Unit 4: Medicine + Technology + Art

Patient entering MRI machine

As a life sciences major, I have learned about medical technologies like MRI or CAT scans numerous times. However, I had always thought of these techniques as diagnostic tools, to be used for the sole purpose of examination and identification, rather than forms of art. While it is true that MRIs enable us to view the body precisely and detect abnormalities from a scientific perspective, in a way, the process also allows for a new way to visualize and perceive the human body. Moreover, as Silvia Casini describes, the experience of undergoing an MRI scan can be an art form itself. I had never considered this aspect of medical procedures before, but an MRI scan does not just simply give one diagnostic results; it also immerses its subject in a wholly distinctive sensory experience and enables one to see inside oneself, truly becoming “a portrait” (Casini 99).

Orlan undergoing surgery

This idea of utilizing medicine as not just a mode, but a tool, of art is taken to a new level by the artist Orlan. While I was not surprised by the idea of cosmetic surgery as an artistic method to reshape and sculpt the human form, I was taken aback by the ways in which Orlan stretches the limits of this concept. She utilizes her own body as her medium, to the extent of making unalterable physical modifications to her form in order to express the artistic messages of such forms. Orlan’s tactics reminded me of Casini’s observation that MRI scans help us reconsider the question of “what defines us as humans?” (Casini 75). Manipulating the way we appear and view ourselves gives us new insights into our conception of what comprises not only the human form, but also human identity.

In this way, medicine does not only complement art; it is also an art itself. Even the Hippocratic Oath that is so highly esteemed in the medical field recognizes this relationship, declaring “there is art to medicine as well as science” (Tyson). Indeed, although life, at both the molecular and systemic level, follows a distinct set of rules, these rules are not dissimilar to patterns found in art forms such as architecture (Ingber). When you truly think about the medical practice, it is not a set of scientific protocols; rather, taking on such a role at the interface of advancing knowledge and caring for human beings requires a degree of artistry.

The Art of Medicine

References

Casini, Silvia. “Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations between Science and the Arts.” Configurations, vol. 19, no. 1, 2011, pp. 73-99.

Cleev. “The Art of Medicine.” Deviantart, https://cleev.deviantart.com/art/The-Art-of-Medicine-574781410. Accessed 29 April, 2018.

Ingber, Donald E. “The Architecture of Life.” Scientific American, vol. 278, no. 1, 1998, pp. 48-57.

“MRI scan.” Netdoctor, http://netdoctor.cdnds.net/15/45/980x490/landscape-1446743973-g-examinations493216409.jpg. Accessed 29 April 2018.

Orlan. Carnal Art. YouTube, uploaded by MutleeIsTheAntiGod, 13 Mar 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no_66MGu0Oo.

“The Artist Who Surgically Modified Her Body To Condemn Our Beauty Standards.” Cultura Colectiva, https://culturacolectiva.com/art/artist-plastic-surgery-beauty/. Accessed 29 April 2018.

Tyson, Peter. “The Hippocratic Oath Today.” NOVA. PBS, 27 Mar 2001, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/hippocratic-oath-today.html. Accessed 29 April 2018.

Vesna, Victoria. “Human Body & Medical Technologies.” YouTube, uploaded by uconlineprogram, 21 April 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep0M2bOM9Tk.

Event 1: Metaphors on Vision: Films by Stan Brakhage

I attended Metaphors on Vision, a screening of films by Stan Brakhage. An important figure in experimental film, Brakhage challenged the standards of film techniques as well as vision itself, utilizing film to breach topics including fear, religion, sex, and death. Through his work, he wanted to create the ability to see the unseen, strip our vision of labels and learned understanding, to “transcend the original physical restrictions and inherit a world of eyes.” (Brakhage).

Though I was prepared to experience something unfamiliar and perhaps unsettling, I was taken aback by how far Brakhage went in his attempts to challenge our ideas of visual perception. First, his films were completely silent. The absence of sound made me realize how much our usual film experience relies on it. Instead, Brakhage’s films confine viewers to their sense of sight alone, pinpointing their focus and compelling them to lose themselves in the visual world before their eyes. The slightest details and motions in his films thus have a more distinctive impression and effect. Anticipation of the Night was the longest film shown. The most apparent technique employed was the repetition of images, interspersed with jarring cuts. Playing with this repetition, alteration, and reversal of images, Brakhage immerses his viewers in a completely novel visual experience. I was intrigued by how he was able to utilize this manipulation of what we see to create a new idea of perception. I also noticed how Brakhage played with light and shadow, particularly in a sequence of amusement park lights that included a fractal-like pattern formed by a ferris wheel (Brakhage). This reminded me of how mathematical concepts can take on a different context and visual complexity to bestow meaning within art.

Thigh Line Lyre Triangular depicted the process

Flashes of color during Thigh Line Lyre Triangular

of childbirth in graphic and jarring fashion. The birth depicted in this film was actually of Brakhage’s own child (Barr). His personal connection to this film elucidates its emotional rawness and intensity, expressed through shaky camera movements and flashes and bursts of color. Brakhage is able to illustrate this biological, scientific process of childbirth in a way that allows the viewers to experience its vigor organically along with the family in the room. 

Though this experience was more startling than I expected, I appreciated how Brakhage was able to challenge our typical understanding of vision and introduce a new way to see, indeed creating his own metaphors on vision.

Image of Metaphors on Vision by Stan Brakhage

References

Anticipation of the Night. Directed by Stan Brakhage, 1958.

Barr, William R. "Brakhage: Artistic Development in Two Childbirth Films," Film quarterly: forty years, a selection, University of California Press, 1999, pp. 536-541.

Brakhage, Stan. Metaphors on Vision. Anthology Film Archives, 2017.

Thigh Line Lyre Triangular. Directed by Stan Brakhage, 1961.

Unit 3: Robotics + Art

The influence technological advancement has had on human art and life is indisputable. It is interesting to consider, however, that the initial reaction to industrialization was one of apprehension. The idea that mechanization would drain the essence from mans’ art and life, and even threaten human existence itself, is not uncommon. Walter Benjamin captures this sentiment, claiming “even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space” (Benjamin 1). Benjamin argues that mechanization diminishes the value and meaning of art by stripping away this presence, what he terms its “aura” (Benjamin 1).

Ford assembly line

In the times of Gutenberg’s printing press, Ford’s Model T, and assembly lines, it is easy to see how the focus on streamlined processes and rote, repetitive mechanisms seemed to indicate a bleak future where the material reigns supreme. However, rather than destroying the humanity within life, this increased efficiency of creation and dissemination instead revitalizes and propels it. For instance, although the printing press might make the production of a book a mechanical, lifeless process, mass-producing the work allows its words and messages to reach more ears. Douglas Davis expresses this idea, redefining the “aura” of art as residing “not in the thing itself but in the originality of the moment when we see, hear, read, repeat, revise” (Davis 386). The meaning of art does not lie in its physical state and authenticity, but in the emotions and actions it evokes in those who interact with it.

Microbots being used in an attack

The fears of industrialization infringing on human life also translate to robotics. Works like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein express the eeriness and danger of these mechanized versions of humans, the fear that they may rise up to overtake their human creators. However, as Machiko Kusahara mentioned, this threatening depiction is less prevalent in Japan, where robots are portrayed as friends to humans. The film Big Hero 6 captures this conflict in our evolving conceptualization of robots. Hiro’s microbots represent the immense potential robots can have in improving our lives through areas like architecture and infrastructure. However, in the wrong hands, they can be used for more nefarious purposes. Similarly, Baymax embodies the positive role robots can take as our friends and companions, crossing the line between man and machine. In this way, similar to art, the significance robots will take on relies on how humans capture and interpret their potential.

Baymax from Big Hero 6

References

“Baymax.” Wikipedia, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/2c/Baymax_from_Disney%27s_Big_Hero_6.png/220px-Baymax_from_Disney%27s_Big_Hero_6.png. Accessed 22 April 2018.

Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Germany, 1936.

Big Hero 6. Directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams, Walt Disney Animation Studios, 2014.

Davis, Douglas. “The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction.” Leonardo, vol. 28, no. 5, 1995, pp. 381-386.

“Ford River Rouge Plant.” History, https://cdn.history.com/sites/2/2014/01/Ford_river_rouge_plant-P.jpeg. Accessed 22 April 2018.

Kusahara, Machiko. “Robotics MachikoKusahara 1.” YouTube, uploaded by uconlineprogram, 14 April 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQZ_sy-mdEU.

Vesna, Victoria. “Robotics Lectures.” YouTube, uploaded by uconlineprogram, 15 April 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRw9_v6w0ew.

“Yokai Big Hero 6.” Pinterest, https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d5/7e/fc/d57efce1130df3bf958aeff86a8c2d3d.gif. Accessed 22 April 2018.

Unit 2: Math + Art

Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man - a study on the human body, proportions, and perspective
https://www.leonardodavinci.net/images/gallery/the-vitruvian-man.jpg

Math was one of my favorite subjects when I was younger – I spent my free time devouring puzzle books and competing in creative math. The boundless power of math, and its position at the core of scientific knowledge, was fairly obvious to me. However, I never fully considered the extent of math’s impact through its influence on art as well. I knew about artistic elements such as perspective and the golden ratio (Vesna). What was new to me was the notion that these concepts, rather than being rooted solely in the world of art, derive from a blend of mathematical principles, scientific ideas about optics, and artistic depiction. Leonardo da Vinci embodies the harmony between these three fields, as an avid artist, mathematician, scientist who applied his varied interests to reach unparalleled heights of artistry and creation. 

Mandelbrot set
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Mandel_zoom_00_mandelbrot_set.jpg

I realize now that this week’s unit broadens ideas I have been exposed to in the past. I remember watching a film adaptation of Flatland in middle school. After reading the original work by Abbott, the idea of Flatland sheds light on not only geometric and artistic perspective, but also the boundaries of what we (think) we see and know. Another concept I was pleasantly surprised to encounter again was fractals. I had seen them in math classes (the Mandelbrot set was actually the cover of my calculus textbook!); but the videos on fractals helped me appreciate the mathematical complexity and beauty of these phenomena, and their prevalence in the natural and artistic worlds. I was especially intrigued to find out the relationship between fractals, Fibonacci numbers, the golden ratio, and the stock market (Socioeconomics Institute). The idea that human activity can be modeled through these functions demonstrates the power of math, art, and science when they work together.

Mathematical process behind origami
https://www.oh-i-see.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/four-step-process-1024x499.jpg

I was also fascinated to learn about the connections between math and origami. Robert Lang’s talk brought a new perspective to this craft as a synthesis between art, math, and engineering (Lang). The idea that you can create any shape by applying the mathematical principles of two-colorability, vertex folds and angles, and layer ordering brings to light how the rationality of math can enhance the imaginative creativity of art. That this relationship can be extended to applications in science and engineering illustrates how vital art, math, and science are to expanding their respective fields, and how their fusion can advance the progress of humanity.

References

Abbott, Edwin A. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press, 1884.

DlimitR. “Fractals – Mandelbrot.” YouTube, 17 June 2006, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivRQDbAduoM.

Lang, Robert. “The math and magic of origami.” TED, Feb. 2008, https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_lang_folds_way_new_origami#t-850189.

Socioeconomics Institute. “Fibonacci, Fractals and Financial Markets - Socionomics.net.” YouTube, 31 May 2007, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE2Lu65XxTU.

Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov.” YouTube, uploaded by uconlineprogram, 9 April 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmq5B1LKDg.

Unit 1: Two Cultures

The idea of art and science as “two cultures,” two disparate worlds, is neither new nor uncommon. As described by C.P. Snow, the two, exemplified by literary intellectuals at one end and scientists at the other, are separated by a “gulf of incomprehension” (Snow 4). The failure of both intellectual spheres to recognize and understand each other hampers the progress of knowledge and society as a whole.

Aerial view of UCLA campus
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/file?fid=52e76fe8f6091d782f0008cd

I too have unconsciously adopted this view of art and science as distinct entities. Despite being surrounded by elements of both, I have always viewed them as separate, never making the deliberate effort to connect and integrate the two. This perspective has been ingrained in me through our society’s culture and media, and is also evident at UCLA. As a science major, I rarely step foot in the northern half of campus, often seeing the need to do so as an anomaly and chore. The very terms “North Campus” and “South Campus” demonstrate the divide we still perceive – and create – between these two cultures. However, these two campuses are still unified as one UCLA campus – it’s exciting that both the arts and the sciences thrive in one concentrated location, and that we, as students, have the opportunity to explore and blend both worlds.

An artistic representation of genetic engineering
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/genetic-engineering-leon-zernitsky.html?product=art-print

This is where the idea of “the third culture” arises. I agree with Kevin Kelly’s view that “computers had a lot to do with it” (Kelly 992). The rise of technology advanced not only the boundaries of art and science themselves, but also their abilities to connect to each other. As John Brockman describes, this third culture involves communication between scientists and the general public (Graham-Rowe). This crosstalk is made possible by the prevalence and universality of technology, which also paves the way for interactions beyond this two-way exchange, allowing for a “triangular bridge” between art, science, and technology (Vesna 121). I identify particularly with Stephen Wilson’s analysis of genetic engineering as an example of a future area for this third culture to bridge (Wilson 3). As a researcher in genetic engineering myself, I appreciate how closely art, science, and technology interplay with each other, through construct design, biological models, and data analysis, to name just a few examples. As I continue in my career as a scientist, I hope to carry this newfound perspective with me, bringing together these two cultures to build the new bridge forward.

Bridging art and science: wonder
https://www.on24.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/art-science-1.png

References

Kelly, Kevin. “The Third Culture.” Science, vol. 279, no. 5353, 13 Feb. 1998, pp. 992-993.

Graham-Rowe, Duncan. “John Brockman: Matchmaking with science and art.” Wired, 3 Feb. 2011.

Snow, C.P. The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. New York, Cambridge University Press, 1961.

Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in between.” Leonardo, vol. 34, no. 2, 2001, pp. 121-125.

Wilson, Stephen. “Myths and Confusions in Thinking about Art/Science/Technology.” College Art Association Meetings, 2000.