Extra Credit Event2: Getty Center

My friends and I paid a visit to Getty Center during week 7 this quarter. Getty Center is not far away from UCLA campus, and it is famous for its architecture and views of Los Angeles. During my visit at Getty Center, I find it a very good place to further explore the relationship of art and technology. In addition, I have the chance to see Von Gogh's famous painting, Irises. 

Me and a staff at Getty

Beautiful view of Los Angeles at Getty

Upon my arrival, I was very impressed by a series paintings of ships. Why are there so many artists include ships in their paintings? 

One painting including ships

Another painting including ships 

When I read the synopses, I started to realize the reason. These paintings were created by Luca Carlevarijs, who lived from 1663-1730. At his time, ships are the major type of transport. Therefore, it is not hard to understand the reason why there are so many paintings about ships at that time. In my opinion, these two paintings can be considered as another perfect example of how artworks reflect the technology development as mentioned in my LACMA blog entry. Artists record the technology development by drawing down the things they have seen. In this example, artworks help people better know the history of technology development. 

A painting about human body

The painting above is about human bodies. I found the paintings at early 20th century in Getty Center focus on human bodies. It reminds me of week 4's topic -MedTech and Art. For example, during my study regarding the topic, MedTech and Art, I realized that many famous artists are also anatomists. Leonardo da Vinci may be the most famous one of them. He started the anatomical drawing by mastering knowledge of anatomy. Later on, more and more artists started to study anatomy and included human bodies in their artworks. These efforts of artists simply make the paintings more vivid and realistic. Based on these paintings about human bodies,I believe that Medtech and Art go hand in hand and cannot be separated. 

Von Gogh- Irises

I strongly recommend all my classmates to visit Getty Center. It is a very good place to enjoy great art near UCLA campus. People can check out free iPod for a audio guide. This is another great combination of art and science. High technology is used to better explain artworks for people. Thus, do not miss this great place! 

Extra Credit Event 1: California Academy of Science( San Francisco)

During Thanksgiving holiday, my friends and I went to the Bay Area, and we happened to visit California Academy of Science located in Golden Gate Park.  I find Cal Academy of Science a very good place to gain science knowledge. Also, because of this course, which focuses on the relationship between art and science, I also find some interesting things in Cal Academy of Science that reflects this topic.

My ticket with student discount

Me in front of Cal Academy of Science

Me and two staffs from Cal Academy of Science

The first thing caught my attention upon my arrival is a series of large lights above corals area. What are these lights for? 

What are these lights for???

With this question, I started to look for the relationship between these lights and corals. Most corals require sunlight for them to survive. Inside each coral, there lives a tiny cell called zooxanthellae. This tiny cell can converted sunlight into food for corals to survive. Therefore, corals cannot live without sunlight ("Coral").  In order for people to see corals in CAL Academy of Science, scientists invented these lights to simulate the sunlight. This exhibition can be considered a very good example of how art and science work together. The coral area is definitely a great piece of artwork. However, this artwork cannot exist without the invention of these lights. Scientists developed this kind of special lights for corals to survive, so people can see the beauty of corals indoor. 

California Coast Exhibition

Then we went to the Aquarium Area. I believe that the whole Aquarium Area itself is a good example that reflects how art and science can work together perfectly. The whole area is divided by two parts, California Coast Exhibition and Amazon Forest Exhibition. In order to make indoor exhibition possible, scientists must have a very good understanding of the environment for each area. For example, on California Coast, the weather is warm and windy. On the other hand, Amazon Area is a "moist broadleaf forest," which is wetter and colder compared to California Coast. With these science knowledge, people are able to create the environment for ocean creatures to survive. In this exhibition, art and science work in a perfect harmony.  All in all, the trip to CAL Academy of Science further strengthen my belief that science can make great contributions to art and make a lot of art exhibition possible. Also, art and science can never be separated.

Amazon Forest Exhibition

I find my experience at California Academy of Science very interesting. Although it is in San Francisco, it is still worth a visit. Unlike those museums such as LACMA,Getty Center, and Hammer in Los Angeles, California Academy of Science focuses more on the science field. It is very educational especially for younger generations. Students can learn a lot of science knowledge during the visit while still find out the relationship between art and science. I recommend my fellow classes to pay a visit to California Academy of Science if they happen to be in San Francisco. 

A staff is introducing us knowledge of starfish.

My favorite picture during the trip

Works Cited

"Coral." Wikipedia. 3 Dec. 2013. Web. 3 Dec 2013.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral>

"Amazon Forest" Wikipedia. 24 Nov. 2013.  Web. 3 Dec 2013.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_rainforest>

Event 3: Hammer

My friends and I went to Hammer Museum during Week 2 this quarter. Hammer Museum, which is located in Westwood, is very close to UCLA campus. Students can visit Hammer for free with their students IDs. I believe it is a very good place to enjoy artworks. Also, since the topic of week 2 is math and art, I find many interesting artworks at Hammer related to this topic. 

Me, my friend, and a front desk assitant 

Me, my friend, and a staff at Hammer

Upon my arrival, my friends and I were very impressed by the multiple artworks on the wall.  

One of the artworks at Hammer

Another artwork related to math at Hammer

I believe the two artworks in the pictures above are both perfect examples which show the relationship between art and math. In the first picture, artist uses geometric shapes like rectangles and triangles to form the artwork. By using these shapes which include angles, artist make the artwork have a three-dimensional looking and a contrast effect. The second picture, on the other hand, includes more circles and curves.  Unlike triangles and rectangles, circles and curves can leave people a more gentle feeling. Even though the two artworks use different mathematical shapes to show the images, it still proves the importance of math as illustrated in the lecture. Besides,  these two pictures points out how different geometric shapes can affect the artworks differently. 

James Welling- Geometric Abstraction 
<<http://www.regenprojects.com/exhibitions/2012_2_james-welling/#2>

James Welling- Geometric Abstraction
<http://www.regenprojects.com/exhibitions/2012_2_james-welling/#8>
TIP:Please note that photography is prohibited in most of the exhibitions at Hammer.
Please ask securities for information. 

The second thing caught my attention is James Welling's exhibition called Monograph. According to the synopses, the geometric abstraction artworks were made from "digital negatives of photograms created by laying long strips of paper onto 8×10 inch sheets of black and white photographic paper. " After that, James filled the white areas by using an array of colorful filters. I believe this geometric exhibition is a perfect example to study the topic, math and art，as well. James engages mathematical shapes, photograph knowledge, and materials into one single artwork. It simply proves that math can make great contributions to art. In addition, James successfully uses the knowledge of positives and negatives in photograph to make simple geometric shapes become artworks. This shows the how can artists apply different knowledges to explore the beauty of mathematics. 

Forrest Bess Untitled 1957 -Seeing Things Invisible
<http://www.forrestbess.org/paintings.html>

I strongly recommend all my fellow classmates to visit Hammer. It has a lot of interesting exhibitions on show right now. James Welling's exhibition will last until January 12, 2014. Besides, "Forrest Bess: Seeing Things Invisible" is another very attractive exhibition. Interested students should definitely check it out.  

Me and my friend playing ping-pong at Hammer

Works Cited

"James Welling: Geometric Abstraction, Regen Projects II, Los Angeles, CA. "Minus Space. 29 Feb.2012.Web. 4 Dec. 2013
<http://www.minusspace.com/2012/02/james-welling-geometric-abstraction-regen-projects-ii-los-angeles-ca/>

Event2: LACMA

I paid a visit to LACMA , Los Angeles County Museum of Art, during week 7 with a friend of mine. LACMA is the largest museum in the western United States, It consists of over 100,000 artworks from different periods of time throughout history. During my visit at LACMA, I have a brand new idea about how art and science can connect to each other. Also, it is very helpful to study the topic - robotics and art. 

Me and a staff from LACMA

Me

Throughout the quarter, we are talking about how art and technology can contribute to each other. However, when I saw the Chinese Art collection at LACMA, I started to realize that art can also be a medium that records the technology development. 

Chinese Artworks - From Neolithic Period To People's Republic of China

The above picture showed how art form changes throughout Chinese history. At the very beginning, ancient chinese people can only make Bronzewares since they had very limited technology at that time. As time goes by, the artworks becomes more and more complicated. People started to try different materials, and artworks started to become colorful. For example, Sancai, a type of ceramics decorated by three colors, started to become popular in Tang Dynasty. Therefore, the development of artworks can be considered as a reflection of the development of technology. Historians are able to study the development of technology in ancient time based on these artworks. 

  

An artwork from Ming Dynasty  

The second thing caught my attention is a picture of a monster.  This monster is called Golem,  "an animated anthropomorphic being." 

Golem
<http://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/masterworks-expressionist-cinema-golem-and-its-avatars>

At the first glance, this artwork has nothing to do with the topic- robotics and art. However, when I think about the deeper meaning of robotics, I start to see the relationship. I believe that the originality of robotics is due to the the pursue of power beyond human beings. Golem is just like a robotic. People in the ancient time used their imagination to create such a thing that has superpower to do the things they cannot do.  Therefore, this artwork just proves the argument in Professor Vesna's lecture that art inspires science to develop the idea of robots. It also shows that how the technology development impact the art. With the development of technology, people start to come up with the idea of robot instead of making pictures of an imaginal thing. 

Our Tickets! 

The trip to LACMA was really great! I strongly recommend my fellow classmates to pay a visit to LACMA. LACMA is located on Wilshire Blvd. It is very easy to go there from UCLA campus. Students can get discount on admission with students IDs all the time.  Students can even get free tickets after 4PM during weekdays and enjoy the night views of LACMA. It is a very good place to enjoy great artworks near UCLA campus. 

LACMA in the night
<http://jasoninhollywood.blogspot.com/2010/08/urban-light-at-night.html>

Works Cited

"LACMA." Wikipedia. 23 Nov. 2013. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. 

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacma>

"Sancai."Wikipedia. 30 June. 2013. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. 

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sancai>

"Golem." Wikipedia. 2 Dec. 2013. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. 

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem>