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.