EricM DESMA9

This week's discussion about the innovation of space craft and the race to space was particularly interesting to me giving the vast amount of research and resources put into space exploration. The interesting relationship between space and art exists not only between "space" and the way that it was mostly discussed in the lectures/readings (ie. stars, planets, galaxies, etc.), but also in time space and consciousness. Brian Holmes states, "Space has... lost its place in consciousness over time and with this loss, a loss of orientation senses occurred" (2000). I interpret this quote as meaning that the word is arbitrary in its usage since it is essentially endless or rather, beyond human comprehension. This is best exemplified in the "Powers of Ten" video which uses space technology to show the image of a young couple having a picnic. The image is first zoomed out of (in powers of 10^n) further and further from Earth before eventually being zoomed in on...

This week's lectures discussed the use of nanotechnology and its modern day application in various forms of art. Specifically, nanotechnology was a term coined by Norio Taniguchi to refer to the manipulation of atoms and molecules or other structures with at least one dimension in the range of 1-100 nanometers (Gimzewski, Lecture 1). One way in which nanotechnology has been utilized is in the discovery of the different allotropes of carbon. The different allotropes of carbon such as diamond and graphite are connected in such a way, that their differing patterns responsible for creating each of them are unique and responsible for their properties (ie. conductor, shiny, dull, etc.). It is this unique relationship that makes nanotechnology so important in the world of art since these two allotropes of carbon differ geometrically, such as the hexagonal sheets created by graphite (Gimzewski, Lecture 2), but are nonetheless both made of pure carbon atoms. Dr. Gimzewski goes on to explain...

 The LOVE MACHINES Design Media Arts MFA exhibition was a fruitful event that allowed a number of artists present their different forms of artistry, all of which emphasized a love for machinery with an emphasis on the future of technology. According to the Design, Media and Arts website,   "Love Machines is the foreclosed command - the demand to operationalize the self and accept technology as the answer." The theme of the event could not be more clear than in its participants, all of whom presented unique and varying interpretations of this theme. One piece that stood out among the different artists was a piece entitled "Abel & I" by Aurora Mititelu which is heralded as an "interactive installation." The piece is of a phone/app in which Mititelu  draws upon her past relationship with partners to explore the nuances of her  being in a relationship with the male version of herself. Me and artist, Aurora Metitelu at the DMA MFA exhibition. Overall the pi...

The complexities of the human brain makes the perception of art variable amongst the general public. While I may interpret a piece of art one way, my friend could have an entirely different interpretation. It is this phenomenon that largely defines human neurology and the digestion of information. In Lecture 1, Dr.V presents the idea of the "brainbow" in which individual neurons in the brain can be distinguished from neighboring neurons using fluorescent proteins. The use of the "brainbow"system is not only an astronomical achievement is learning the specific networks created by neurons, but also a work of art that exemplifies the intricacies in an individual's neural circuit. Specifically, the art lies in the unique myriad of colors created that varies from person to person. The brainbow system is responsible for a number of advancements in the understanding of neurons and the storage of memories. This "magic forest" depicts "the changing organiz...

On April 19th, I got the opportunity to attend a local church event that delved into advancements in healthcare and treatment of neurological diseases. I am highly interested in exploring a career in healthcare and as such, I took up the opportunity to hear from professionals in different healthcare careers.  In the event, I learned about the basic propagation of the action potential and the many ways that this signal transduction can be altered (ie. destroyed).   Neurological diseases encompass a wide variety of conditions such as Alzheimers, muscular dystrophy and myasthenia gravis. However, in essence, all of these conditions represent a fundamental disconnect between neurons and the target cells that they innervate. I learned that in the case of Alzheimer's, when cells called microglia are unable to clear a build-up of proteins, plaque forms around the brain cells. In Lecture 1 of the Medtec + Art lecture, Dr. V mentions the Human Genome Project and the importance of locat...

This week's topic challenged a lot of my preconceived notions of art as well as medicine. My major is physiological sciences and as such, I was required to learn all parts of the human body in my classes. In her lecture, Dr. V mentions "Gray's Anatomy" by Henry Gray and all of the subsequent iterations of the book (Lecture 1). In the book are detailed representations of human physiology and anatomy illustrated by Henry Carter. This book is a masterful example that exemplifies the inherent relationship between medicine and art. In order to explain medicine to the masses, it is necessary to first present the material in the form of CT scans and X-rays (Dr. V Lecture 2) . Likewise it is equally important to update the information as more is obtained which explains the many editions of the book. In the Casini reading, she posits the idea of an MRI being analogous to a portrait (pg. 16). Through the advent of social media and forums of social opinion (ie. Twitter), most h...