Week 4 MedTech and Art

Week 4

MedTech + Art

In the beginning, it is difficult to understand the connection between medical technology and art which seems to be two completely different disciplines. Medicine is sometimes considered a science, and sometimes an art; one object of medical science is to study human body. One example that convinces me is the visible human project, which managed to cut a male and a female cadaver into thin slices and then photographed and digitized to form a database. The figure below shows a number of slices of human body which is studied for different applications.

Although the actual development progress sounds a bit weird, there is no doubt that the project brings to much benefits to fields of both art and science. For artists, the project gave their access to a detailed dataset and a number of clear cross-sectional images of specific parts which might serve as references when they are creating their own artistic work on human body.

The figure above is a piece designed by Italian sculptor Matteo Pugliese who lives and works in Milan. His bronze sculptures of men, often made from multiple components, appear to be trapped in the vertical space of gallery walls. The work shows his talent in understanding of human muscles and joints.

More valuable applications of Visible Human Project are in educational aspects.

The figure above shows a product from ToLTech designed to meet our users' developing requirements for a thorough understanding of the human body. It also provides virtual surgery programs which could be used in training for medical students or scholars.

Reference

1.     Panda, S. C. "Medicine: science or art?." Mens sana monographs 4.1 (2006): 127.

2.     Reilly, Sally O. The body in contemporary art. London: Thames & Hudson, 2009.

3.     Vesna, Victoria. Medicine Body Lecture. Video. 2015

4.     ArthroSim Arthroscopy Simulator, TolTech.

Web<http://www.toltech.net/medical-simulators/products/arthrosim-arthroscopy-simulator>.

5.     Sculture e Lavori, Matteo Pugliese,

Web< http://www.matteopugliese.com/it/sculture-e-lavori.html>.

Week 3

Robotics and Art

Talking about robotics, the first thing that comes up in my mind is the interesting figure in Japanese animation, Doraemon.

The whole story of the animation revolves around a robotic cat named Doraemon, who travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a pre-teen boy named Nobita Nobi. The primary focus of the animation is on the long-term friendship between human and robot. As Professor Machiko Kusahara pointed out, the robotic culture in japan has its special attribute. Both artists and scientists in Japan tend to emphasize more on human-like behavior when creating robotic culture. This kind of idea distinguishes robotics in Japan from the rest of the world, where robots are primarily interpreted as a productive labor force.

The development of mechanical reproduction and flow line production mode induced great change in art productions. Benjamin, Walter in his work, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction", suggests that it is the first time in world history that art is emancipated from ritual. With the rapidly spreading of art and the widely interaction between cultures, people develop great creativity in a short period of time.

Recently people focus on the morality and ethics concept behind robotics. One example is the movie I, Robot released by Twentieth Century Fox on July 16, 2004 in the United States. 

The movie is about personal and collective redemption, making a clear statement about the heart and emotions as the seat of will, faith, and morality. Future development of artificial intelligence would finally cause the debate of whether robots should be able to think and act like human and if so, the possible consequences that it might bring.

Work cited

 Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Marxists. N.p..

Web. <http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm>.

"Fujiko F. Fujio Museum". Japan Reference. Retrieved September 11, 2012.

Web. < http://www.jref.com/travel/doraemon-museum/>.

Trussell, R. “I, Robot: You Gotta Have Heart”, Pikes Peak Community College & Regis University, October 2005.

Web. < https://www.unomaha.edu/jrf/Vol9No2/TrussellIRobot.htm>.

Vesna, Victoria. “CoLE.” CoLE. N.p.. Apr 2015.

Web. https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/346337/pages/unit-3-view?module_item_id=6472144>.

Professor Machiko Kusahara on japanese robotics. “CoLE.” CoLE. N.p.. Apr 2015.

Web. https://cole2.uconline.edu/courses/346337/pages/unit-3-view?module_item_id=6472144>.

Week 2 Math and Art

Week 2

Math and Art

Born in a math major family, I was exposed to different basic concepts of math especially geometry and number sense at an early age. Thinking about the connection between mathematics and art, the first thing that comes up to most people’s mind should be the golden ratio. The magic number 1.618 is commonly used to achieve beauty and balance in the design of art. Leonardo Da Vinci was well known for his extensive usage of golden ratio in his paintings.

Golden ratio application in Da Vinci’s paintings Mona Lisa, Bathers at Asnieres, and the Last Supper.

I also found a number of interesting designs related to golden ratios in our daily life.

The famous apple app icloud icon has a masterpiece design using golden ratio. The ripples on the cloud are made up of circles whose diameters are proportional to the magic number. On the other hand, the outer rectangular section is also a golden rectangle. Even today, golden ratio is essential for artists in designing because it makes people feel comfortable.

The implementation of math concept in painting can be traced back to 13^th century by the concept of vanishing point. As Dr. Vesna mentioned in the video, Vanishing point was developed by Brunelleschi in 1413. It is typically important in painting as he figured out that all parallel lines should converge to a single point. Applying the vanishing point concept, painters had better control of position and geometry and their works, as a result, turned out to be more realistic. The application of math in painting actually distinguished these works from other artistic work forming two aspect genres, artificial and natural.

The left figure shows the concept of vanishing point in 3D painting and the right figure is an example of artificial painting where the exact position and proportion of objects are not determinants.

In conclusion, having a long historical relationship, math and art are not opposites, but more like intertwined. Although it might be painful to study mathematics, it is still essential for artists to understand math because it makes their work more acceptable for publics.  

Sources and reference

http://painting.kasparec.com/paintings/94-space-encounter-of-alive-and-artificial/

http://www.banskt.com/blog/golden-ratio-in-logo-designs/

http://mathforum.org/workshops/sum98/participants/sanders/1ptPersp.html

http://www.goldennumber.net/art-composition-design/

Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics.” Lecture. CoLE DESMA 9.

Week One: Two Cultures

As Steven Pinker mentioned in the interview, there is an enormous gap between art and science. However, under no circumstance can we actually conclude that they are completely isolated from each other. Taking C.P Snow as an example, besides holding a number of positions in scientific department for the British govenment, he also enjoyed being a novelist and developing long term friendships in literary circles.

A page from Leonardo da Vinci's famous notebooks. One of the finest examples of an individual expanding mind to take in both science and art.

As an engineering major student, I spend most of my time studying science and technologies. We are trained to come up with innovative ideas that might solve potential problems in daily life.

However, this is not enough, no customer would buy product that has strong functionality but no sense of beauty.

This is the bmw i8, the plug-in hybrid supercar. From exterior to interior, and eventually to its power train setup, this car has numerous innovative technologies. However, most people buy this car simply because it looks gorgeous.

Sometimes people feel that they only appreciate either art or science but not both. This is usually due to ignorance. For instance, every kid think about being a painter one time or another. I used to have the same thought. However, my teacher in primary school told me that I have no talent in drawing at all, and to be a painter, for me, is impossible. Ever since that, I just simply ignored those things. After that I found myself good at math and physics, and now I am an engineering major student.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjOwusjrpmg

In the video, Adam Savage talks about how art and science are seperated and why it is important to master both aspects.

After studying this week’s topic materials, I become more convinced that art and science are two different carriers of human civilization. Meanwhile, they often intersect and collaborate in real life applications.

Sources

Art and Science: Both or Neither. Jordan Pitcher. 2014.

web<http://www.quantumdiaries.org/2012/06/13/23031/>.

BMW i8, plug-in hybrid super car. Alun Taylor. July 2014. web<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/07/15/review_bmw_i8_plug_in_hybrid_supercar/>.

Snow, C. P. “Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution.” Reading. 1959. New York: Cambridge UP, 1961. Print.

Two cultures interview with Steven Pinker.

web<https://youtu.be/1BUbVc7qVpg>.

Adam Savage's SXSW 2014 Keynote: Art and Science.

web<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjOwusjrpmg>.

Hello guys!