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Showing posts from May, 2022

Das Event 3: Color, Light and Motion (Ann McCoy)

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  The “Color, Light and Motion” talk featuring Ann McCoy was an incredible venture, focusing on the work of fellow artist, Otto Piene. This event opened the history behind the world of the Zero Group, a German art movement that Piene was passionate about, a group which aimed to transition into a more focused perspective on their art’s materials and world, rather than zoning in on postwar moments (Wolfe). This group encouraged Piene’s usage of light in art and the creative process, encouraging space, energy, and time itself to find its way into their artistic endeavors (Forbes). With these tools in his kit, Piene’s popularity skyrocketed with his skyline-esque images created with those instruments like light, almost as if he were asking the light to “dance across the room” (Sprüth Magers).  Das, Paravi. Screenshot of Zero Group arts-piece . Los Angeles, 7 May. 2022. This artistic ability eventually landed him a role as MIT’s Center of Advanced Visual Studies first fellow turned...

Das Week 9: Space + Art

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Editors, Artspace. 3 Sept. 2017, www.artspace.com/magazine/art_101/book_report/ten-depictions-of-the-cosmos-by-modern-masters-55022. Accessed 27 May 2022.   As Professor Vesna stated, space unites many of the topics and ideas we’ve touched on throughout these past nine weeks, including everything from nanotechnology to biotechnology (Vesna). The diverse nature of the concept is attention-grabbing, and once its potential in pop culture was tapped, it’s been flowing ever since. Space began to work hand in hand with film and television on a large scale, including films like Gravity by Alfonso Cuaron and Interstellar by Christopher Nolan. Interstellar has been a favorite of the public’s, and the 2014 dramatic piece even used physicist Kip Thorne’s observations and intellect to ensure they were as close to scientifically accurate as they could be in the realm of creativity (Tate)!  Morgan, Chris.  ET , www.yardbarker.com/entertainment/articles/20_facts_you_might_not_know_abo...

Das Week 8: Nanotechnology + Art

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Yurcha nka, Siarhei.  Nanotechnology , 2020, www.openaccessgovernment.org/nanotechnology-work-related-aspects/83480/. ‌           Nanotechnology seems to be a very out-of-this-world and advanced idea, something reserved for Marvel movies like Antman and never quite within reach of the general public, but upon further investigation, I was thoroughly surprised to discover the presence of this week’s topic in anything from sunscreen, containing two common types of nanoparticles that block out UV radiation whilst feeling light on the skin, to clothing, containing particles of silica that can act as a repellent of liquid on the cloth material (Marr). As stated in lecture, Norio Taniguchi at the Tokyo University of Science coined the term “nanotechnology” in 1974, and since then, the concept has made great strides in many different aspects of our lives (Gimzewski).  Vesna, Victoria and Gimzewski, James. "Victoria Vesna and James Gimzewski - Zero@wavefu...

Das Week 7: Neuroscience + Art

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             Michele Banks, The Art of Neuroscience, painting collage, 2014.           T he brain is the world’s first artistic canvas, ready for us to paint, create, and understand life with. This week’s conversations on art and neuroscience elicited many responses and questions from myself, especially when applying the topic to the arts of filmmaking, visual arts, and music, which are just a few of my personal passions. While this conversation began with the disproving of “phrenology” created by Franz Joseph Gall, accepting only his observation that we are capable of compartmentalizing different sections of our brain, applying the foundations of neuroscience and studies on the brain through an artistic lens can shift how we both understand and respect the easily dismissed path of the arts (Vesna). Randall, Kevin. "Rise of Neurocinema: How Hollywood Studios Harness Your Brainwaves to Win Oscars." Fast Company . Mansu...

Das Week 6: Bio-Tech and Art

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FERNÁNDEZ, CLARA RODRÍGUEZ. “BioArt.”  LABIOTECH.eu , 26 Aug. 2019, www.labiotech.eu/best-biotech/bioart-exhibitions/.               This week’s discussions on the realm of biotech and art were intense and intriguing, inciting a lot of unanswered questions on my end. The question I aspire to touch on in this post is, “is there a need for separate standards for artists creating or manipulating living organisms and semi-living systems?”, and ultimately, “should there be limits to human creativity”, which are two questions prompted by Ruth West in an effort to help us analyze this topic. “Alba the Glowing Bunny.”  House Rabbit Society , rabbit.org/fun/famousrabbits.html. Accessed 5 May 2022. Bio-art is as terrifying as it is inspiring…and questions the capability of human judgment; just because you can , does that mean you should? Take Alba, the “glowing” bunny, invented by bio-art creator Eduardo Kac, a self-declared “work of art” tha...

Das Event 2: Professor Victoria Vesna Guest Lecture @ Monash Art & Design, Australia

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  “Africa, Morocco, Tissint Stony Meteorite.”  [Alien] Star Dust , https://alienstardust.com/ar/. Accessed 2 May 2022 Professor Vesna’s discussion with the Monash Art & Design students was quite intriguing, with discussions ranging from her noise aquarium project to her studies on meteorites. Her project, entitled “[Alien] Star Dust”, was installed at the National History Museum in Vienna mere days before the COVID shutdown, and displayed the micrometeorite stardust exhibits in a beautiful way. I was truly intrigued by the noise aquarium project, which highlighted 3D renderings of plankton within the context of a soundscape and immersive experience.  Screenshot from Professor Vesna's presentation to contextualize noise pollution My experience at this event truly expanded my understanding of technology’s power and experience in the context of this course. Vesna mentioned that technology amplifies a message on the Zoom, and referenced the call as a prime example of this...