Week 4 - Medicine, Technology, Art

One of the most fascinating topics within the world of art is the human body. The human form, instantly creates a connection between the viewer of a work of art (assuming the viewer is human) and the piece itself. An understanding, a mirror of our form draws many viewers in. For example, if one were to the view the La Pietà by Michelangelo, we would instantly recognize the forms and sensations of the figures. We begin to imagine the weight of Jesus’ body in our own arms, we can feel the sadness Mary feels, we can taste the salt from her tears. By simply having a body, we can empathize with other human forms, whether it is consciously or unconsciously.

 

http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/print/2007/4/pieta-michelangelo.jpg

“Carnal” artist ORLAN, harnesses these “mirrored” sensations we experience when exposed to art. The raw footage of her plastic surgeries as she recites poetry and other works (often related to body image), invokes a sensations of squeamishness. We can feel the needle’s piercing our skin, the scalpel blade along our foreheads. The feeling may be uncomfortable but it often goes hand-in-hand with a curiosity that keeps our eyes glued to the T.V. screen as we watch Gray’s Anatomy, or view a piece from Body Worlds. A natural inclination to see within ourselves, to understand how works holds our interest. However, artists and engineers like ORLAN and professor Kevin Warwick have taken things beyond simply viewing our bodies, they have altered them, treated them as a medium, an object that is subject to our will. As if a malleable piece of meat, ORLAN has had numerous surgeries that completely reconfigure her appearance. Warwick has become part of his lab technology by implanting a microchip within himself allowing computer systems to track him and read electric impulses within his body. Even, Diane Gromala, a woman living with chronic pain and speaker on TED X, has experimented with the concept of molding flesh with her creation of a “meatbook”.

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Due to advances in technology and medicine, what was once considered a subject, our body, is now an object that can be modified beyond the scope of the Hippocratic Oath. We may now subject our bodies to a metamorphosis, attempting to enhance them. Our bodies now have potential to serve as an expressive medium for the mind.

Despite these many advances, we must also remember the frailty of our bodies as expressed by artist Eric Franklin, in his work The Body Electric. No matter how much we modify ourselves, our bodies remain a unique part of who we are.

http://the.installationmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Evolve_5270@2x-1024x574.jpeg

Works Cited

Medicine Pt1. Perf. Victoria Vesna. UC Online Program, 2012. Film.

Moret, A. "Eric Franklin: The Body Electric." Installation Magazine. Installation Magazine, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <http://installationmag.com/eric-franklin-the-body-electric/>.

Orlan, Carnal Art. CNC Images De La Culture, 2001. Film.

TEDxAmericanRiviera - Diane Gromala - Curative Powers of Wet, Raw Beauty. Perf. Diane Gromala. TED Talks, 2011. Film.

Tyson, Peter. "The Hippocratic Oath Today." NOVA. PBS, 27 Mar. 2001. Web.

Think about the word “robot”. What do you think of first? What is the functionality of what you’re imagining? Do you view robots as a tool to make our lives easier? Or do you see robotics as a medium of creative expression?

I doubt that many people think the latter when they hear the generic term “robot”. However, despite the stereotypes that many of us picture when we think robot, robots have always served a medium of art, and today have the potential to create their own expressions of creativity.

An interesting subject when exploring the realm of robotics is the idea of acceptance. Alex Proya’s film I, Robot explores the different attitudes towards artificial intelligence and begins the blur the line between man and machine. In the film, the apparent emotion and altruism of the robots are ultimately what win society over, however, the protagonist only begins to accept these forms of AI once one robot displays agency and the ability resist conformity. 

https://digitalcinemaaesthetics.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/large_i_robot_blu-ray_121.jpg

Fred Abels explores similar topics through his work. His lifelike, replication of a homeless man DIRK, challenges people to question what makes us human. Most people could not tell that DIRK was a robot at all, and ironically enough, once they realized that he was a robot, paid him more attention than a human would have received.

Artificial intelligence has also paved the way for robots to create art of their own and  improvise in interesting ways. In Ken Feingold’s piece The Animal, Vegetable, and Mineralness of Everything, three robot heads engage in an unscripted philosophical debate about “the thing” that lies before them and their existence. They express their fears and unique thoughts as they interact with one another. In addition to this “philosophical” improvisation, robots are being designed to create visual art. In 2002, the first annual Artbots talent show took place, showcasing the creative abilities of many different robots.

Lastly, technology has allowed us to tether music and technology. Fred Abels, has also created a piece called Pyrobass, which shoots different colored flames in sync with music and also alters the sound of the piece.

Works Cited
Ables, Fred. "DanceMachine En Pyrobass." Fabels. Rob Verdegaal, 1 Jan. 2002. Web. 20 Apr. 2015

"DIRK." Electic Circus. Fred Abels and Mirjam Langmeijer, 7 Sept. 2008. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.

Documentation Clip of "The Animal, Vegetable, Mineralness of Everything" by Ken Feingold (2004). Youtube, 2011. Film.

Feingold, Ken. ""The Animal, Vegetable, Mineralness of Everything" Ken Feingold 2004." Ken Feingold Notes on Recent Works. Ken Feingold, 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.

I, Robot. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp, 2004. DVD.

Repetto, Douglas. ArtBots: The Robot Talent Show. 25 May 2002. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.

Week 2- Mathematics and Art

This week, I was shocked by how great of an influence math had on perspective in art. The study of perception, how our mind takes input from our eyes and translates it into a picture, is often perceived as a very scientific topic today. I find it interesting that this idea, however, was first explored by the artist Giotto, and even the following “mathematical” studies on perspective, were aimed towards improving art during Giotto’s time. This is an understandable fascination however: depicting three-dimensional space on a two dimensional surface.

Another striking feature of the time period was the heavy conversation between the mathematical/scientific studies of perception and the realm of artwork. During this time period these two fields learned from one another and depended up each other. For example, describing the concepts of perspective could not be done without visual aids that were created by artists. On the flipside, artists also heavily incorporated aspects of mathematics within their works, for example, the occurrence of the “golden mean” in Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, the Egyptian pyramids and the Parthenon in Greece.

One last area of interest that fused mathematics and visual perception is the conception of multiple dimensions. This topic has been explored throughout history, with great vigor, by artists and figures such as Joan Miro, Kardinsky, Picabia, and Duchamp. Edwin Abbott thoroughly explores this topic in his work Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, which  explores how our perceptions are relative and limited based on how humans are built and what ideas influence us as we grow. One aspect of Abbott’s story that I found rather interesting, was each “species” resistance to accepting a new perception and understanding of their world. In the Flatlands, even mentioning a third dimension is outlawed, and the example of the protagonist’s grandson conforming to the belief that there are only two dimensions ties back to last week’s discussion of how our education system can squander genius and open-minded perspective. This process of “de-geniusing” is also mentioned by Buckminister Fuller.

Today, artists continue to explore these concepts despite our current scientific conceptions of the world. In Phillip Pullman’s book, The Subtle Knife, the protagonist discovers a knife that can cut into different dimensions, allowing her to travel there. In addition, Christopher Nolan’s movie Interstellar, further explores the fourth dimension. Hopefully, we may continue to ask these questions and not be limited by self-content and ignorance.

Works Cited

Abbott, Edwin Abbott, and Valerie M. Smith. Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. Print.

De Bondone, Giotto. Legend of St. Francis Frescoes at Assisi. Digital image. Wikipedia. Web

Golden Section Parthenon. Digital image. Jill Britton Homepage. 6 May 2012. Web

Henderson, Linda. "The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion." JSTOR 17.3 (1984): 205-10. Jstor.org. The MIT Press. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1575193?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents>.

Interstellar. Paramount Pictures Corp., 2015. Film.

Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov. Perf. Victoria Vesna. UC Online Program, 2012. Film.

Nolan, Christopher. Fourth Dimension. Digital image. Scientific American. 2 Dec. 2014. Web.

Pullman, Philip. The Subtle Knife. New York: A.A. Knopf :, 1997. Print.