. Giovanni Moroni Image

https://www.tumblr.com/search/giovanni%20moroni

Week 1: Two Cultures

Two cultures: Charles Percy Snow’s argument that society is separated into science or art. And I agree with RSA Animate — schools do reinforce this idea.

Even in UCLA, the distinctions are clear. Everyone is either defined as a north campus major (humanities and arts) or a south campus major (mathematics and science). North campus majors rarely step foot into Boelter while South campus majors dread the walk to Broad. North campus classes meet Tuesday and Thursday; South campus classes meet Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The school even provides competitions to further split the school.

Do you support North or South campus?

Unfortunately, I believe this creates disparity in learning. As a physical science major, I see fellow south campus students collapse under endless computer science projects and math assignments. Everything is methodical and set.

                                                       

South campus majors’ constant responses to stress: “Oh I wish I was a North campus major, they have so much more free time for fun activities.”

This is where I disagree. I believe both North and South campus possess many qualities both sides should learn from one another. There should be no fine line that defines one or another. This is why I think Design Media Arts is the perfect example of a unity between the two. It ties in creative and imaginative artistic values that North campus majors values with technical coding background from South campus. It is the perfect yin and yang.

The Perfect Unity

If more majors followed the mixed line between North and South campus, learning would excel and education would flourish.

Citations:

1. Fifty years on, CP Snow's 'Two Cultures' are united in desperation (The Telegraph)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/5273453/Fifty-years-on-CP-Snows-Two-Cultures-are-united-in-desperation.html 

2. Festivals of Science and the Two Cultures: Science, Design and Display in the Festival of Britain, 1951

Sophie Forgan

The British Journal for the History of Science

Vol. 31, No. 2, Science and the Visual (Jun., 1998), pp. 217-240

http://www.jstor.org/stable/4027763 

3. RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

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

4. UCLA North vs. South Campus Challenge Image

http://www.theuclafund.ucla.edu/news/nvschallengewinner.aspx

5. Reading Cartoon

http://www.getbettergradesnow.com/blog/category/student-jokes-2/  

6. Yin and Yang Image

http://www.shutterstock.com/similar-44906290/stock-vector-love-yin-yang-on-yellow-background-vector.html?page=1&inline=121638127