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The phrase, "seeing is believing" is one that does not apply to nanotechnology, as there is no proof of existence.  The data is completely collected through sensing on an abstract level. In this week's reading, I discovered the world of nanotechnology, which I had never looked into before.  There is a range of outlandish nanotech products that are attempted to be produced.  The government even sees this as a possible solution for declining economies.  The  nanometer is also so small it has been compared in relation to "a human head compared to planet earth." Magnification is one way we are able to expose the art within nanotechnology.  It was discovered that a needle could be used to map the atoms.  Until the 1980s, the idea to change the arrangement of atoms was not even viewed as possible. Works of art developed through nanotechnology combine art, science, and technology.  At the Perth International Arts Festival exhibition, many of these ...

Our materials this week covered neuroscience involving the brain, memory, and consciousness.  This is a topic I have previous experience with, having taken Psychology 10 last quarter.  In Vesna’s lecture one video she discusses neuroscience and art and describes it as an exploding field that artists find interest in because of the mind.  Because neuroscience is so broad and so relevant to humans and their lives, it is a prevalent subject.   The brain and mind have always been areas of interest for humans, and there is a long timeline of scientists who have explored these.  Franz Gall was one of the first who practiced phrenology: the belief that bumps on one’s head directly related to the human’s intelligence or brain size.  Consciousness is defined as a sense of one’s personal or collective identity, including the attitudes, beliefs, and sensitivities.  I believe a way that consciousness can be related to art is through dreams.  Dreams are a...

For our second event, I decided to visit the Hammer Museum.  I had never been before, and since it is so close to campus, I decided to check it out.  My favorite exhibit was by Oliver Payne and Keiichi Tanaami.   This exhibit contained a series of Japanese paintings that were inspired from “bullet hell” arcade games.  Both of these artists combined their individualistic styles to create fantasy style artwork.   This has relations to the Japanese pop art movement that happened in the 1960s and influenced post war Japan.  This exhibit was meant to contribute to the international pop movement through its expansive social and philosophical notions portrayed through the video game characteristics.  This was the first time these artists have collaborated, and it created something very unique and intriguing.  Tanaami sketches the first design.  Payne then adds the bullet hell arcade like features and stickers.  They bring t...

Vesna describes biotech as one of the most controversial areas we will cover in this class.  From what constitutes as biotech, to the ethical use of animals, this topic explores many areas and questions.  Mutating the bodies of animals is a big part of biotechnology.   In Vesna’s lecture, she speaks about French scientist, Eduardo Kac, who is known for his florescent rabbit.  He would take florescent protein from a jellyfish, modify it to make its properties stronger and then insert this protein into the rabbit to make it glow.  This is transgenic art, an art form based on use of genetic engineering and transferring genes to an organism.  Animal rights activists view this art as cruel and unnecessary, and scientists see it as interesting but silly.  Kac believes his experiments helped understand the relationship between genetics, the organism, and the environment.  He created many debates in this field about ethic issues. I believe this...