kevinyDESMA9

For this week’s blog post, I listened to James Gimzewski’s lectures on the history, advantages, and prevalence of nanotechnology. Previously a researcher at IBM’s Zurich Research Laboratory, Gimzewski is currently a chemistry professor and nanoscientist at UCLA. His online lectures gave me a new perspective on the reality of nanoparticles and nano-scale processes, which exist everywhere from nature to consumer products. Starting in the 1960s, people began approaching nanomaterials as potential for accomplishing unmet needs. Nanoscience grew in the 1980s, following the discovery of graphene and buckminsterfullerene (or the buckyball). Nanotechnology such as scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) provided scientists with the ability to visualize and even alter material surfaces on the atomic scale. Nanoparticles have much different properties compared with their bulk state, which opens countless possibilities for science, technology, and perhaps art. After...

            This week, students of DESMA 9, a class in the Design | Media Arts department at UCLA taught by Victoria Vesna, learned about how neuroscience inspires artists who are fascinated with the human mind. The history of neuroscience is relatively short, starting with the theory of phrenology in 1796 by Franz Joseph Gall. This physician believed that various cerebral functions were localized, meaning that individual intellect and personality could be predicted based on brain or skull shape. Ramon y Cajal (1852-1934) then pioneered microscopic studies of the structure of the nervous system, receiving the Nobel Prize in 1906 for being the founder of neural anatomy. Most recently, the Brainbow was invented in 2007 by Harvard professors of neurobiology, which effectively tagged individual neurons in the brain with fluorescent proteins. This revolutionary technology led to beautiful and informative images for scientists (Vesna, 2012). (Complex neura...

            Just before the start of the 21 st century, a new type of art utilized genetic engineering to create unique, aesthetically intriguing organisms. Known as BioArt today, these art projects were pioneered by Joe Davis, and shortly after, Eduardo Kac. Joe Davis was both an artist and a researcher at MIT’s Center for Advanced Visual Studies. Although a rather eccentric human being, he set many precedents for future BioArtists. He realized that genes and genomes could become a new palette, with which artists can use life itself as a valid expressive medium. He theorized many projects, such as the modifying amino acids to form highly geometric capsules, but many molecular biologists were still hesitant to teach him all of the necessary techniques. Shortly after, Eduardo Kac invented the “GFP Bunny” in 2000, an iconic piece of BioArt (which he called transgenic art at the time). In short, he injected the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) into fertilized...

This past Tuesday, on May 9 th , I attended Elí Joteva’s solo exhibition, titled “Mnemoawari”, at the Broad Arts Center in UCLA. Currently a graduate student in UCLA’s Design | Media Arts department, Joteva is also an inter-media artist and researcher who combines neurophysics and art through the use of imaging tools and biofeedback technologies. In other words, she is interested in phenomena related to brain function and presents art pieces that incorporate bioimaging techniques. The first thing that intrigued me about this solo show was the title: mnemo- , meaning memory in Greek, and -awari , which translates to wanderer in Hindi. Walking into the gallery, I immediately saw a sign that described the purpose of her exhibition. It was a pleasure meeting Joteva at the exhibition, and I enjoyed experiencing the artist’s expression of memory and time! (Exhibition sign (left picture), and a hanging cryogenic sculpture and VR headset in the background. There were a lot of people...

Link to PDF of my Midterm (Also submitted online through UC Canvas): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B58o_vgxPHPtc3I3WjBDcUp3T2M/view?usp=sharing