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Week 4 Blog: Medicine + Technology + Art The concepts from this week have been my favorite and by far the most fascinating material we have studied thus far. I plan on going into the medical field and have already taken numerous classes in which I’ve learned about many of the related topics discussed this week, so I find it almost difficult to pick what to talk about because it is all so interesting to me. I think the thing that struck me the most as such a direct connection between medicine/the human body and art was the discussion around plastic surgery. https://www.rd.com/health/healthcare/plastic-surgery-instagram/ Professor Vesna went into great length explaining how plastic surgery is such a good example of an intersection between art and science in part III of this week’s lecture. I understand plastic surgery to be a form of art for those who pay for it as well as medical professionals that perform it. Often, the decision is made in order t...

Blog #3 This week’s material seems extremely relevant in today’s cultural environment surrounding robots and artificial intelligence. Personally, I feel that the concept of artificial intelligence is somewhat exciting but mostly alarming, given the speed of technological improvement only over the past century. Image source: Seats2meet magazine Although the advent of AI (artificial intelligence) could potentially bring human civilization further towards the ease and convenience of the future, it could also be quite dangerous if things go awry, as well as in a cultural sense, threatening to the originality of artistic expression. Image source: Robohub In the words of Walter Benjamin, “The presence of the original is the prerequisite to the concept of authenticity.” The discussion around mechanical robots and their increasing abilities brings up the concern that they may take away from creativity and originality. If robots are able to creat...

Event Blog #1 I attended the screening of the 1958 film Anticipation of the Night by Stan Brakhage that is the central film of the series “Metaphors on Vision”. I went in with an open mind. Note: I forgot to take a picture of myself at the event, only my ticket stub, so I provided evidence by taking a picture of myself with the stub (notice the same nail polish in both pictures). I was taken aback by this film. It consists of a series of antique looking shots of nature and shadows passing on walls, among various imagery. I thought this would preface the plot, but it turns out this was the movie. The film is a progression of somewhat related images and movement that appears to be through the eyes of a person, beginning with environmental aspects, moving to scenes from the morning hours of a home, specifically shots of children sleeping. I left feeling disillusioned and confused about what I saw. Afterwards, I delved into commentary from the cinema community. Acc...

Week 2: Math and Art Through the various examples and historical context presented in this week’s materials, I was able to draw a myriad of connections between mathematical concepts and their influence in the world of art. I have never thought of myself as a “math person”. As Professor Vesna discusses in lecture, having a bad math teacher definitely pushed me towards the arts. I’ve learned that you don’t need to be a math person to use math in art and appreciate how mathematical ideas are the basis of many beloved artworks. One example of this is the work of Nathan Selikoff, an artist who creates interactive artwork influenced by concepts of nature, behavior, and physical senses. Selikoff marries the concepts of math and art when he, “c ombine[s] computer code, traditional materials, and future technology to bring new ideas to life.” Source:  “Dance Variations - Print.” by Nathan Selikoff              ...

Week 1: Two Cultures This week’s material regarding the concept of Two Cultures is a very new idea to me, something I had never really thought about before. Yet, after reading about the conception of this idea and the reality of the divisions and connections between these two worlds, it becomes very visible in my life and education. Snow’s revolutionary writing pointed to the polarization of academia through the divide between science and art, in which two distinct cultures have diverged in seemingly opposite directions. Snow describes the reason for this gap in “The two cultures and scientific revolution”, stating “between the two a gulf of mutual incomprehension- sometimes hostility and dislike, but most of all a lack of understanding”(4). It becomes clear that the worlds of scientific discovery and the literary arts are not intrinsically different, they are misunderstood in relation to each other. The gap between science in art is shown to be bridged by CP Snow’s rev...