Extra Credit Event 1: UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archeology Open House

Extra Credit Event 1: UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archeology Open House

7 June 2018

Speakers from the Event

Me with the spices

I attended this open house on May 12 with my friend, Anna Blake, who is also enrolled in DESMA 9 this quarter. The annual open house began with gallery talks in the Fowler Museum. These were led by Dr. Sonali Gupta-agarwal and Dr. Stephen Acabado. Following this, there were some amazing gallery talks about feasting and celebrations in the Lenart Auditorium. I found this discussion to be the most interesting portion of the open house. Three core members of the Cotsen Institute went over their specific research and personal experiences with feasting and celebration archeology. The first speaker was Professor Elizabeth Carter, who went over the more morbid aspects of feasting found at the Domuztepe pit. This “death pit” was the focus of much sacrificial study, since both human and animal remains were examined to be possible sacrificial victims of a feast at that time. The pit also indicated there were close relationships between animals and humans due to the placement of certain bones in the pit (Carter 2018). The second speaker, Dr. Alan Farahani was a little less morbid in that his research focused on harvests and celebrations relating to the end of planting season. He had a beautiful painting depicting this type of celebration and talked about how Saison Dupont is being brewed using the wheat. So wheat is both a form of refreshment and a cooking tool. He went over how hops and grinding stones could indicate locations of large harvests or even celebrations because these tools were used to create wheat-based foods. The final speaker of the event was Professor Monica Smith. She brought some interesting props to compliment her discussion on feasts. We smelled the two spices as they were passed around, and she went over how feasts are tools to help allay fears and stave off thoughts of mortality. She also went over the specifics of Roman cuisine and how pepper, which came from India, became a staple of many diets due to its exotic influence in feasting celebrations. I think my favorite phrase from her talk was that “food is an expression of the community to which you belong” (Smith 2018). Following each individual speaker, the event progressed to a group discussion on feasts, with a lot of questions being directed to Elizabeth Carter and her work on the Domuztepe pit, due to the fascinating nature of human sacrifices. 

Harvest Image

Following these discussions, the hands-on open house portion of the event began. My friend and I wandered into the China exhibit, where we watched a long documentary of the archeological projects currently being conducted in the country. Due to the vastness of the country and the greatness of Chinese history, there are many locations being found in the country that hold a variety of interesting archeological discoveries of different dynasties. There are some beautiful burials that depict different statuses of men during that time period. Following that presentation, we wandered over to the arts and crafts section where there were some fun flower crown and archeological activities to take part in. This event really connected to the biological technology and art and medical technology and art sections of our class. A lot of this technology is utilized in archeology to determine the life and death of past communities. Without the advancements in these fields, our understanding of past lives would be extremely limited. With restoration we are able to appreciate art from many different eras. I recommend my classmates go to the Fowler museum in order to appreciate this art form and the wonderful work being done in the field of archaeology.

My friend and I in the Arts and Crafts Area
with a volunteer worker

References

Carter, Elizabeth, Farahani, Alan, and Smith, Monica. “Feasting Forum.” UCLA Costen Institute of Archaeology. UCLA Costen Institute of Archaeology, 12 May 2018, Los Angeles, Fowler Museum.

Panopoulos, N. “Transgenic Crop Resistance to Bacteria.” Egyptian Journal of Medical Human Genetics, Elsevier, 8 Mar. 1999, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0378429095000984.

Rangel, Gabriel. “From Corgis to Corn: A Brief Look at the Long History of GMO Technology.” Science in the News, 23 Oct. 2016, sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/from-corgis-to-corn-a-brief-look-at-the-long-history-of-gmo-technology/.

Vesna, Victoria. “Medicine and Art: Parts 1-3.” YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded.

Event 3: Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous (LASER)

Event 3: Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous (LASER)

5 June 2018

Petri Dish Art by Maru García

I attended this lecture series in the UCLA CNSI presentation room with a number of other DESMA 9 students. All these people really enhanced the experience and excitement for the 5 amazing speakers who came to the event. The evening started out with Roberta Raffaetá, who discussed many different avenues of interaction, including health and culture, and how humanity interacts with nature and the environment in complex ways (Raffaetá). Maru García was another speaker at the event who is currently a DESMA graduate student. She is an incredible artist who used her chemical background in pharmaceuticals to create visually stunning bio art (García). The next artist was Kelly Nipper, who was different because her background was focused in media art and photography. She uses the scientific study of movement to create her pieces, and her talk contrasted nicely with the bio art that had been previously discussed (Nipper). The second to last speaker was my favorite; Ariel Levi Simmons is an ecologist who plans to use satellite and ground based measurements to study the triggering of photosynthesis from an increase in man-made light systems. The images his team is taking from satellites create stunning references of the difference light pollution is making in the sky. With the growth in human population, this pollution is having more of an impact on the environment and different animal cycles (Simmons). The final speaker at the event was John Hood, who is a professor of Art and Design at Hancock College and focused his speech on the David Bermant Collection and the pieces they have displayed at the museum (Hood). 

Ariel Levi Simmons Light Pollution Image

Ariel Levi Simmons Astronomy Reference

I think an incredible benefit to this event was all the connections being made to the work we studied in class this quarter. Maru García and Ariel Levi Simmons had very close collaborations with the scientific aspect of things, and that really aligned with my own beliefs since I am a Mechanical Engineering major. They worked with the biological aspects of art and science, with Ms. García focusing on the petri dish art and Mr. Simmons on the biological impact of human advancement. It reminded me a lot of the work Kathy High did with animals, specifically rat, research. We went over her work during our week 6 biotech + art class discussion. She likened this research with the statement “the politics of caring of such a forgotten creature [rats], a pest, a disposable one, has to have a transformative effect” (High). I think this resonates especially with what Mr. Simmons is doing, because his research is attempting to shed light on the controversial issue of man-made light pollution. I enjoyed his comment that the true origins of the documentation of light pollution “began with astronomers being annoyed at the lack of visible sky” (Simmons). I think a lot of research begins with explorations of emotional avenues, like the annoyed astronomers, that will have a lasting impact on human comprehension and technological advancement. Overall I believe the event was a wonderful addition to our class this quarter. The broad artistic endeavors of each person, and the scientific aspects of their work, really enhanced the implication of art and science combinations and their real-world application. I think physically hearing the passion each speaker had for their work was inspiring for my own future as a scientist, and encouraged me to keep up my own artistic work. I recommend my fellow classmates go to any future workshops hosted by any of these speakers, but especially to keep an eye out for the research being done by Ariel Levi Simmons. I think his work will bring out some fascinating new revelations in the upcoming years.

My friend and I during
the lecture series on May 10

References

High, Kathy. “The Politics of Empathy.” Embracing Animal :: All About Transgenic Rats, www.embracinganimal.com/ratlove.html.

Hood, John, Garcia, Maru, Nipper, Kelly,  Raffaeta, Roberta, and Simmons, Ariel. “UCLA Art Sci.” LASER, 10 May 2018, Los Angeles, CNSI Presentation Space.

Rangel, Gabriel. “From Corgis to Corn: A Brief Look at the Long History of GMO Technology.” Science in the News, 23 Oct. 2016, sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/from-corgis-to-corn-a-brief-look-at-the-long-history-of-gmo-technology/.

Vesna, Victoria. “5 BioArt pt3.” YouTube, YouTube, 17 May 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7&v=3EpD3np1S2g.

Week 9: Space + Art

Week 9: Space + Art

3 June 2018

Copernicus' Sun Center of Universe Theory

This week we wrapped up our discussions with the ultimate medium of exploration, space. Space exploration and art combine all aspects of science and technology, and Professor Vesna really highlights that fact in her lecture this week. I especially enjoyed learning about Nicolaus Copernicus, and his ideas on the location of the sun. Although primitive, his hypothesis that the sun was the center of the universe really jumpstarted the mathematical understanding of our solar system, which was incredible for that time period (Vesna 2013). I personally view space as a beautiful work of art and a wonderful collaboration between scientific and artistic endeavors.

"photo of nothing" - Hubble Space Telescope

With recent advancements in technology, humans were able to launch the Hubble Space Telescope, which has gifted us with some of the most incredible images of galaxies and star systems. These images have helped shape the advancement of a lot different scientific discoveries. I personally enjoy the “photo of nothing," a controversial photo which actually turned out to be the first photo ever taken so far back into our Universe and introduced an entirely new side of astronomy (MacDonald 2016). A lot of the pictures taken from this telescope are used for posters and paintings on walls across the world, but the long reaching impact of space exploration and the use of these images is still being understood today. With the upcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in 2020, we can hope for even more amazing advancements in the upcoming years (Lewin 2018). Space has a huge amount of information yet to be discovered, and is the one frontier that could use much more funding and support. I personally believe space will give us the best understanding of our true purpose on earth once we learn more of its secrets.

"A rose made of galaxies" - Hubble Space Telescope

References

“CODED UTOPIA.” Continental Drift, 18 May 2009, brianholmes.wordpress.com/2007/03/27/coded-utopia/.

Costa, Victor O. “What Is the Historical Significance of Nicolaus Copernicus' Work?” Quora, 4 Oct. 2017, www.quora.com/What-is-the-historical-significance-of-Nicolaus-Copernicus-work.

Leonardo Space Art Project Visioneers, spaceart.org/leonardo/vision.html.

Lewin, Sarah. “NASA Delays Launch of James Webb Space Telescope Until 2020.” Space.com, Space.com, 27 Mar. 2018, www.space.com/40102-james-webb-space-telescope-launch-delay-2020.html.

MacDonald, Fiona. “This 1995 Hubble Photo Changed Astronomy Forever.” ScienceAlert, 3 Oct. 2016, www.sciencealert.com/this-1995-hubble-photo-changed-astronomy.

“Top 100 Images.” ESA/Hubble | ESA/Hubble, www.spacetelescope.org/images/archive/top100/.

Vesna, Victoria. “8 Space pt1 1280x720.” YouTube, YouTube, 29 July 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=442&v=6ZIqTR332l8.

Week 8: NanoTech + Art

Week 8: NanoTech + Art

27 May 2018

The World Beneath A Nanostructure

This week we talked about how nanotechnology is on the precipice of amazing insights into both art and science. Professor Vesna highlighted how nanotechnology research and artistic endeavors are going to “push us over the edge into the 21st century” (Vesna 2012). Jim Gimzewski is a professor at UCLA and works at one of the largest nanotechnology research locations in the world. I thought he brought up a very interesting point in his paper that most scientists try to help others understand the research being done in the field using abstract analogies. This is necessary because nanotechnology is such a complex field of study, and people need tangible comparisons, like the width of a human hair, to grasp the most basic of concepts (Grimzewski). 

Nanoscale Cell Imaging

Most images created about nanotechnology also have to be fabricated and reimagined, due to the limitations of sizing and picture quality. When viewing these microscopic recreations, you can really understand the artistry of the research being done in this field. These scientists need a keen eye and a strong imagination to make the nanoscale seem fascinating for educational and research purposes. Particular colors and designs are also highlighted on this small scale, and these choices will help highlight certain aspects of the micro-engineering being accomplished. There are also wonderful abstractions being done with micro-images. Christian Orfescu is a trained material scientist who uses nanotechnology to improve lithium batteries and also sells abstract paintings demonstrating these small concepts and designs. He develops paintings from different materials and they create beautiful differences depending on what he sees in those materials. This work really showcases the link between art and science and is just the beginning to more conceptual crossovers in the future. I hope that it will lead to a future of research and discovery in the field that will ultimately advance the fundamental understanding of life and the universe.

Christian Orfesco Art Examples

References

Design, Laguna. “Nanotechnology, Conceptual Artwork by Laguna Design.” Fine Art America, fineartamerica.com/featured/nanotechnology-conceptual-artwork-laguna-design.html.

Feder, Barnaby J. “The Art of Nanotech.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 Jan. 2008, bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/25/the-art-of-nanotech/.

Gimzewski, Jim, and Victoria Vesna. “The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of Fact & Fiction in the Construction of a New Science.” The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of Fact & Fiction in the Construction of a New Science, vv.arts.ucla.edu/publications/publications/02-03/JV_nano/JV_nano_artF5VG.htm.

Gimzewski, Jim. “Nanotech Jim pt1.” YouTube, YouTube, 21 May 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=52&v=q7jM6-iqzzE.

“John Curtin Gallery.” Art.Base, art.base.co/event/2104-art-in-the-age-of-nanotechnology.

“Nanotechnology Now.” Press Release: Early Tests Find Nanoshell Therapy Effective against Brain Cancer, www.nanotech-now.com/nanotechnology-art-gallery.htm.

Vesna, Victoria. “Nanotech Intro.” YouTube, YouTube, 26 Mar. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=62&v=dZ3y6TkXJ6Y.

Week 7: Neurosci + Art

Week 7: Neurosci + Art

20 May 2018

How Colors Influence Advertisement

This week we discussed the ideas of neuroscience in relation to art. Most importantly the idea of consciousness and the mind, and if the mind could ever truly be replicated. I think its interesting how artistic colors are often used to influence the way the mind thinks and feels to different advertisements and companies. Advertisers will often use color as a means to “change our mood - the mood of potential customers” (Gadsden 2014). Different brands will influence certain moods in their customers to sell certain products. For example, a lot of medical brands will use blues in their advertisements to induce feelings of health, honesty, and sincerity, while a motorcycle company might use a red color to influence the mood towards daring and recklessness in order to sell more of their product (Ciotti 2018). 

This Blue Color Scheme Promotes Health and Sincerity

Freudian Ideas Manifested

The subconscious influence from colors really relates to the ideas that Professor Vesna brings up during her lecture. As she mentions, the scientific study of the brain is very new. I think the way colors influence us really relates to the unconscious mind, and can relate back to the ideas of Freud and his thoughts on how unacknowledged perceptions and other thoughts and habits can be manifested in dreams in a symbolical form. Although this mood influence may not quite fit what Freud was referencing, I think it was the starting point to understanding how our unconscious can influence certain decisions or choices we make when it comes to the products we use. The more we study phenomena like this and come to understand it, the better we will unlock the secrets of the mind and how consciousness determines who we are as people and how we relate to the universe and religion on a grander scale.  

References

Bateson, Gregory. “MIND AND NATURE.” Oikos, www.oikos.org/mind&nature.htm.

Ciotti, Gregory. “The Psychology of Color in Marketing and Branding.” 75 Customer Service Stats and Facts You Can't Afford to Ignore, 1 Mar. 2018, www.helpscout.net/blog/psychology-of-color/.

Gadsden, David. “The Impact of Colour in Advertising, Marketing, and Design - Maistro PLC.” Maistro, 21 Feb. 2018, www.maistro.com/blogs/impact-colour-advertising-marketing-design/.

McLeod, Saul. “Saul McLeod.” Simply Psychology, Simply Psychology, 1 Jan. 1970, www.simplypsychology.org/unconscious-mind.html.

Penrose, Roger. “The Third Culture - Chapter 14.” HOW DOES OUR LANGUAGE SHAPE THE WAY WE THINK? | Edge.org, 1995, www.edge.org/documents/ThirdCulture/v-Ch.14.html.

Vesna, Victoria. “Neuroscience-pt2.Mov.” YouTube, YouTube, 17 May 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=61&v=TFv4owX3MZo.

Week 6: BioTech + Art

Week 6 BioTech + Art

13 May 2018

Movie Cover for Gattaca

This week we focused on biotechnology and art which is a rapidly advancing field in the modern world. Most people think of the manipulation of biology as a very scary aspect of the scientific community, since it tends to focus on eradicating flaws in genetic biology. As a flawed species, this manipulation seems to go against what many people perceive to be the natural order of things. There is also an argument to be said that it goes against natural environmental selection. An interesting movie that explores this concept is Gattaca, which is a 1997 science fiction film discussing the idea of genetic discrimination and eugenics. I really enjoyed the movie and the themes it played on, and the fact that it explored the mental tole it has on a person to be genetically modified. The movie ends on a note of warning, showcasing that perfection is not all it is cracked up to be and that manipulation does not guarantee a winning outcome. It was a wonderful artistic example of how genetics can be a force of good or a force of great harm to society.

Wheat Modification:
A Selective Breeding Crop

I think a more interesting focus of genetic modification is food manipulation, which has actually been happening for as long as humans have existed. Crops have been harvested and seeds chosen based on the strength of previous crops for 10,000 years (Ganzel 2009). The biggest changes to this in recent years is the use of gene splicing to make crops resistant to environmental concerns. It truly is a work of art what current scientists are doing by creating appealing or beautiful looking food. What concerns me most with this research is the fact that a lot of our crops are now becoming very resistant to certain strains of bacteria. This resistance could translate to the medical world, and create antibiotic resistant diseases that could one day sicken a good portion of humanity. We rely on antibiotics to attack bacteria, but if we create the tools for the bacteria to use to mutate and become stronger, we could put ourselves in the position of creating a disease that could destroy us. That is what I see as the real danger with a lot of the current genetic modifications and something more people need to be considering instead of trying to make apples larger and a darker shade of red.

Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Development

References

“Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Threat.” The Simmons Voice, 2 Feb. 2017, simmonsvoice.com/2017/02/02/antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-threat/.

Entine, Jon. “Gattaca Alert? Or Should We Welcome the New Age of Eugenics?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 27 Nov. 2012, www.forbes.com/sites/jonentine/2012/11/26/gattaca-alert-or-should-we-welcome-the-new-age-of-eugenics/#61206b704324.

Ganzel, Bill. “The GMO Age Begins.” The New Deal Financial Reform Laws, 2009, livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe70s/crops_10.html.

“Gattaca (1997).” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt0119177/.

Jabr, Ferris. “Are We Too Close to Making Gattaca a Reality?” Scientific American Blog Network, 28 Oct. 2013, blogs.scientificamerican.com/brainwaves/are-we-too-close-to-making-gattaca-a-reality/.

Panopoulos, N. “Transgenic Crop Resistance to Bacteria.” Egyptian Journal of Medical Human Genetics, Elsevier, 8 Mar. 1999, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0378429095000984.

Rangel, Gabriel. “From Corgis to Corn: A Brief Look at the Long History of GMO Technology.” Science in the News, 23 Oct. 2016, sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/from-corgis-to-corn-a-brief-look-at-the-long-history-of-gmo-technology/.

Event 2

Event 2: The Construction of the Environment in Epigenetics Research: a Social Science Study

13 May 2018

Dr. Clémence Pinel in London

I attended this lecture, a part of the 2018 EpiDaPo Lecture Series, which focuses on the modern effects in molecular biology labs, start-ups, and government to explore the gene-environment interaction but also to address issues including health and illness, normal and deviant behaviors, and politics and social justice. Dr. Clémence Pinel was the speaker, and she is from King’s College London, in the UK. Her talk was in a tiny area in the Life Sciences Building and my friend and I stood in the back of the very crowded but interested room. Her research is on two different labs and the work they were doing to cross different disciplines in terms of collaboration to create mutual gain. She really expanded on the ideas of how different benefits in the labs can secure assets outside the traditional role labs utilize; finding data, expertise, or technologies in these collaborations.

She began her lecture talking about how the environment can help secure funding for some labs. Some labs, like smoking labs, have a higher ability for publication opportunities and this is due to the fact that smoking studies provide very visible and notable results, which makes publication and even believability for the general public easier to attain. She really highlighted the three main collaboration necessities, which were profitability, mobility and versatility. Research collaborations create a resource which allow more versatility and mobility to be created. In addition to this, diverse portfolios and exchanging of resources help the environment of the labs improve by increasing all three necessities. This increase gives the labs access to higher end technological facilities, which in turn allows the labs to outsource data production to external companies.  

Discussion on Research Implications of Collaboration

The lecture continued by emphasizing the fact that collaborations enhance versatility. This in turn allows them to find new uses for the research being done and gain different types of capital for funding. This funding is a very important aspect to the collaboration because the combination of multiple disciplines would hopefully give way to better experimentation and more fruitful results. Current research could also be used to study other experiments in different labs, and this cross-discipline collaboration creates an increase in versatility. 

I really enjoyed the example she used toward the end of her lecture which brought these ideas together. The example was sharing two different environments like early life vs adult subjects in two different labs to collaborate findings, which would maybe help the early life or adult lab in their different studies and improve the value of both labs. I thought this was a truly fascinating discussion, and one that could apply to my own future research practices. I also thought the discussion tied in with the medical technology lecture we had in class. Since the labs being compared were doing medical type research in most cases. I believe medical experimentation could be improved greatly with the ideas brought up by Dr. Clémence Pinel, and that medical art and technology is really on the cusp of change in our modern world. Collaboration could even be extended to the artistic field to gain profitability, mobility and versatility for medical research. I could especially see more funding being applied to research if more artistic endeavors were seen to be crossing into the research field. This is why this lecture series was so interesting and why I highly recommend to my fellow classmates to attend the other talks this quarter.

My Friend and I at the Lecture Series

References

Pinel, Clemence. “The Construction of the ‘Environment’ in Epigenetics Research: A Social Study.” The UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics, socgen.ucla.edu/events/the-construction-of-the-environment-in-epigenetics-research-a-social-study/.

Vesna, Victoria. “Medicine and Art: Parts 1-3.” YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded.

Warwick, Kevin. “Home.” Kevin Warwick, www.kevinwarwick.org/.