Event 1: Los Angeles Asian Film Festival

For my first event, I attended the Screening of VC_Digital_Posse_2016, held by the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

The night of my attendance [04/24/2016], this event show-cased 9 short films created by rising talents, surrounding the theme of Asian-Pacific Heritage. Some films also focused on the general and simple theme of "heritage" within their own culture, not just of the Asian Pacific.                                 

My favorite film  of the event was the "Hand Fart" created by Travis Ashkenazy &Stanley Wong. This film is a humorous depiction of the symbolic representation of having the fate of your life in your own hands. [http://laapff.festpro.com/films/section/shorts_program_vc_digital_posse_ver_201]

At the end of the screening, the filmmakers all came up to the stage to describe the process of creating their films. Each filmmaker was assigned to deliver a message and theme through their five-minute movie (sometimes more), and keep the audience entertained with the keen calculation and usage of video-editing. Camera-technology was utilized at its outermost potential to bring out the best artistic result of their projects. In order to create their one piece of 5-minute short-movie, these filmmakers put weeks in editing every little sound effect, visual effect, and sentimental effect of each second. 

This was where I was able to learn that technology was utilized to create art, and that the art conclusively expressed the greater purpose of human mind. Specifically mentioning the "Hand Fart" film, the filmmakers stated that they had to use the real set of a hospital scene with real medical instruments in order to gain the depth and true humor of the film. 

Through this event, I was able to think deeper into the third world as described by C.P. Snow in the Third Culture, as mentioned in our class week 1. Contrary to my disagreements back in week 1, I came to realize that the world of technology was essentially like the middle bridge connecting different worlds of art and different science. Technology was used to create the filmmaker's artistic expressions, in subjects and genres of sciences. Moreover, I came to realize that anything can be expressed through art like science/math, and art can express anything and everything. I believe everyone will enjoy the event, it is not only interesting but also very eye-opening.

Week 4: Medicine+Technology+Art

"Yuriko Yamaguchi: Interconnected in Art, Nature,
Science and Technology" Installation image. "

Medicine, Technology, Art?? I would have never thought of combining these three completely different genres under one umbrella. However, despite the personal lack of experience I had within my limited knowledge about sciences, I came to find out that Science was always depicted as Art, and that the standard was only changing from a more traditional perspective to a more modern one.

In her lecture, Dr. Vesna indicates that Medicine was traditionally considered as art, and the use of tools/technology within medicine was not to be practiced by “true doctors”. On the other hand, Dr. Vesna describes the drastic transitioning of ideas as Modern days the Medical Tools/technology is practiced by “true doctors”, and that those mechanisms are actually artistic. A foundation cultural-transition of medicine is also expressed in Peter Tyson’s article where Dr. David Graham points out that the traditional “Oath” of Medicine was heavier as a sort of a covenant binding to an inherent treaty in medicine.  However, Graham compares such traditionalism to modernism as many modern oaths have more bland nature with a generalized concept of “best wishes” about them.

MRI art- Bunge Lab Berkelely

Virgil Wong's 3D Anatomy App

Although Graham’s translations of the cultural transition was rather pessimistic, we can definitely understand that the modern scientists definitely have a contrastingly different interpretation of Medical Science and technology expressed artistically, disparate from the traditional ideas. Silvia Casini realistically compares modern MRI with the concept of the Portrait art, as having “parallel looks”; with both being performative, but resistant to being regarded as transparent windows. However, the two diverse yet parallel genres have different artistic values as MRI has a more “acoustic” artistic expressions but the Portrait has a more “visual” artistic expression.

Moreover, Donald E. Ingber goes further into interconnecting Medical Science with Art as Ingber states that the design of the organic structures of the natural life creates a design of natural order so complex and artistically significant, that it shall be considered visually artistic. By directly implying the natural order of science to art, Ingber completely interrelates two such distinct concepts under one translational bubble.

Conclusively, I came to realize that art can be found in basically any fundamental and physical existence in the world. As Virgil Wong used artistic 3D Anatomical bodies to fulfill both fields of Arts and Sciences through his works, modern technology opened a new era for Medical Sciences within its bond with the beautiful outlook as “Art”.

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Sources

Bunge, Silvia A. "MRI Recollection, Bunge Lab." Bunge Lab, Building Blocks of Cognition. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <http://bungelab.berkeley.edu/principal-investigator/>.

Casini, Silvia. "Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations between Science and the Arts." Configurations 19.1 (2011): 73-99. Ca Foscari Universita Di Venezia. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

"Emory University School of MedicineRad Report." 31st Annual Weens Lecture: Health Time Machines- How a 3-D Selfie Can Help You Get Healthy. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <http://radiology.emory.edu/about/rad-reports/stories/2014/08/weenslecture/index.html>.

Ingber, Donald E. "The Architecture of Life." Sci Am Scientific American 278.1 (1998): 48-57. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

Tyson, Peter. "The Hippocratic Oath Today." PBS. PBS, 27 Mar. 2001. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/hippocratic-oath-today.html>.

Vesna, Victoria, Dr/Prof. "Medicine Lectures." Course Login UCLA Desma9. Victoria Vesna, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/484297/pages/unit-4-view?module_item_id=8599397>.

Wong, Virgil. "Virgil Wong | Artist and Health Cognition Researcher, Columbia University | Cofounder and Inventor, Medical Avatar." Virgil Wong. Virgil Wong, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <http://virgilwong.com/>.

Yamaguchi, Yuriko. "Yuriko Yamaguchi." Koplin Del Rio. N.p., 2007. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. <http://www.koplindelrio.com/content/yuriko-yamaguchi>.

Week 3: Robotics+ Art

After this week’s reading, I began to think that Technology and industrialization may have actually triggered a new world, with new functions, and new perspectives. However, is “New” always so good?

Ford Assembly Line, 1920s

Primarily, Mass production stands as one of the most influential impact of the utilization of Technology in the practical society. Although a symbolic introduction of technological practicum of this mass production is known to be Ford’s technology of Assembly Lines, Dr. Vesna adds in her lecture that the First mass production was the Printing Press. Printing Press should be seen as the first mass production practice as it benefited, or at least effected, the lifestyles of all people in all classes and genders; not just the rich who were   primarily effected by Ford’s first Assembly Lines. However, was this new technological influence in the society welcomed?

Douglas Davis states in his article that Original and reproduction in this society virtually no longer withholds a clear conceptual distinction between one another. If the production of replicas and copies, and mass production was so conformed into the use of the society, I would have initially assumed that since the society allowed for such conformation, then people probably thought positively of it. However, this assumption is contrasted by Walter Benjamin as he expresses in his article that there exists an imperialistic warfare in the society where it began within the discrepancy between the means of production and their “inadequate” utilization in the process of production, which ultimately sums up to negatively affect unemployment and Lack of Markets. So I came to understand that technology has its toll in different perspectives in the society. Technology is becoming significant in propelling the market, but taking away employment of humans.

Thinking deeper into this topic, I thought of two movies that reflect the contrasting ideas of the society towards technology, although both published in 2008. “Eagle Eye” starring Shia Lebeouf seems to clearly demonstrate the ultimate fear of the people with the drastically growing use and complexity of technology. In contrast, the famed “Iron Man” starring Robert Downey Jr. becomes a more positive outlook of the use of technology as protagonist heroically saves the world from bad humans. Although there was, is, and will still exist contrasting outlooks to technology and industrialization in the society, the inevitable presence of Technology is increasingly being defined and expressed through Art.

Sources

Benjamin, Walter. "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." Stardom and Celebrity: A Reader (1936): n. pag. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.

Davis, Douglas. "The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction (An Evolving Thesis: 1991-1995)." Leonardo 28.5 (1995): 381-86. JSTOR. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.

Eagle Eye. Dir. D. J. Caruso. Prod. Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Patrick Timothy Crowley. By John Glenn, Travis Adam Wright, Hillary Seitz, and Daniel McDermott. Perf. Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, and Rosario Dawson. DreamWorks SKG, 2008.

Iron Man. Dir. Jon Favreau. Prod. Avi Arad and Kevin Feige. By Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, and Matthew Holloway. Perf. Robert Downey, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, and Gwyneth Paltrow. Paramount Pictures, 2008.

Robotics Lectures. Dir. Victoria Vesna. Perf. Victoria Vesna (Dr./Prof.). Course Login. UCLA Online Website DESMA 9, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.

Week 2: Math + Art

After hearing this week’s lecture and getting through the readings over the week, I was able to understand the different ways math incorporated with art, and moreover with the view of life- “Perspective”.  I learned that Consciousness triggers apprehension, and Apprehension allows for understanding of Perspectives of the world. This perspective was then digested by Mathematics into finally creating a final creation of Art.

  In Linda D. Henderson’s article, she inserts Rice Pereira’s statement that the two contrasting concepts of ‘Development of human consciousness’ and ‘Apprehension of space’ are actually parallel to one another. Personally, I was able to experience this concept as I worked throughout the week after reading this material. When my consciousness awakened, my apprehension of space was triggered; I was able to allow different viewpoints of geometrical-mathematical perspectives from my literal point of standing. When I would sit at a café on campus, I would look up to be able to imagine walkways and buildings in a two-dimensional landscape with calculable degrees of angles, moreover its size/formation relative to its distance. This concept was demonstrated by Edwin A. Abbott’s “Flatland” reading, as he calls the world a “Flatland” from his apprehension that the world is like a sheet of paper with straight lines, triangles, squares, pentagons, and hexagons that move freely like shadows.

The Adoration of the Magi, c. 1481 Leonaldo Da Vinci 

This form of “Perspective” was introduced in Dr. Vesna’s lecture as she defined it as a mathematical system for representing a three dimensional space on a two dimensional flat surface layout. Leonardo da Vincis’ famed art pieces were demonstrated as the perfect example as one of the first use of Mathematical formulas implemented in creating each prominent piece of art.

Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Adoration of the Magi” clearly depicts his apprehension of space and artistic expression of the perspective using Mathematics, in which he used horizontal lines, orthogonal, and vanishing points as its instruments.

Perspectival Study for The Adoration of the
Magi, c. 1481 Leonaldo Da Vinci

 I was more than impressed how such a new idea of consciousness and apprehension of space have triggered for this “natural perspective” as introduced by Leonardo Da Vinci, and how his works were used in all three genres of Art, Mathematics, and Science. Such use of Mathematics in calculative angles and formulas to analyze different concepts in the world was adopted by the scientists in understanding not only the Physiological-apprehensions but also of the understanding of nature within the field of sciences- using mathematics, but defined by art.

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Sources:

Abbott, Edwin A. "Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions." Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (1884): n. pag. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.

Da Vinci, Leonardo. "Museum of Science, Boston." Exploring Linear Perspective. Museum of Science, 1997. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

Henderson, Linda Dalrymple. "The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion." Leonardo 17.3 (1984): 205-10. JSTOR. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.

Mason, Freddie. "The Diagnostic Scans of Leonardo Da Vinci's Adoration of the Magi, by AHA Tutor Freddie Mason." Art History Abroad. Art History Abroad, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

Powell, Phill. "DMA TECH CAMPS AT UCLA, Where Is Ucla Campus? | Digital Media Academy." Digital Media Academy. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

Week 1. Two Cultures

Blog Post 1

I guess the best description for my stance in this continuing quarrel of the matter of "Two Cultures" -introduced by C.P. Snow in 1959- may be that, I want to be a believer of the possibility and existence of that middle ground, like a bridge or even like a "third culture" in which Kevin Kelly mentions in his article. Through the article "Third Culture", Kelly expresses that technology could actually be that third culture separate to but integrating the two cultures, in which differed slightly from the form introduced by C.P. Snow's in 1964. 

["Bridge Between Two Human Minds" by Richard Tuschman]

Although C.P. Snow strongly emphasized the drastically contrasted concepts of such "two cultures", of the Arts versus the Sciences, I believe that depending on certain perspectives towards the issue, the two cultures may not be so strictly separated from one another. 

In the West, U.S. especially, I believe math is not entirely math, and I believe science is not entirely science (whatever form of science you may interpret it to be implied). I believe math is literature in use of numerical language, and I believe science is the description of a natural or unnatural 

phenomenon defined through literature. 

Thinking about this topic for several days, it was rather hard for me to enjoin myself to one category of the two contrasted cultures, as battle-like as it seems. However, this constant implication of such concept in my life was more than eye-opening to the different symbolic ways of my life and of academics.

[Science as Art, "Meteorite Pop Art"© AMNH/D. Ebel]

Working at a law firm as a paralegal, and studying Asian-Humanities in UCLA, I write motions, agreements and many more documents requiring tens of pages each day. In this, I have to say that literature cannot be set as such a separate culture on its own-as art-, but rather a part of both two –or three-, cultures; just as the middle ground, like a bridge, or even like a “third culture” relative to C.P. Snow’s introduced theme of the two cultures. 

Writing persuasive documents, the facts are like supportive systems to a flowing body of words written to get to the heart of the reader, in this case the judge. Similar to Prof. Victoria Vesna’s example of using “Poetic License as a tool” of Sokal and Briemont, perhaps we can simplify this situation first and ponder, could the “two cultures” possibly and actually be ‘One culture’ and ‘One Family’ with two fundamental embryos within?

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Sources

Huxley, Thomas. "Science and Literature Are Not Two Things, but Two Sides of One Thing." Like Success. LikeSuccess, n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2016.

Kelly, Kevin. "The Third Culture" Science 13 February 1998: Vol. 279 no. 5353 pp. 992-993. Web.

Parry, By Wynne. "Science as Art: A Gallery." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 23 June 2011. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.

Snow, C. P. “Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution.” Reading. 1959. New York: Cambridge UP, 1961. Print.

Tuschman, Richard. "Image: 433305, Caption: Bridge between Two Human Minds." Stock Illustration. Richard Tuschman, n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.

Vesna, Victoria. “Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between.” Leonardo 34.2 (2001): 121-25. Web.