Week 6: BioTech + Art

Bioart uses biotechnology to alter biological matter into a living art product. Biotechnology can be used to test new cosmetic and medical products on living organisms, often mice. This is the reason why conservation groups advocate against these procedures and want restrictions on artists and scientists to prevent overuse of biotechnology. 

Bioartists manipulate genes and cells to change the organism’s appearance. They claim to not harm or kill the animal via the process by making living art (Miranda, 2013). I personally think that bioartists should not mess with the appearance of an organism. There are bioartitst that make their organisms look futuristic (Miah, 2012). Aside from physically affecting the appearance of organisms, they are also used to test cosmetic products affecting the human appearance.

The word ‘cosmetics’ is often a synonym for make up, when really according to the Federal and Drug Administration, cosmetics are ‘articles’ applied to the human body (Humane Society, 2014). Biotechnology is the use of living organisms to develop or products. Which is why before a new cosmetic or medicinal drug goes into the market, often it gets tested on small rodents like mice. Why mice? Because a mouse’s genetic pool is very similar to that of humans (Winstead, 2002).  Over 700 mouse genes have counterparts with human genes. These testing have triggered many conservationist groups to advocate against what they call animal cruelty.

Although there are people who find product testing positive, the organisms that are tested on are left to die; they can no longer function properly. This is why some major brands like Bath and Body Works have decided to not do animal testing (The Baltimore Sun, 2010). These companies in a way help with the conservation of these organisms and prevent from altering the genetic pool. On the other hand, countries like China make it mandatory for all foreign cosmetic products to be tested on animals (Humane Society, 2014).

Bioartists have a passion for making art out of living organisms, and there is a border to how far biotechnology can go. I stand in the middle of this situation; I am neither for nor against these procedures. I can say that I would not want animals to be abused and there should be restrictions, but yet again I would not like to put on a lotion that would harm my body.

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Work Cited

Baltimore Sun, “Alternatives to animal testing gaining ground.” Baltimore Sun. McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. 27 Aug. 2010. Web. 7 May. 2015.

Humane Society. “Fact Sheet: Cosmetic Testing.” The Human Society of the United States. 13 Mar. 2014. Web. 8 May. 2015.

Miah, Andy. “Bioart is Changing the World.” HuffPost Arts and Culture. Huffington Post. 7 Feb. 2012. Web. 8 May. 2015.

Miranda, Carolina A. “Weird Science: Biotechnology as Art Form.” ArtNews. Disqus. 18 Mar. 2013. Web. 7 May. 2015.

Winstead, Edward R. “Humans and Mice Together at Last: Scientists compare mouse chromosomes 16 to the human genome.” Genome News Network. J.Craig Venter Institute. 13 May. 2002. Web. 7 May. 2015.

Event #1: San Diego Model Railroad Museum

For my first event, I attended the Model Railroad Museum located in San Diego’s Balboa Park. I was amazed at the amount of detail and effort put into the exhibits that depicted miniature railroad cities from the mid to late 1900’s. Some, not all, had well known railroad landmarks or routes, for example, the Bakersfield to Mojave Dessert route with the iconic Tehachapi Loop. The artistic detail integrated into the small people, cities, and railroads made this museum an artistic mystery.

Every exhibit has features that are mathematically calculated into the appropriate scale. The size proportion is accurate when comparing the people, trains, and buildings. Trains cross at the right time, and the little people resemble real world actions, such as attending a diner. However, math and art together is probably not the first thing you would think about while visiting, but both are very important towards the proper function of the exhibit.

When you have several trains moving at the same time, the museum operator needs to be aware of the electricity pattern and make sure the trains do not crash at an intersection. With so much going on, a small electric or timing mistake could cause everything to shut down. Important details like mathematically calculating the speed, and train length are all crucial numbers that play an important role.

With so much going on in some of the exhibits, visitors take time to examine each one. This is how the museum educates by attracting all ages to the exhibits. The detail engages visitors and teaches the importance of railroads during the 1900’s. Like we have learned in class, Robinson claims that we all do not learn or work the same. Some people need to see it to understand it and, since they cannot travel back in time, what better way than seeing a miniature version. This is how I captivated my idea for my midterm project.

For my midterm project I wanted to design a tool that people could use when attending an art museum. They would have the ability to engage in whatever event, place, or action, taking place in the painting they were viewing. Not everyone is an art enthusiast, and might not understand paintings that well, therefore, like this museum does, it would be nice to see how life was like at a different time.

I would definitely recommend my classmates to attend this entertaining museum. If you are a San Diego native, you will get a kick out of the small-scale monuments. This museum is great for all ages and gives in depth historical background. The San Diego Model Railroad Museum is an artistic mystery.  

Week 4: Medical Technology + Art

             Paintings of the human body without the outer skin cannot compare to were technology has taken us today. Many artists were fascinated by the way our body works. Today technology has driven the medical field to do unbelievable things with the human body.

Artistic paintings of the human body are not enough to show what is really under our skin. With the help of technology there a human body tour was established as an educational experience showing off real bodies. This exhibit is shown to millions of people each year. The exhibits are meant to help people understand what goes on inside their bodies and the affects of bad habits such as smoking (Benedetti, 2006). Attending one of these events has been one of my goals, I want to show my friends who are involved in bad habits aside from smoking, but alcohol abuse, and how their bodies will be affected in the future.

             Alcohol abuse, and abundant cigarette smoking cause some horrible diseases such as liver and lung cancer.  Thanks to new technology, doctors can identify these diseases at an early stage (Lee, 2013). Having the technology to take an x-ray of body via a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine helps medical specialist find diseases and prevent fatalities (Loyola University Health System, 2014). Finding cancer, tumors, and other similar diseases at an early stage is critical for the survival of the human body. Medical technologies are the new innovation that artists centuries ago could not have done.

            An artistic way to connect a living being to the arts is via plastic surgery. Human defects and war injuries were often the case why plastic surgery was needed. Today, it is commonly known as an expensive beauty fixer that consequently may have an affect on mental states (Baum, 2014). Plastic surgery is often connected to Hollywood icons and controversial to the meaning of true beauty. The pressure of getting older and competing with the younger generation often triggers Hollywood icons to use plastic surgery (Lee, 2015). There are those who want to look beautiful and need the help of art and technology to achieve this.  

              As we have seen, the use of art and technology has taken our human nature to a whole different level. With the help of this modern medical technology new disease are found and our life expectancy has increased. Who would’ve known how far technology would have taken medical technology, from artistic paintings to visually seeing the human body in person and filmstrip.

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Work Cited

Benedetti, Winda. “Education or freak show? ‘Bodies… The Exhibition’ cashes in on our own curiosity.” Hearst Seattle Media. Seattle PI. 27 Sep. 2006. Web 24 Apr. 2015.

Baum, Gary. “Plastic Surgery Suicide Puts Spotlight on Beverly Hills Patients’ Desperation, Lies and Mental States.” THR News. Hollywood Reporter, 24 Jun. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.

Lee, Ellen. “5 Ways Technology Is Transforming Health Care.” Forbes Brand Voice. Forbes, 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.

Lee, Esther. “Halle Berry: Plastic Surgery Is Pushed ‘Like Crack’ in Hollywood, Pressure Is Constant.” Celebrity Beauty. US Magazine, 13 Feb. 2015. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.

Loyola University Health System. “Technology developed to improve lung cancer detection, treatment.” Science Daily. Science Daily, 13 Nov. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2015

Week 3: Robotics + Art

Technological innovations have immensely revolutionized the world we live in today. Since the industrial revolution, the development of this country has depended on the use of factory machinery and robotic inventions. Both factors that have caused a reduction of human labor jobs. In the future, scientists believe that robots will rule the human society. Slowly our dependency will increase in technological innovations.

The industrial revolution made everything easier for mankind. People were able to get from one place to the next faster, write faster, finish and sell goods faster. A pioneer during this era was Henry Ford. Ford’s mass production of the Ford T model prompted a fast and cheap production that revolutionized several industries (New York Daily News, 2013). There are more robotic machines that have taken over this industry (Murray, 2012). Therefore, making car manufacturing better, faster, and cheaper. This is an example of the effects of robotic inventions that have affected the labor force today.

It is no surprise that the labor force is changing around the world. In recent years we hear about people losing their jobs due to the economy. Now an average of 1.2 million industrial robots went into the work force leaving 1 in 5 thousand people out of jobs (Aquino, 2012).

Aquino explains a reason for this new workforce.  Humans get bored and tired of doing their jobs, therefore, making robots an effective alternative. This is true because, robots do not need a lunch break or vacation time. Robots can perfectly accomplish a task, while humans make room for error. This is why human labor is slowly being taken over by robots.

Scientists and inventors believe robots are slowly taking over our world (Brooks, 2012). Most of the stuff that we use or do includes robotics. Today we use so much technology in our daily lives that we have forgotten about how not to depend on it. Robots can do anything from financial analysis to medical diagnostics (Barajas, 2014). These are common jobs that will force humans to compete with robots in the work force.

To think that a robot can be programmed to be essentially a human could cause a series of sociological problems. For this reason, it is amazing and scary to think about how humans will need to adapt to futuristic robotic innovations.  

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Work Cited

Aquino, Judith. “ Nine jobs that humans will lose to robots.” National Broadcasting Company. Business Insider, 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.

Barajas, Joshua. “Smart robots will take over a third of jobs by 2025, Gartner says.” Public Broadcasting Company. News Hour, 7 Oct. 2014. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.

Brooks, Rodney. “Why we will rely on robots.”  TED Talks. Feb 2013. Film. 16 Apr. 2015

Murray, Peter. “Better, Faster, and Cheaper – These Robots Are Invading Car Manufacturing Plants.” Singularity Hub. May 2012. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.

New York Daily News. “Ford’s assembly line turns 100: How it changed manufacturing and society.” New York Daily News.7 Oct. 2013. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.

Week 2: Math + Art

I had never realized how much math influences science and art.  Math is everywhere and we sometimes do not even notice it. Some of the best architecture designs have a combined art and scientific background based from mathematical equations.

Modern architecture has become so futuristic that the geometrical balance between angles, shapes, and proper mathematical calculations play an important role in the elevation of the structure. As explained by Mariane Freiberger, the design behind a building comes with geometrical structure, but must also be aesthetically pleasing and comply with planning regulations. With the right combination of mathematics and science you get a beautiful artistic building structure to display.

Created by architect Adrian Smith, one of the most impressive buildings is the Burj Khalifa commonly known as the Dubai Tower, world’s tallest building (Stanglin, 2010). The science and math to build a foundation that could possibly hold such an astonishing building is incredible. This structure shows how properly using the laws of nature; mankind can build anything with the proper usage of science and mathematics.

During lecture Professor Vesna talks about Fuller and his idea of de-genius through our primary education. I agree that our knowledge comes from the experience and education we encounter. Like Fuller says, children experiment a lot and there are experiences that we are not born with but we must encounter and learn from on our own. This is why I strongly believe students, especially those with fewer resources, should be involved in art and science programs. 

Unfortunately, experiencing art at a primary education is less common.  I find it very unfortunate that the younger generation does not get that ability to test their art and science skills. A report by the Congressional Budget Office claims that there will be a reduction of funding for programs in the Arts and Humanities from 2014 to 2023. Without governmental help, students will have fewer opportunities to experience arts and science.

The clip from Stand and Deliver shows how math is used in an artistic way. In order to learn the multiples of 9 the actor Edward James Olmos uses his fingers as an artistic way to explain math. This method leads these students to successfully pass their calculus AP exam.

From this week’s topic I was able to understand the importance of mathematics in both art and science. When describing juxtaposition, it is clear how having math combined with science and art creates amazing results. Properly using the laws of physics to properly build a structure, or using art to explain math, are both great ways that math influences art and science.

 Work Cited

Burj Khalifa. Digital image. Blueprint Shut. Web.

CBO. "Reduce Federal Funding for the Arts and Humanities." Discretionary Spending. Congressional Budget Office, 13 Nov. 2013. Web. 9 Apr. 2015. <https://www.cbo.gov/budget-options/2013/44786>.

Cultor Web. Laon Cathedral’s Regulator Lines. 2014. Digital Image. Cultor College, n.p. Web.

Finger Math - Stand and Deliver. Digital image. Youtube.com. Web.

Freiberger, Marianne. "Perfect Buildings: The Maths of Modern Architecture." Perfect Buildings: The Maths of Modern Architecture. Plus Magazine - Living Mathematics, 1 Mar. 2007. Web. 9 Apr. 2015. <https://plus.maths.org/content/perfect-buildings-maths-modern-architecture>.

Stand and Deliver. Warner Home Video, 1998. Film.

Stanglin, Douglas. "Dubai Opens World's Tallest Building." USA Today. Gannett, 4 Jan. 2010. Web. 9 Apr. 2015. <http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/01/dubai-opens-world-tallest-building/1#.VSXJbBPF-Zw>.

Vesna, Victoria. "Mathematics pt1. Zero Perspective Golden Mean." DESMA 9. University of California. , Los Angeles. 9 Apr. 2012. Lecture.

Week 1: Two Cultures

Prior to learning about the topic of “two cultures” I had never realized this over arching idea of art and science.  Snow argues in The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution that separating both art and science from each other will only cause a conflict. I agree with what Snow suggests that by uniting ideas from both philosophers and scientist great things can come.  A great example of this combination is the research that I have been involved with during my summers.

Like Bohm explains in On Creativity, creativity just happens and is hard to explain with words. This whole time working with scientists designing research projects, never had I realized how the combination of art and science made a creative research project. I believe this concept is the reason why I had never thought about art and science as “two cultures.” 

(Figueroa, 2014)

Designing different methods to reduce sea turtle bycatch, accidental capture, on gill net fisheries integrates these “two cultures.” Finding the right color as a deterrent for sea turtles and avoid reducing the capture rate of the target fish based on visual cues includes both art and science concepts (Wang, 2010).

(Maduro, 2013)

Our second project involved a complex fishing net with an escape door for sea turtles. The artistic design effectively captured fish below and released sea turtles above. This is an effective fishing tool based on scientific knowledge that fish will remain at the bottom and sea turtles will rise for air.

(The Coaching Educator)

Before my passion for geography and the marine environment, I was an engineering student and well deep into the south campus of UCLA. There is a clear boundary between north and south campus at UCLA. However, during my transition I had the opportunity to take a variety of intro courses. Now I am realizing how these “two cultures” are integrated in economics, physics, philosophy, archeology; only some of the majors I encountered. But now that I am in the Geography and Environmental Studies major, I will effectively use my philosophical and scientific knowledge when designing my next research project.

Citations

Bohm, D. “On Creaticity.” Leonardo 1.2 (1968): 137-48. MIT Press. Print.

Figueroa, Antonio. Antonio Figueroa Turtle Picture. 2014. Ocean Discovery Institute Database, San Diego, CA. Photograph.

Madura Dirve. Loggerhead_Ted-NOAA. 2013. Dive Magazine, n.p. Photograph.

Seminoff, Jeffrey A., and Tomoharu Eguchi, “Loggerhead Sea Turtle Abundance at a Foraging Hotspot in the Eastern Pacific Ocean: Implication for At-sea Conservation.” Impact Factor 2.26 (2014): 207-44. Endangered Species Research. Print.

Snow, C. P. “Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution.” 1959. New York: Cambridge University Press. Print.

TCE. Confusing Crossroads. N.d. President Leadership Class, The Coaching Educator. Photograph.

Wang, Jh, S. Fisler, and Y. Swimmer. “Developing Visual Deterrents to Reduce Sea Turtle Bycatch in Gill Net Fisheries.” Marine Ecology Progress Series 408 (2010): 241-50. Print.

Intro

Hello. My Name is Antonio Figueroa by I go by Tony and I am a Geography and Environmental Studies major. As a San Diego native, I love Cali and going to the beach. For most of my life I have been involved in helping out with some kind of project doing environmental conservation. At the age of 11 I was introduced to the marine life and ever since then I have dedicated my daily life to doing my best for marine conservation. For the past six summers I have had the great opportunity to work with NOAA and develop methods to reduce Sea Turtle bycatch in commercial fisheries around the world.

I am really interested in what this whole class is going to be about and not too sure of what to expect. It is always a pleasure to take courses that are outside my major or field of interest. Cannot wait to see what fun knowledge to learn.