Week 4: Medicine + Technology + Art

After watching this week’s lectures, I understand how art has influenced medicine and technology (Med Tech) and vice versa. They have grown hand-in-hand dramatically since World War I, although reconstructive surgery and studies of anatomy date as far back as the Egyptians and Ancient Greeks. Today, we see the intersection of medicine and art through the use of MRI’s and CT scans, which take pictures of the human body to help doctors diagnose patients without any invasive procedures.

Dictionary.com defines the term medicine as the “art or science of restoring or preserving health… by means of drugs, surgical operations or appliances, or manipulations.” The term is derived from the Latin ars medicina which means the art of healing. This definition even extends to the Hippocratic Oath, which represents the “ideal conduct for the physician” abides by this definition, and even synonymously replaces the word “medicine” for “art” in many places.

“In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art.”

It makes sense then, that you can improve the patient experience by including art. One example of the intersection between art and medicine technology is the practice of music therapy. Music therapy is an established health technique in which music is used “to address physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals” (American Music Therapy Association). In patients with dementia, a disease associated with loss of cognitive functions such as decision making and judgment, music therapy has been able to reduce aggressive behavior and improve cooperation with daily tasks. Patients with autism have shown increased interest and response when practicing verbal and nonverbal communication skills to music.

Another example of an artist influenced by MedTech is Orlan, a French artist who’s art gallery was an operating room where she would undergo plastic surgery while reading philosophical literature. Orlan commented on the idea of physical beauty by undergoing 9 surgeries to recreate the beauty of renowned paintings (Akman). She took the forehead of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and chin of Boticelli’s Venus among other works.

Much of my time taking art classes in high school revolved around drawing the human body from live subjects, so I understood how medicine has played a role in art. However, it was only after this week’s lecture did I learn that art and science are interdependent but inseparable.

References:

Akman, Kubilay. "Surets of Orlan." Izinsiz Gosteri. Izinsiz Gosteri, 11 Apr. 2005. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.izinsizgosteri.net/asalsayi37/Kubilay.Akman_ing.37.html>.

"American Music Therapy Association." FAQ's. American Music Therapy Association, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.musictherapy.org/faq/#267>.

Judd, Ryan. "How Does Music Therapy Benefit Children with Special Needs?"YouTube. YouTube, 1 Apr. 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXcmWwSQGI4>.

"Medicine." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicine>.

Rae, Charlotte. "Charlotte Rae." Cambridge Neuroscience. University of Cambridge, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/directory/profile.php?clr50>.

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

Ulbricht, Catherine. "Music Therapy for Health and Wellness." Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. Natural Standard, 21 June 2013. Web. <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/natural-standard/201306/music-therapy-health-and-wellness>.

Week 3: Robotics and Art

In this week’s lecture, Professor Vesna once again shows how art can be applied to disciplines otherwise regarded as completely irrelevant to art itself. The lecture raised several questions that piqued my interest and guided my understanding to how robotics and art intertwine. How do artists use mechanization in their work?

One of the earliest examples of technology and science merging with art traces back to the invention of movable type and the printing press. These breakthroughs changed the way people would see the world by introducing mass reproducibility and ushered in the Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution (Vesna, 2015).

Reproduction of  Hadrian Bust

Through the lens of Walter Benjamin, however, the age of Mechanical Reproduction has caused art to lose its uniqueness and authenticity, its “aura” and “its presence in time and space, [and] its unique existence at the place where it happens to be” (Benjamin 2). While I understand Benjamin’s opinion, I believe the reproducibility of original pieces has allowed the masses to develop a newfound appreciation for art by making original pieces more accessible around the world. Personally, I found an interest in Greek and Roman art and architecture only because I was able to see pictures in my classes and reproductions at the Getty Villa in Malibu.

BayMax from Big Hero 6

Mechanization opened up possibilities and venues for the arts and science to come together in unprecedented ways. The idea of robots was born out of the mechanization of labor and has become a popular theme in many forms of art today. For example, the animated movies Big Hero 6 and Wall-E utilize robots and portray them as conscious beings. These movies follow the Japanese portrayals of robots as human friends as opposed to the American portrayals of robots as invasive inventions as described by Professor Kusahara (Kusahara, 2015).

Another clear example of the intersection between science, math and art is through Dr. Mari Velonaki’s Diamandini statue, which was installed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The Diamandini statue’s primary goal was to gather data on how visitors of the museum interacted with the installations and attempt to make an emotional connection to engage with humans (Lim, 2013).

These examples show how art and science are converging in today’s society and are tell-tale signs of how they may be associated with one another in the future.

References:

1. "Art | Getty Villa." The J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles. Http://www.getty.edu/. Web. 19 Apr. 2015. <http://www.getty.edu/visit/villa/art.html>.

2. "Baymax/Gallery." Disney Wiki. Http://disney.wikia.com/. Web. 19 Apr. 2015. <http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Baymax/Gallery>.

3. Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Marxists. 1936. N.p. Web. 19 Apr  2015. <http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm>.

4. Lim, Angelica. "What Roboticists Can Learn From Art, and What Artists Can Learn From Robots." IEEE Spectrum. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 July 2014. <http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/diy/what-roboticists-can-learn-from-art>.

5. Vesna, Victoria. “Robotics MachikoKusahara 1." Cole UC online. Youtube, 14 April 2012. Web. 19 April 2015. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=137&v=xQZ_sy-mdEU

Mathematics and Art

Although many consider math and art to be polar opposites, they are actually deeply intertwined. For example, the Greeks used the aesthetically appealing Golden Ratio of 1 to 1.618 in their architecture, such as the Parthenon. And Piet Mondrian's belief in mathematics and simple geometric shapes inspired him to paint the universe at its simplest form, using horizontal and vertical lines and basic colors. Math has played a pivotal role in the evolution of art throughout history and is an art in and of itself as well, as the study of numbers, abstractions, measurements, and generalizations using signs, symbols and calculations.

Piero de la Francesca's famous book states that painting has three principal parts: drawing, proportion and coloring. Proportion is the most important of the three and is also known as perspective. In Marc Frantz’s lesson on vanishing point, he explains how artists use geometry and vanishing points to create one-point and two-point perspectives in their paintings. Artists like Giotto and Brunelleschi used geometry to control the position of the spectator within their paintings and properly paint objects to scale.

Another example of how mathematics has influenced art is through origami. Robert Lang explains how art, math, and science intersect in his TED talk titled “The math and magic of origami.” Lang shows how geometric shapes drawn on square paper can be folded to produce animals and people.

What helped me understand math’s influence on art the most was the Golden Ratio, which mathematically represents the idea of beauty. Leonardo da Vinci’s drawing Vitruvian Man utilized the ratio to show the perfect proportions of the human body that maximized aesthetics. Jimmy Ruska shows how aesthetically appealing the golden ratio is by applying it to the faces of celebrities who are widely considered attractive.

The juxtaposition of mathematics, art and science occurs because people are taught that they are unrelated to each other early on. This can be seen in the education system, where some students will major in art or in mathematics or science, and will hardly ever touch classes in the other subjects. However, I believe the use of computers by animators to develop creative works such as movies will help each subject converge.

References:

Chaney, Candace. "Art Exhibit Offers a New Way of Looking at Math." Kentucky.com. Www.kentucky.com, 14 Feb. 2013. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://www.kentucky.com/2013/02/14/2516568/exhibit-offers-a-new-way-of-looking.html>.

Frantz, Marc. "Lesson 3: Vanishign Points and Looking at Art." 1 Jan. 2000. Web. 9 Apr. 2015. <Http://www.cs.ucf.edu/courses/cap6938-02/refs/VanishingPoints.pdf>.

Lang, Robert. Robert Lang: The Math and Magic of Origami.YouTube. YouTube, 31 July 2008. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYKcOFQCeno>.

Nicoles, Nia. "Linear and Arerial Perspective." Nias Specialist Contextual Investigation. WordPress, 18 Mar. 2014. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <https://nianicolesw.wordpress.com/2014/03/18/linear-and-arerial-perspective/>.

Ruska, Jimmy. Golden Ratio- The Perfect Face & Change the Sex of People. YouTube. YouTube, 23 July 2007. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO3o9drC1mQ>.

Wander, Rodrigo. "Origami." Origami. Minhateca, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://minhateca.com.br/Rodrigowbs/BR+DeepWeb/Apostilas/Apostilas+de+Japon*c3*aas/Origami>.

Week 1: Two Cultures

The idea of "two cultures" was introduced by C.P. Snow in his 1959 lecture at Cambridge University. He first became aware of the dichotomy while working with literary intellectuals and natural scientists who were "comparable in intelligence, identical in race,[and] not grossly different in social origin," yet never communicated with each other. After reading Snow’s lecture and watching the “Changing Education Paradigms” video, I realized how much of an impact the two cultures have had on my life.

I agree with Snow’s viewpoint on how schools have fostered the gap between the arts and sciences. Specifically at UCLA, there is a physical separation between the arts and humanities majors in North Campus and engineering and science majors in South Campus. By separating the arts and sciences geographically, UCLA is perpetuating the two cultures by limiting interactions between students studying either subject. The Royal Society of Arts (RSA) considers this system an “epidemic” and suggests that western education is archaic because it emphasizes segregation between different fields instead of stressing similarities.

Bohm’s essay “On Creativity” proved to me how similar scientists and artists really are, driving home the idea that the arts and sciences should not be separate. Bohm commented that artists and scientists “all feel a fundamental need to discover and create something new that is whole and total, harmonious and beautiful” (Bohm 138).  His perspective has convinced me to discard the traditional views of scientists as being more analytical and linear and see them as artists within a different discipline.

With this new point of view, I can see a “third culture” emerging where the line between art and science is blurred; especially with UC students having to take courses outside of their major’s curriculum. If it weren't for this requirement, I would have never found an interest in archaeology and human biology.

References:

1. Bohm, David, and Lee Nichol. On Creativity. Vol. 1. London: Routledge, 1998. 137-149. Print.

2. Changing Education Paradigms. By Ken Robinson, Sir. Youtube. Royal Society of Arts – RSA Animate, 14 Oct. 2010.           Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?y=zDZFcDGpL4U>.

3. Krauss, Lawrence. "An Update on C. P. Snow's "Two Cultures"" Scientific American Global RSS. Scientific             American, 17 Aug. 2009. Web. 06 Apr. 2015. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/an-update-on-cp-           snows-two-cultures/>.

4. Snow, Charles Percy. “The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution.” The Rede Lecture. Cambridge University,                 Cambridge, Massachusetts. Lecture.

5. Tritipeskul, Sirinya. "And the Winner of the North vs. South Campus Challenge Is....ALL Bruins!" UCLA Fund. UCLA           Fund, 22 May 2013. Web. 06 Apr. 2015. <http://www.theuclafund.ucla.edu/news/nvschallengewinner.aspx>.

6. Walter, Skip. "When Science and Art Dance." On the Way to Somewhere Else. Skip Walter, 07 May 2012. Web. 06 Apr.           2015. <http://skipwalter.net/2012/05/07/when-science-and-art-dance-business-results/>.