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.