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Event 5 (Extra Credit): Dr. Daniel Jay

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As my last albeit optional event of the quarter, I decided to attend Dr. Daniel Jay’s presentation entitled “How the Brain Perceives Art and Towards an Art-Science Institute”. Dr. Jay’s presentation revolves around the link between art and neuroscience - something similar to what we covered earlier in the quarter. Figure 1. Proof of attendance. From the beginning of the presentation, Dr. Jay’s ideas correlate with our course. The sections of his presentation, namely “Who am I?”, “How the brain perceives art”, and “Towards an Art-Science”, are in line with our focus on two cultures, neurology + art, and a third culture respectively. In the beginning, Dr. Jay gave us a brief biography and it turns out that what he does is pretty impressive. Putting aside the 30 years of siloed artwork, he is also a research scientist and professor who has mentored several young scientists in their own careers. My favorite part of the presentation was Dr. Jay’s work involving the elements of the perio...
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Event 4 (Extra Credit): HOX ZODIAC: SNAKE!!!

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As an extra-credit event, I decided to attend the “HOX ZODIAC: SNAKE!!!” talk, featuring Carolyn CC Hart, Lucie Strecker and Amir Baradaran. The HOX Zodiac is a collaborative project between the arts - advocated by Vesna - and the sciences - endorsed by Siddarth Ramakrishnan. The project involves discussion surrounding different animals from the Chinese zodiac as a representation of the plethora of shapes producible by HOX genes (Vesna and Ramakrishnan). This week’s animal was snakes. Figure 1. Proof of attendance. Before I begin, I will admit that I do not believe in zodiac signs. However, after watching this presentation, my perspective has somewhat changed. In retrospect, this incredulity stems from the common use of “zodiac” to depict the signs used to predict the future, and the fact that astronomy isn’t scientifically supported. Yet, I believe this presentation gave me much-needed clarification that zodiacs aren’t necessarily in reference to astronomy; zodiacs here are presente...
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Week 9: Space + Art

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If you took a moment to look back at human history, you’d soon realize that space exploration has just started. Yet, artists have been pondering, imagining, and producing artwork concerning the heavens for thousands of years. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane, shall we? We can trace back the beginnings of “space art” as far back as the novel “Off on a comet” by Jules Verne in 1877. While the book itself was remarkable in its own right, it featured a painting by Paul Philippoteaux wherein Saturn was imagined as a physical landmark in space as opposed to the previous notions of a set of points of light in the night sky. Figure 1. Paul Philippoteaux, Saturn, 1877. Years later in 1937, French artist and astronomer Lucien Rudaux wrote and published a book that captured his idea of planet surfaces. The book wasn’t entirely accurate but nevertheless captured the attention of Chesley Bonestell, acclaimed father of astronomical art and special effects artist, in Hollywood. Using the book...
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Event 3: Alchemy + Art by Ann Mccoy

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Today, I attended Ann Mccoy’s “Alchemy + Art” presentation. Contrary to the other events, I was afforded the opportunity to interact with the lecturer before the actual event began due to a scheduling error. I must admit, I was shocked to learn that she was a professor at Yale, which was my dream university (before UCLA of course). Figure 1. Proof of attendance. The presentation was unlike any other in that it encompassed religion and spirituality, which, according to Vesna, is almost a taboo in academia. I would agree seeing as how religion is often disregarded as peripheral to the overall goals of academia. One such example is the hit TV show Big Bang Theory featuring Sheldon Cooper. Played by Jim Parsons, Sheldon is depicted as a quirky, arrogant, annoying, but nonetheless highly intelligent Caltech physicist who has many a time shown a distaste for religion despite a deeply religious mother. Yet, when Ann explains the connection, it almost invalidates Sheldon’s argument. For in...
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Week 8: Nanotechnology + Art

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When Marvel’s “Ant-man” came out in 2015, the geek in my 14-year-old self decided to make an appearance. Although the wolverine was my favorite character at the time, ant-man was a close second as his ability to change size at will came across as a devastating yet epic ability. So, it came as a wonderful surprise when I found out that the nanotechnology aspect of the movie and comics could be explained - and by UCLA scientists, no less! Figure 1. Marvel University, Ant-Man & The Wasp and Nanotechnology, 2018. According to Laurent Bentolila, the scientific director at the UCLA California NanoSystems Institute, their technology “paints” cells such as neurons and immune cells with colored dyes, shines a laser on them, and with this, they can track every cell in space and time like a GPS. As a result, they could, in theory, use this to track someone like ant-man (Horan). In 2002-03, Vesna and Gimzewski presented interactive artwork featuring nanotechnology that allowed individuals ...
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Event 2: From Forces to Forms: Episode 1 "Laws of Nature"

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For my second event of the quarter, I decided to attend episode 1 of “Forces to Forms” that featured many presenters, as well as Dr. Vesna herself. Hosted by the Pratt Gallery in Manhattan, the event itself largely focused on the link between art and science in relation to the laws of nature. Figure 1. Proof of attendance. My favorite presentation was by Todd Siler. As a science aficionado, I get very excited when I hear of emerging technology that can potentially change the world. So when Siler said that he was trying to find a way to recreate the sun by modelling fractals, my curiosity was immediately piqued. Figure 2. Todd Siler, The Fractal Engine, 2022. The fractal reactor model was engineered based on fractal geometry (as opposed to Euclidean geometry) as an example of a device that could generate limitless energy via nuclear fusion. While the reactor itself has yet to be developed, the idea itself is revolutionary in that science and art have rendered an idea about the wor...
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Week 7: Neuroscience + Art

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One of my best friends has long been interested in the field of neuroscience so this topic somewhat resonates with me. He once told me that the human brain holds the key to our nature as conscious beings. Still, I was shocked to hear that neuroaesthetics - a combined discipline involving neuroscience and art - is a flourishing field. Among the factors motivating this new collaborative venture is the epiphany that artists have made groundbreaking discoveries about the human brain that scientists are just beginning to unearth. According to Zeki, “most painters are also neurologists” (2). Given that artists have been a proponent of studying the way in which the world is perceived, it isn’t surprising that they have uncovered certain characteristics of the way we sense shapes, colors or depth. Interestingly, this is nothing new. Patrick Cavanagh, an eminent vision researcher and professor, claims that line drawings likely date back to our ancestors tracing lines in the sand and realizi...
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