Space + Exploration + Art | Week 5

Space was described as "the final frontier" in the beginning of lecture, conjuring images of courageous astronauts exploring foreign planets throughout the galaxy.  While that description is fitting, I disagree with the finality that it suggests.  Space is not humankind's final frontier.  As we learn more and more about each of the topics in this class, what we once thought was a full understanding has now led to a huge pandora's box of further questions, of new frontiers.  For example, the field of genetics has now led into the entirely new "frontier" of epigenetics.  Understanding nerves and brain anatomy has now led to huge questions in the debate about nature vs. nurture and the development of personality and consciousness.  For me, space is our most expansive, mysterious frontier, but just one of infinite frontiers that humans continue to explore.

Astronauts of Apollo 11

In watching Professor Vesna's brief overview of space exploration and the motivations behind the movement, there seem to be parallels between art and science. The field of space exploration delves into the unknown, much as artists' often aim to elucidate a foreign concept.  Similarly, space exploration involved taking risks. From the casualties resulting from faulty rockets in Apollo 1/13, Challenger, and Columbia, space exploration has always been a dangerous expedition into the unknown. This theme reminded me of art, as artists push boundaries and take risks (sometimes risking their own bodies!), in order to seek greater understanding of the unknown.

Many times, it can seem as if art is reactionary to scientific advancement.  Taking examples from previous lectures, bio-art formed as a response to the new ability to manipulate DNA and genomes.  Artists were able to manipulate butterfly wing patterns because science made that possible; it's not as if scientists spent billions on the Human Genome Project for the sole prospect of creating butterfly wing art (though it was a beautiful artistic representation of technological advancement).

However, contrary to other fields, the scope of space allows artists be the drivers and dreamers behind exploration and the direction of science.  From nanometers and microscopic scale to the 10^25 massive scale of the universe, the scope and size of space is almost incomprehensible. Because the idea of space, to this day, is still such a huge mystery, artists are given free reign to imagine and dream up plans of what civilization might look like on the moon, or what extraterrestrial life may resemble.  In a contrast to other fields where knowledge is expansive but not yet all-encompassing, space is essentially an artist's largest canvas.  Beyond that, this canvas is nearly entirely blank -- we are just beginning to scratch the surface in understanding the galaxy from Earth's POV, much less the larger universe from the perspective of other intelligent beings or galaxies.

It is the nearly-incomprehensible massive scale of that drives artists, and all human life, to dream of what lies out in the universe's unexplored corners (if there are even any corners that exist!), and what motivates artists such as Joe Davis to capture the human essence and send it out into space, whether it be through paintings, experiments or manipulated E-Coli sequences. Artists are given free reign to be as creative as humanly possible. Space is a realm where no dream is too fantastic, where no conventional rules of physics, scale, or time really exist.  Because of this, artists have used their creative force to physically depict our wildest dreams in the form of art, science fiction, and fantasy films.  Their art thus drives the direction of space exploration from a scientists' point-of-view, as the goal of both art and science and the third culture is to seek greater understanding of the human experience.  ...or at least that's what I think!

Sources:
"A Brief History of NASA." A Brief History of NASA. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 July 2014. <http://history.nasa.gov/factsheet.htm>.
"Apollo 13: Facts About NASA's Near-Disaster." Space.com. Space.com, n.d. Web. 28 July 2014. <http://www.space.com/17250-apollo-13-facts.html>.
"The Scale of the Universe." Newgrounds.com. Newgrounds.com, n.d. Web. 28 July 2014. <http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/525347>.
Franklin, H. Bruce. "Science Fiction: The Early History." Science Fiction: The Early History. Rutgers, n.d. Web. 28 July 2014. <http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~hbf/sfhist.html>.
Vesna, Victoria. "Space + Exploration + Art, Part 4." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 28 July 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qSc72u9KhI&list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7>

Space + Exploration + Art | Week 5 Notes

Space -- The Final Frontier
Power of Tens -- From nanometers and microscopic scale to 10^25 massive scale of the universe, the scope and size of space is almost incomprehensible.

Lecture 1 - History:
- Copernicus (1512) - Heliocentric concept of the solar system, with sun in the relative center. Postulated Earth's revolution around the sun, required epicycles, which conflicted with the ideas of the church.
- Galileo's Telescope - triggered a new area of space discovery
- Sudbury Buckyballs - born in space, survived meteor impact to arrive on Earth's surfaces
- Spitzer's Space Telescope - discovery of buckyballs in solid form in space
- Science Fiction - huge role in space idealization and concepts (Arthur Clarke's space elevator, Jules Verne's concept of weightlessness in 1865, space stations that were livable in 1920).
- "Celestial Castle", The Fountains of Paradise -- 22nd century

Lecture 2 - Exploration:
- Contemporary space exploration began approx. during WWII
- Arms race became focus of the cold war, led to competition in space exploration
- Soviet Union's Sputnick (actually no larger than a beach ball, no functionality).  However, it created paranoia and competition among countries
- Sputnick launch followed by U.S. "Flopnick" --> NASA created in response to develop competing military space program.
- Residual effects on education as there was an increased focus on math, science, and technology

Lecture 3:
- Leica the dog sent into space to understand any physiological changes that might occur in space
- She didn't live beyond 6 days into her trip as the batteries died and all support systems failed
- Russians stereotyped as a crude people, but government warned that Russians now had a technology that allowed for the transport of bombs for thousands of miles
- U.S. sent chimpanzee into space with the capability of receiving intelligent responses back (as opposed to the dog Russia sent up)
- Alan Shepard (1961) - first American in space
- John Glenn (1962) - first man to orbit the earth

Lecture 4:
- Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon, Apollo 1 (exploded), Apollo 13 (launched from Kennedy space center but lunar landing was aborted after oxygen tank exploded)
- Space Challenger disaster (1986) - broke apart 73 seconds into flight
- Columbia completed many missions before re-entry in its 28th mission
- 2003 till present - many government programs ending, now focus in space travel is on private organizations (Virgin Galactic)

Lecture 5:
- X-Prize: $10m prize for non-governmental organization to launch reusable craft into space twice in two weeks
- Spaceship 1 won the prize -- led to a partnership with Virgin Galactic, planning to commercialize craft ($200k per ride)
- Space X's Dragon -- successful attachment to ISS -- private company
- Space Exploration --> Space Exploitation?
- Robotic asteroid mining industry - trillions up for grabs
- Who will mine the moon? Asks a compelling question if the moon will become the Persian Gulf of modern society (Helium 3 could control future global economies)

Lecture 6:
- The Jetsons meet The Flinstones
- CBS' Lost In Space
- Star Trek

Nanotechnology + Art | Week 5 Notes

Lecture 1 - Jim Gimzewski
- Dr. Gimzewski works in CNSI
- Nanotechology is a very broad field that applies to all of science. 1nm = 10^-9m
- Term originally used in 1974 by Norio Taniguchi to describe thin filaments
- Historical perspective of technology: two approaches. Electronic devices started out huge and have become smaller and smaller (top-down, hacking away at silicon). On the other hand, chemists began with very simple molecules and biochem/chem/physics are now becoming larger and larger.
- Richard Feynman's "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom", suggested that there is so much room to make tiny things that you don't need to always think bigger is better.
- Quote: "The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of maneuvering things atom by atom."
- To exemplify this, he wrote 25,000 pages of Encyclopedia Britannica on a pinhead (though a pinhead has room for 260,000,000 pages). Offered prizes for a small cubic electric motor 0.4mm in dimension and a book page shrunk by a factor of 25,000 in each direction (100nm font size), prizes claimed very soon after.
- Realization that nanoscale changes the laws of physics, as surface tension and thermal jittering dominate over gravity. Rules of quantum mechanics now dominate!
- Drexler & Merckle -- Foresight Organization, came up with the idea of an assembly plant on a molecular scale.

Lecture 2: Nanoparticle Imaging
- Breakthroughs: moving atoms on a single-atom basis, discovery of the Bucky Ball
- pre-1985, carbon had two allotropes, diamond and graphite. In 1986, Smalley, Curl, and Croto discovered another form of pure carbon (C60) - buckminsterfullerene
- 2011 Nobel Prize for Physics: graphene (carbon tubes, pure carbon)
- Scanning tunneling microscope (STM) - different because it doesn't use lenses (limits magnification due to wavelength of light). Rasters the STM tip across the surface to image molecules
- STM is great because you can resolve atoms in air, liquids, low temperatures, high temperatures, not just vacuums!
- Also able to create Tunable bonds between the tips and atoms of the surface of the molecule being imaged. Effect used to drag atoms across molecules --> UCLA dragged into formation!
- Quantum Corrals - fantastic patterned wave patterns
- Atomic Force Microscope (AFM)

Lecture 3: Nanoparticles + Applications
- 1-100nm
- Green cup, but if you illuminate from inside, it glows --> coloration from nanosized gold particles (Romans!)
- 15th & 16th century: glazes for plates, stained glass using nanoparticles
- Changing large scale --> nanoparticles changes a lot of physical properties (combustibility, state, etc.)
- Use of nanoparticle as biomimicry
- Ex. replicating the adhesive properties of gecko feet
- Ex. hydrophobicity creating isolated water droplets on surface of lotus leaves --> self-cleaning fabrics where materials will breathe but won't stick to particles (upholstery, self-cleaning glass, etc.)
- Ex. Japan's bullet train has self-cleaning surfaces to save energy on cleaning
- 1nm thick nanoclay - sheets of material added to plastics of beer bottles (to maintain carbonation)
 or surfaces of tennis balls (to reduce gas permeation)

Lecture 4: Nanomedicine
- Nanotechnology can target specific tumors, directed chemotherapy
- Abraxane - coating of nanoparticles in breast cancer medicine helps to reduce toxicity
- Color is dependent on size, so nanoparticles in solution can give off different hues based on size
- Nanotechnology products influential in pigment alteration, quantum dots
- If nanoparticles are smaller than 4nm, they can cross the blood-brain barrier and can be absorbed into cells via endocytosis
- Nanoshells (hollow nanoparticles), when it is illuminated, it becomes hot --> being tested in labs as cancer therapies, as these shells can be targeted via antigens to attack solely cancer cells

Lecture 5: Self-Assembly
- To create new structures atom-by-atom is not practical, we need to rely on self-organization into hierarchal structures (natural order)
- On Growth & Form (1945) -- fractal nature of trees, snowflakes, shells, etc.
- Blue Morpho Butterfly - extreme flash that can be seen from a mile in the air. Butterfly has christmas tree-like structures that manipulate light on the nanoscale so that they reflect back color much more effectively than pigments can do alone
- Ex. Formation of micelles due to hydrophobic principles
- Designing of 3D DNA crystals
- Nanosomes - created by finely tuning chemistry
- Nanotechnology can possibly self-assemble into organs or tissues
- Marangoni Effect

Lecture 6: Nanotechnology in Daily Life 
- 1,000 products, from food and agriculture to cosmetics
- Interactive, personalized foods --> allows for flavors to be individually released
- Nanowrappers, nanosensors
- Agroculture - coat pesticides so that they don't interact with plants but still protect from insects
- "Slim Shake Chocolate" - contains mostly silica nanoparticles that coat chocolate to trick you into thinking you're drinking a shake with lots of chocolate, because you're only tasting the coating

Neuroscience + Art | Week 4

There is so much mystery that surrounds the brain, from its mystique as the control center of the human psyche, to its role in consciousness and concept of self personality.  In addition, the brain's central role in mind-body separation and in dreams continue to intrigue artists and scientists alike.

It is not surprising then that neuroscience + art is a huge emerging field, as art often attempts to provide insight or opinions on the unknown, using visuals as a form of interpreting mystery.  Understandably, with huge advancements in neuroscience, beginning with concrete understandings of brain anatomy to now the culture of neurochemicals, the field is more lucid then ever before, and the new advancements allowing for manipulation and imaging of the brain without cutting into the tissue itself are giving artists an entirely new viewpoint on the field.

 vs.


The brain has only been seriously studied for about a century, and brain anatomy was a burgeoning field pioneered by Ramon Ikahal and Franz Joseph Gall.  With phrenology stemming from the Greek "mind", the concept of localized knowledge in the brain (and not the heart) was revolutionary at the time.  Furthermore, the study of neurons and their branching nature gave both artists and scientists a look into the extreme complexities within the body's microscopic structures.

Artists are interested in how perception and interpretation stems from this biological and neuronal infrastructure.  Such is exemplified in Suzanne Anker's Neuroculture project, which aims to examine how modern brain science permeates popular culture.  One of her projects is entitled the fMRI butterfly, where brains superimposed with a butterfly and inkblots. It brings out a nuanced notion where butterflies are the same in each print but look different (slight optical illusion).

Other artists aim to show the beauty of the body's machinery.  With fMRIs, CAT scans, and other noninvasive imaging techniques, artists are now able to highlight the beauty of natural design.  Such is exemplified by the Brainbow, which is a term used to describe the process by which individual neurons in the brain can be distinguished from neighboring neurons using fluorescent protein. Neurons can be flagged with distinctive colors to create a cascade of neurons.  Personally, when I saw this picture, it drew comparisons between mechanics (ex. freeway extended exposure) and life (the brainbow).  It's very interesting to see the comparisons between natural life processes and how anthropogenically created structures often coincide with natural order.

Brainbow of Zebrafish Embryo

I also found it interesting to learn about neurochemical drugs and how they can alter perceptions (and the artwork that is done while under such influences).  With so many advances in biotechnology and neuroscience, artists are now able to alter their state of minds to complete art through outer-body experiences, still created by the mind, but rooted in fantasy and imagination.

Throughout the lecture I considered Professor Vesna's introductory question, "are machines expanding consciousness or restricting it?".  I think that machines are a double edged sword.  While machines may be replacing certain tedious processes and improving the efficiency of production, I have seen the obsession with technology and social networks completely engross people and sometimes make them lose dimensionality in their personality.  I think that with machines, it is easy to restrict consciousness while living among such technology, to be content and satisfied with the advancements surrounding you.  However, I believe that the human tendency is to strive for better and to constantly innovate.  From that perspective, machines and knowledge of the brain and neurons only serves to introduce more questions about the human condition, promote more thought, more artwork, and ultimately, more innovation -- thus, consciousness and an understanding of self is expanded with the advent of technology, machines, and mechanical knowledge.

Sources:
Anker, S. (n.d.). MRI Butterfly. Retrieved July 19, 2014, from http://www.suzanneanker.com/artwork/?wppa-album=16&wppa-photo=132&wppa-occur=1
Detailed Brain Anatomy. (n.d.). Paradoja7com. Retrieved July 19, 2014, from http://www.paradoja7.com/detailed-brain-anatomy/
Nadel, Lynn. Encyclopedia of cognitive science. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley, 2005. Print.
Schier, A. F.. "Multicolor Brainbow Imaging in Zebrafish." Cold Spring Harbor Protocols: pdb.prot5546-pdb.prot5546. Print.
Vesna, Victoria. "Neuroscience, Pt. 1." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 18 July 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzXjNbKDkYI>.

Biotechnology + Art | Week 4

This week's topic focused on biotechnology and its significance relative to art.  In Lecture 1, Professor Vesna provides a framework for this field, purporting that nature has always been a fascination for artists.  However, instead of solely painting images of animals or photographing scenic landscapes, advances in biotechnology have allowed for the emergent field of "bio-art", coined by Eduardo Katz, where artists are able to use genetics to manipulate live cells and animals as their means of art.

Joe Davis is Dr. Vesna's primary example as a pioneer of biotech art.  Using genes and genomes as a new palette, he came up with ideas to insert DNA into bacteria that scientists considered crazy and dangerous.  Among his diverse array of project included creating geometric viral capsids, observing cells through audio microscopes (allowing imaging of cells as sound using microacoustic signatures that are species-specific), a project looking at how E-Coli responds to Jazz, and another looking at the map of the milky way in the ear of a transgenic mouse (inserting DNA sequence that looked like the milky way).

While at first glance I thought that these projects were trite and somewhat excessive, upon further thought I can definitely understand Davis' perspective.  In using these various biologically-based techniques, his work exemplifies the third culture and highlights the interconnectedness between art and science. He draws parallels in highlighting the beauty of the Milky Way and sequences of DNA, through the canvas of a mouse ear.  Similarly, just as "typical" art attempts to convey a message or comment on society, Davis uses biotech as his own language in which he attempted to not only communicate with humans, but with extraterrestrials as well. This is exemplified in his E-Coli project, where Davis wanted to create and info gene to translate machine into meaning, by sending a genetically engineered sign of human intelligence and throw them into space. The vector was E-Coli (has survived intense cold and radiation in deep space), and plates were arranged to display a micro-venus as a representation of life, and also as a representation of female genitalia to balance the phallic symbols being sent out into space.

The confusion and discussion about Davis' art is understandable -- why would someone want to code poetry into the eyes of a fly? What is the point?  I believe that Davis preemptively saw the rise of a third culture, where science will advance so much to a state that the world of arts and sciences will meld into a new third culture with endless possibilities.  This is best described through Davis himself, as he is quoted stating, "All of our dreams are going to come true. So we will have to have the right kinds of dreams. This is why science needs artists like me."

Another example that I thought exemplified the use of biotechnology to express a human condition was Kathy High's "Blood Wars".  Blood Wars looked at biological reactions of human white blood cells, and looked at traits transmitted through blood. The competition itself occurred where different blood cells compete for dominance over the petri dish.  In using white blood cells, Kathy highlights that even the most basic components of human beings contain a wealth of information, and that differences between different blood cells can lead to competition and "war" within a petri dish, just as different cultures and religions have clashed in war and conflict throughout history.

Blood Wars Trailer from Kathy High on Vimeo.

One overarching theme that was highlighted in the biotechnology lecture was the concept of the "unknown".  With this entirely new field of bio-art, there were no culturally defined standards of beauty, no standards of practice.  This burgeoning field has gone through a period of growth and uncertainty, and as both artists and scientists attempt to push already stretching boundaries, their work can lead to controversy and pushback.  Such was shown with the emergence of "Strange Culture", where artists at the Critical Art Ensemble were investigated by the FBI because their art projects were considered potential bioterrorism.  This is exemplified again from another perspective through Kathy High -- much of her work is focused on studying lab rats, finding out how to properly care for lab mice by discovering what sounds may trigger stress.  From her perspective, if we can solve human health problems using rats, why are we treating them as vermin and pests? We need to be thankful for their help in advancing science.

This applies to both art and science -- in creating art pieces such as Eduardo Katz's transgenic bunny, artists must keep in mind the well-being of the animals they are using as canvases, while in science, scientists must make sure that they are not imposing extreme pain or torture on their test animals.  This is particularly pertinent with advances in biotechnology where chimeric animals and individual genetic modifications are not commonplace.  Another example of this is Marta de Menezes' butterfly experiment. While she attempted to genetically code new patterns into her butterflies for an art exhibition, the fact that many of her butterflies developed holes in their wings due to genetic manipulation stirred up much controversy.  Many argued that while it is beautiful to watch genetic manipulation manifest itself in beautiful patterns, it is unethical to seize authority over these butterflies' well-being without having any goal of achieving "greater good" through advancement in science or medicines. Thus, genetic manipulation has found more success in biological processes involving plants as opposed to animals, exemplified through Edward Steinkin's MOMA exhibition exhibiting various modified irises.

One thing that I'd love to explore further is the field of molecular gastronomy.  There is a huge trend in the culinary world where chefs are becoming increasingly adventurous with their ingredients and cooking methods, from nitrogen ice creams to soy lecithin foams.  As with many other fields where science and art are finding newfound harmony, these new techniques allow for some crazy flavor combinations and textures, expanding the palette of taste even further!

Sources:
de Menezes, Marta. "Nature?." Marta de Menezes. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 July 2014. <http://martademenezes.com/portfolio/projects/>.High, Kathy. "Blood Wars Trailer." Vimeo. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 July 2014. <http://vimeo.com/20903389>.Steichen, Edward. "Moma | The Collection | Edward Steichen." N.p., n.d. Web. 19 July 2014. <http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=5623>This, H. (2008). Molecular gastronomy: exploring the science of flavor. New York: Columbia University Press.Vesna, Victoria. "Biotechnology + Art, Part 4." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 18 July 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qSc72u9KhI&list=PL9DBF43664EAC8BC7>

Marconi Auto Museum | Event 1

The Marconi Auto Museum was founded in 1994 by Dick Marconi and is home to a wide assortment of automobiles, from classic Ferraris and European roadsters, to old racecars and American muscle cars. The museum, which often doubles as an event venue, was created to act as an ongoing funding source for Marconi's Foundation for Kids.

When I first saw that the Marconi Museum was an event option, I was very excited!! Growing up, I was always fascinated by cars.  Ask me to identify any car on the street and I can most likely tell you its make, model, year, engine inside, price, and performance capabilities.  Looking back to that fascination in the context of this course, I think that I was so obsessive over cars because they so beautifully incorporate the latest technology in their engines, computers, and transmissions, while also conveying emotion, passion, and speed in their sheet metal and framework.  

Cars are like pieces of artwork, and collections of cars really tell the story of cultures and industries developing through time. The picture above shows a line of Ferraris throughout the year.  As you walk down the line, these cars tell the story of technical advancement; while 0-60mph in 6 seconds used to be revolutionary, nowadays your average sports sedans can hit 60mph even faster.  Ferraris today can blast to 60mph in under 3 seconds, a testament to the advancements in science and machinery. 

At the same time though, each car is not just a machine, it is a work of art that encompasses beauty, evolution, passion, and history.  Especially with each of these notable cars, there is so much tradition that goes into the sculpting of the sheet metal,  The paint colors, hard lines, contours, and headlights all combine to create a persona for the car that often conveys its performance and mechanical "personality", from an angrily-fast road-hugging supercar to an approachable, accommodating minivan.

It is the combination of mechanics and art, along with the diverse gamut of cars out there that each incite unique and differing emotions, that is exciting about cars.  In a sense, automobiles are a beautiful representation of the third culture, where art and science can collaborate and harmoniously coexist.

One thing that is interesting in considering the diversity of car types out in the market today is the variable balance between art and science.  Some car companies focus on art in favorable of more sensible mechanics, with designers adding in low crouching frames and swooping cabin frames that shout "sporty" or "sexy", but may not be the most practical when it comes to bumpy roads or very tall passengers looking for lots of leg room.  On the other end, some cars ooze a sense of luxury, with hefty lines and complex bodywork indicative of a smooth, polished machine meant to transport in comfort and style.  With another perspective, yet other cars are high off the ground, with chunky architecture and blunt features, indicative of strength, brute force, and off-roading capability.  Often, consumers must make the choice between high art or high science.  In mass markets, it is often the cars that have the perfect balance of artistic beauty and mechanical reliability that are most successful sales-wise.

Such combination of art and science is evidenced in "Formula One Race Cars: Blurring the Lines between Art & Science". Stratis so accurately describes this fascinating combination with the following: "From the expensive sports cars on the streets to the futuristic machines in the movies, fast cars enliven the imagination. Earnest fans around the world watch the Grand Prix religiously, even if the difference in time zones requires live viewing at 2am. While many follow the races and relish the excitement it engenders, far fewer understand the engineering behind these mammoth works of art. They are some of only a few machines weighing as much as 600kg while able to reach velocities of more than 200 miles per hour. The production of a Formula One racing car is a fine example of the subtle combination of art and engineering."

Another concept that I thought of were cars as canvases for consumers to use as their work of art.  Inside the museum, there was a custom Ferrari with a special royal blue paint job for the Sultan of Brunei.  On the hood of an old muscle car, there was a fanciful painting of Oscar de la Hoya in boxing position.  On another, an old firetruck, there was an emblem of the fire truck.  While cars may be produced in mass and exemplify mass-market replicability and Ford's assembly line theories in action, at the same time they are canvases for each individual to customize.  As such, the relationship each person has with their car is extremely unique, which is why I think so many people find peace and joy in taking scenic drives alone in their cars as an escape.

Overall, I loved touring the Marconi and left with a greater appreciation for all of the mechanical and artistic components that come together to create automobiles.  I am at once amazed by the technical capabilities of modern cars (automated parallel parking, safety features galore, 250mph top limits, oh my!) while also so appreciative of the stories and reasonings behind each car's story.  The Marconi visit made me all the more appreciative of cars after I left the museum, so it was ironic that I got in a car crash on the drive back home from the museum!!

RIP Phillip the 2009 Honda Fit -- 7/08/2014

Sources:

"Automotive History: How The 1960 Corvair Started A Global Design Revolution." Curbside Classic. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 July 2014. <http://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/automotive-history-how-the-1960-corvair-started-a-global-design-revolution/>.

"Dream Cars: Innovative Design, Visionary Ideas." . HIGH Museum of Art, Atlanta, n.d. Web. 18 July 2014. <http://www.high.org/Art/Exhibitions/Dream-Cars-Innovative-Design-Visionary-Ideas.aspx>.

"Our Story - Marconi Automotive Museum." Marconi Automotive Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 July 2014. <http://www.marconimuseum.org/our-story/our-story/>.

"The Sultan's Secret 1995 Ferrari FX." Autoblog. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 July 2014. <http://www.autoblog.com/2006/10/10/the-sultans-secret-1995-ferrari-fx/>.

Stratis, George. "Formula One Race Cars: Blurring the Lines between Art and Science." . N.p., n.d. Web. 19 July 2014. <http://illumin.usc.edu/printer/55/formula-one-race-cars-blurring-the-lines-between-art-and-science/>.

Neuroscience + Art | Week 4 Notes

Introduction:
- What is consciousness? Are machines expanding consciousness or restricting it?

Lecture 1
- Artists have always been fascinated with consciousness and the mind-body separation? How do dreams play into this whole realm? A huge mystery to this day.
- Consciousness: when was consciousness developed, acknowledged? Question that crosses many fields but finds lots of ends in neuroscience.
- Brain has only been seriously studied for about a century
- Ramon Ikahal, Franz Joseph Gall -- critical in showing brain anatomy.
- Phrenology from Greek "mind" -- concept of localized knowledge in the brain
- Ramon y Cajal -- study of neurons and their branching nature/connections between neurons

Suzanne Anker
- Neuroculture project which aims to examine how modern brain science permeates popular culture
- fMRI butterfly - brains superimposed with a butterfly and inkblots. Nuanced notion where butterflies are the same in each print but look different (slight optical illusion)
- Sea sponges have signature proteins that function similarly to synapses, are good indicators of the origins of brains and neurons

Brainbow
- Term used to describe the process by which individual neurons in the brain can be distinguished from neighboring neurons using fluorescent proteins.
- Neurons can be flagged with distinctive colors
- Drawing comparisons between mechanics (freeway extended exposure) and life (brainbow)

Lecture 2
- 95% of what we dream is forgotten. What about REM?
- Unconsciousness brought in by Friedrich Schelling, Freud, Jung
- Jung thought that Freud's view of unconsciousness was too negative and focused on sex as a primary motivator
- Freud felt religion was an escape and a prophecy not to be believed
- Jung felt religion was an important factor for individuality
- Jung's collective unconscious -- every human is endowed with this archetypal layer, not acquired by education, but instead innate.
- "A Dangerous Method" - Cronenberg, traces relationships around Jung

Lecture 3: Culture of Neurochemicals
- Freud & Cocaine -- in the early 1880s, cocaine was seen as a cure for almost everything
- LSD: hallucinogenic effects
- Aldous Huxley & Humphry Osmund -- psychedelic drugs --> "The Doors of Perception"
- Timothy Leary - LSD research - 90% success rate in preventing re-offense in prisons
- No bad trips/negative results from his studies, but people began complaining about his distribution of drugs to undergraduates.
- Gov't MKULTRA - use of psychedelic agents as a form of mind control