Final Project

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Extra Credit Event: Hammer Museum

Even though I was at UCLA for over three years, I have never visited the Hammer Museum or any of the museums I’ve written about for that matter.  It sits in the middle of all the tall office buildings on Wilshire, which is interesting since usually you would find a museum isolated with huge gardens around it like the Getty. 

Hammer’s collection by French satirist Honoré Daumier stood out among the others because of its bold criticism of life in contemporary France.  It took me awhile to actually interpret some of his drawings, since many of them incorporated deep-rooted issues.  His drawing called “Past-Present-The Future” depicts a very well fed three-faced man, each face with an increasingly meaner expression from past to the future.  Since most of his art criticized the life in contemporary France, I interpreted this drawing as the face of the government becoming harsher with its citizens.  Another picture that stood out was called “The Bathers” and depicted a man and a woman each getting ready to use the bath.  The man was quite hefty, while the woman was the complete opposite.  This may have represented the generalization of how men and woman looked at the time, with men generally not worried over their figure and women generally a lot more self conscious and wanting to be thin.  The “Nadar elevating photography to the level of art” drawing was easier to interpret and basically represents how Nadar’s work in photography is gradually becoming worthy to be called art in Daumier’s eyes, though in the picture Nadar is riding an air balloon and elevating physically.  

 

Works Cited:

"RAISED TO AN ART." RAISED TO AN ART. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Aug. 2014.

"Food for Thought." History 332 Modern France. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Aug. 2014.

"About the Collection." The Hammer Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Aug. 2014.

"France in the Long Nineteenth Century." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 July 2014. Web. 03 Aug. 2014.

"Honoré Daumier." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 July 2014. Web. 03 Aug. 2014.

Event Blog: Museum of Jurassic Technology

Hands down, this museum had to have been the most eccentric one I’ve ever visited.  Half of the exhibits were amusing, while the other half was just confusing.  The most interesting one was the exhibit on the process of how humans go through remembering and then forgetting an event called Obliscence by Geoffrey Sonnabend.  He depicts the process as an inclined plane that slowly passes through a cylinder and the portion of the cone intersecting the plane represents the stage of the event in our memory.  It kind of made sense since the different stages coincided with how we interpret our memories.  For instance, once the plane has completely passed through the cylinder, our memories of the event are completely different than the actual event, while decreasing contact between the cylinder and the plane represent how much of the memory we remember that’s accurate.

A couple of the exhibits were actually discussed in the lecture on Space and Arts.  Dogs were the first living beings to be sent into space.  After the first semi-successful trip, unfortunately the dog didn’t make it back alive, more dogs were sent to space and one was even able to give birth later on.  Another exhibit had a funny design for a space shuttle that declined the interior flooring so that when the spaceship took off at an angle, everything inside would remain leveled.  The most interesting part of this design included different levels of the ship for many different purposes such as a greenhouse, maybe for producing oxygen.

I would highly recommend others to visit this museum if one’s looking for a much different scientific approach to future technology.  The ideas there were a bit “out there” but always made you consider why some of those ideas didn’t pass the test of time.  

Works Cited:

"Obliscence, Theories of Forgetting and the Problem of Matter." Obliscence, Theories of Forgetting and the Problem of Matter. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Aug. 2014. 

"Space Today Online - Animals - Dogs in Space." Space Today Online - Animals - Dogs in Space. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Aug. 2014.

"Almost Current Exhibits." Almost Current Exhibits. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Aug. 2014.

"Museum of Jurassic Technology." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 July 2014. Web. 03 Aug. 2014.

"Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin Eduardovich (1857–1935)." Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin Eduardovich (1857-1935). N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Aug. 2014.

Event 2: Griffith Observatory

Much like my visit to the Getty Museum, the Griffith Observatory’s architecture was one of a kind and can even be recognized from far away.  Actually, some of the exhibits can be found from the architecture itself.  There were a few that stood out in particular for their artistic elements and scientific significance, the first one being the Astronomer’s Monument.  It stands right in front of the Griffith Observatory and pays homage to six of the greatest astronomers so far, including Nicholas Copernicus, whom was talked about in the Space and Art lecture.  I almost didn’t notice the Solar System Lawn Model exhibit as I walked toward the entrance, but this model is scaled down 110 million times from actual.  Even on this micro scale, it still gave me a physical perspective on how enormous our solar system is.  The West Observation Terrace sounds like just a fancy name for just a view of Los Angeles, but the view was really quite breathtaking.  One can see everything from downtown Los Angeles all the way to the Pacific Ocean.  

Many of the interior exhibits demonstrated a combination of old and recent technology, especially the Tesla Coil exhibit.  Back late 1800s and early 1900s, Tesla and Edison contended for the most practical form of electricity for society to use.  Tesla argued for alternating currents, while Edison fought for direct currents with Edison eventually prevailing.  However, Tesla’s discoveries have recently been revived because of its untapped potential.  In short, he discovered a way to light up a lightbulb using electromagnetic force from a mile away.  One can only imagine what kind of technology could result if scientists are able to tap into the depths of his invention. 

Works Cited:
"Exhibits: Hall of the Eye." Griffith Observatory. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 July 2014.
"Griffith Observatory." Travellingflip. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Aug. 2014.
"Exterior Exhibits." Griffith Observatory. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 July 2014.
"Tesla Coil." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 July 2014. Web. 01 Aug. 2014.
"8 Space Pt1 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 01 Aug. 2014.

Event Blog: Getty Museum

My first visit to the Getty Museum exceeded my expectations for a typical art museum.  First, the architecture of the museum was spectacular.  It overlooks all of West LA and allows a lot of natural sunlight to illuminate all five gallery pavilions.  The buildings, which incorporate 1.2 million square feet of travertine stone, are accompanied by fountains, sunken gardens and terraces.  For obvious reasons, the design of the building was a piece of art.  However, it can also be seen as a piece of scientific work since the design could only be made physically possible by consulting engineers to see if it met building standards of safety.  

 

I’ve always been fascinated with the Middle Ages, so I was really excited to find exhibit featuring chivalry in the middle ages.  One exhibit showcased a large book supposedly preserved since that time.  None of the writing was in English, but the pages weren’t made out of normal paper, maybe more like papyrus, and the pages were brightly colored.  There was a method behind the coloring and took several steps in order to achieve the final result.  Compared to how fast the same results can be achieved now, coloring those pages must have had a designated job practice.  

Minor White’s exhibit on black and white photography caught my attention, partly due to the pun from his name and his type of exhibit.  I’m not too experienced with taking or criticizing pictures, but each picture seemed to focus on showing a new perspective for that scene or object.  Each picture needed the right angle and lighting.  Each picture also probably went through a rigorous editing program done on a computer.   Photography is another great example of combining art and science. 

 

 Works Cited:

"Architecture | Getty Center." The J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 July 2014.

 "J. Paul Getty Museum." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 22 July 2014. Web. 01 Aug. 2014. 

"Getty Mounts Minor White Photography Exhibit." 89.3 KPCC. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Aug. 2014.

""The Chivalry Project" Remakes Chivalry for the 21st Century." The Getty Iris. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Aug. 2014.

 "Exhibitions at the Getty." Exhibitions at the Getty. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Aug. 2014.

Space and Art

Once the thought of flying was impossible.  Now space travel represents just how far mankind has come with the advancement of technology.  Man’s curiosity for outer space started over two centuries ago and many propositions have been made since then for forms of space travel.  One memorable one is definitely the space elevator.  In theory, the space elevator would stretch from the surface of the Earth all the way to outer space and directly into orbit.  Recently, this idea has started to become relevant once again due to emergence of new materials necessary to support such a long structure.  Coincidentally, a material relating to nanotechnology has been noted as a possible material, the carbon nanotube.  Even though the idea may not be fully realized within my lifetime, the thought of a structure, which will allow direct access to outer space, is phenomenal. 

One of the main contributors for the rapid advancement was due to the space race between the US and the Soviet Union.  Neither nation backed down and was always trying to stay one step ahead of the other.  This caused a snowball effect and eventually much funding was poured into research for outer space travel.  Nowadays, the race for space travel has been expanded for private companies and commercial use.  Companies such as Virgin Galatic and SpaceX now hold promising developments to put more men into outer space.

The development of military weapons has also advanced at a rapid pace due to the space race.  Rockets for the military are directly linked to the rockets used for space travel.  This could pose a possible danger in the future if military weapons continue to mimic evolving space technology.  

Works Cited:

"Orbital Express: Here Comes the Space Elevator." Cosmos Magazine Orbital Express Here Comes the Space Elevator Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2014.

"Carbon Nanotube Composites." Polymer Characterization. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2014.

"Rumor: Google Is Looking to Invest into Virgin Galactic." Tech Geek Forever. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2014.

"8 Space Pt2 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 28 July 2014.

"8 Space Pt1 1280x720." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 25 July 2014.

 

Nanotechnology and Art

Similar to the paradigm shift between art and science, nanotechnology is a relatively new field that offers many new possibilities for science in the future.  This growing field has changed the way scientists approach nature and is so unique since it doesn’t follow the theories from classical physics.  Some things on the macro scale may seem opaque while its transparent in the nanoscale or be inert on the macro scale, while combustible in the nano scale.  However, as technology progresses, this field is sure to be the one leading the charge as scientists look for ways to compress older technology while introducing newer and smaller inventions such as the medical device shown below.   

Nanotechnology refers to matter sizes in the range of 1 to 100 nanometers.  Thus, the scanning tunneling microscope technique or more commonly referred as STM was developed for imaging surfaces at the atomic level.  It’s atomic sized tip scans across the surface and its Cartesian position is translated to form an image of the surface at the atomic level.  In addition, STM can manipulate the surface when a current is applied through the tip such as the brilliant art piece shown below. 

Complex structures in nature can also be explained through viewing them in nano-scale.  A common example is the wings of a Blue Morpho.  This butterfly’s wings are so reflective and can be noticed from an airplane flying a mile above it.  By examining its wings in nano-scale, scientists observed a unique structure in the wings that caused its blue hue instead of the more common assumption of a blue pigment.  Christmas tree structures pocket air and combined with the proteins around it, manipulate light to produce such a nice blue color.  A whole subdivision called nanophotonics exists to study this phenomenon and create colors that change while keeping them nontoxic.

 

Works Cited:
"The Nanotechnology Times." The Nanotechnology Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2014.

"Wesoloski LTSTM Webpage." Wesoloski LTSTM Webpage. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2014.

"Blue Morpho." Blue Morpho. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 July 2014.

"Nanotech Jim Pt2." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 27 July 2014.

"Nanotech Jim Pt5." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 27 July 2014.