Unit 7: Neuroscience and Art

As usual, we begin each week with some historical context and background regarding each unit. In this week’s topic of neuroscience, Dr. Vesna started by doing the same. However, it was intriguing that most of the individuals covered were not artists. For instance, Franz Joseph Gall was a physician who believed that the human brain’s physical shape is an indication of character and mental abilities (Vesna). Of course, this method of thinking was debunked. Another individual that heavily influenced the field of neuroscience in his time is Santiago Ramon y Cajal. He was a Spanish pathologist, histologist, and neuroscientist. His work with microscopy helped reveal the structure of neurons. Starting us off by mentioning these two individuals was interesting. Dr. Vesna definitely emphasizes the connectivity of different fields, and this idea heavily influenced my blog this week.  

One prime example of the integration of various fields in neuroscience is developing here at UCLA. The UCLA Neurosurgery department created a robot that can check on patients and provide them with immediate attention from doctors who may be not at the hospital. Rather than taking the time to rush to the hospital, doctors can give their immediate input. This concept intrigued me as it united almost all the topics that we have covered so far: robotics, medicine, technology, neuroscience, and art. 

                                          Robo-doc at UCLA Ronald Reagan 

To relate these ideas to physical works of art, I investigated some of the works of Greg Dunn. He portrays neurons in such a natural manner, exhibiting similarities to trees, flowers, and animals. One of his artworks, Myelination, looks at the myelin that is on an axon. The work exhibits this myelination with characteristics of a tree trunk. Another key artistic inspiration, as mentioned by Dr. Vesna, is dreams. Because little is known about the process of dreaming, artists utilize the freedom to create abstract works or creative ideas that do not have to abide by the constraints of reality. One such artwork created in the 1800s is shown below.

                                                                                              Myelination By Greg Dunn                                         

                                          The Jockey's Dream by Currier and Ives

Sources:

Currier & Ives. “The Art of Dreams.” The Public Domain Review, Currier & Ives, 26 Apr. 2018, publicdomainreview.org/collections/the-art-of-dreams/.

Dunn, Greg. “Myelination.” GREG DUNN DESIGN, GREG DUNN DESIGN, www.gregadunn.com/gold-leaf-painting-by-greg-dunn/myelination/.

Dunn, Greg. “Myelination, Art by Greg Dunn.” YouTube, YouTube, 19 Oct. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=15&v=I7j363a3R8k.

Health, UCLA. “Robo-Doc Navigates on Its Own | UCLA Neurosurgery.” YouTube, YouTube, 15 May 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=203&v=FlhBgH3dVF4.

Vesna, Victoria. “Neuroscience-pt1.Mov.” YouTube, YouTube, 17 May 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=482&v=TzXjNbKDkYI.

Week 6: Biotech + Art

This week’s discussion regarding biotechnology with art really intrigued me. I work in a research lab at UCLA that incorporates biotechnology such as CRISPR. As Dr. Vesna mentioned, there has been a lot of debate regarding the defining factors of biotechnology used as art. This leads to ethical questions and controversies over matters such as animal experimentation and gene editing. I work with transgenic mice daily in the lab, and therefore, I witness some of the incredible technology that allows for controlled experimentation but that might also lead to certain questions about the ethics of such experiments.

                                          CRISPR explained Visually

 One of the most influential artists in the biotechnology field is Joe Davis. His ideas were often considered insane, but he pioneered the field of bio-art (Vesna). He allowed for audio microscopy where one can hear the response of different cells and their acoustic signature (Davis). He looked at genes and DNA in a different manner. They were his artistic medium. Davis would synthesize and insert DNA into bacteria, particularly E.Coli. His visions for these projects were fascinating; he wanted to embed a sign of human intelligence in these prokaryotes. After researching Davis’s work further, I found that he also began to genetically modify trees. He planned to take 50,000 of the most popular Wikipedia pages and embed them into a literal “tree of knowledge” (Beverley).

                                          Joe Davis plans to genetically modify apple trees.

 Another amazing, Nobel-prize worthy creation belongs to Craig Venter. He took genetic editing to a completely different level by attempting to create an organism from scratch. Venter used synthesizers to create small fragments of DNA and utilized bacteria to amplify and expand that DNA (Rosser). He successfully created the first synthesized bacterial cell. This cell has 531,000 base pairs and just 473 genes (Venter). The simple thought of attempting to create an entire genome leaves me in awe.

                                          Craig Venter's Ted Talk

Sources:

Davis, Joe. “Audio Microscope.” Audio Microscope: Joe Davis : Genetics and Culture, 2000, geneticsandculture.com/genetics_culture/pages_genetics_culture/gc_w03/davis_audio_scope.htm

Mitchell, Beverley. “Bio-Artist Joe Davis to Build a Genetically Modified 'Tree of Knowledge' With Wikipedia Pages.” Inhabitat Green Design Innovation Architecture Green Building, Inhabitat, 16 May 2014, inhabitat.com/tree-of-knowledge-bio-artist-joe-davis-to-insert-dna-encoded-version-of-wikipedia-into-apples/.

Rosser, Susan. “We've Learned to Read Our Genes. Now We Need to Start Writing Them | Susan Rosser.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 4 June 2016, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/04/learned-to-read-genes-now-start-writing-them.

Venter, Craig. “TEDxCaltech - J. Craig Venter - Future Biology.” YouTube, YouTube, 16 Feb. 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdgfzdlgUHw.

Vesna, Victoria. “5 Bioart pt1 1280x720.” YouTube, YouTube, 18 Sept. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=493&v=PaThVnA1kyg.

Midterm Project

Week 4: Medicine + Technology + Art

Medicine and Art: two things often thought to be very different and mutually exclusive. Dr. Vesna’s analysis of previous artists’ work with the human body targets this misunderstanding. For instance, Henry Gray’s book Gray’s Anatomy has been used to teach medicine but also utilized by most artists (Vesna “Medicine pt1”). Another example of the intertwining of medicine and art is the exhibition of Bodies that displays human bodies preserved through plastination (Vesna “Medicine pt1”).

When I began to ponder about any personal experiences I had with medicine and art, I struggled to think of something at first. I thought that I needed to find an instance where the human anatomy was used in a painting, sculpture, or any other art project. I mistakenly assumed that medical art was confined to those projects. However, as Leone Elliot, a medical professional, states Medicine is art. I began to understand what he meant by this statement by looking at my own experience.

                                          Leone Elliot's Ted Talk: Medicine is Art

Last spring, I had ACL reconstruction surgery, and thinking back about this experience proved the artistic aspects of medicine. During my first visit to my surgeon, he explained the entire procedure using a sculpted figure of a human knee. After the surgery, my doctor showed me the dozens of pictures taken mid-surgery. Essentially, the entire procedure was conducted by viewing a live image of the knee from a small camera called an arthroscope (Smith & Nephew, Knee Arthroscopy). At every stage in the surgery, the doctor had taken an image and walked me through these images. The procedure was a work of art. This was a clear example of medicine as an art form integrating technology as Dr. Vesna explains is the case in most of the medical field today (Vesna “Medicine pt2”).

                                                Image of Knee Arthroscopic Surgery 

 

One of the most important resources I found this week was the artwork of Virgil Wong. One artwork immediately grabbed my attention: Symptom Data Portrait. He created a portrait of a person with color gradients on the side (Virgil Wong "Symptom Data Portrait"). Each color stood for a symptom. Wong expressed the patient’s chart, essentially, in art form.

                                           

                                                     Virgil Wong's Portrait: Symptom

                                                     Data Portrait #5 

Resources:

“Art.” Virgil Wong, Virgil Wong , virgilwong.com/art/.

“Knee Arthroscopy.” Knee Arthroscopy | Smith & Nephew - US Patient, www.smith-nephew.com/patient/treatments/knee-treatments/knee-arthroscopy-minimally-invasive-knee-surgery/.

Talks, TEDx. “Medicine Is Art: Leone Elliot at TEDxLSU.” YouTube, YouTube, 15 May 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnTKcy9JSxQ.

Vesna, Victoria. “Medicine pt1.” YouTube, YouTube, 21 Apr. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep0M2bOM9Tk.

Vesna, Victoria. “Medicine pt2.” YouTube, YouTube, 21 Apr. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=psjnQarHOqQ.

Event 1: Understanding Arts Based Research Workshop (4/5/19)

During the first week of this course, I had the opportunity to attend the Understanding ARTS based Research Workshop. The seminar I chose to sign up for was “Unseen: The Invisible Menace” led by Jiayi young. I simply chose this topic from its engaging title.

                                          Selfie with Jiayi Young, Assistant Professor of Design 

                                          at the University of California, Davis. 

The entire workshop was very engaging, interactive, and different from any previous seminar I attended. I am used to going to research conferences and meetings where individuals present their scientific research to the public. For the most part, it has been lecture-style where the presenter speaks about their project for the entire allotted time. This workshop was completely different. Jiayi Young introduced her topic of CO2 (the invisible menace) and its effects on the earth, but then turned to her audience to complete the seminar. We were told to pair up and work on inflating long strips of plastic tubes with air. We were limited to 2 min per tube. When we had enough tubes, we were told to form a cube.

 The group working to fill the tubes (left) and the blueprint of the cube along with some inflated tubes (right).                                                   

The emphasis of this project was to work together to create a 12ft by 12ft cube in less than an hour. We weren’t given many instructions but were given the freedom to work on any aspect of the cube. From the 20-30 individuals who were present, we divided up the workload to get all the tubes inflated. After some time, a few of us diverged to begin building the cube.

                                          Taking a picture with the almost-ready cube. 

The process wasn’t perfect, but that was exactly the point. We continued to work together with people we just met to circumvent some of the problems faced. This workshop was fascinating because it united many subjects in one project. It was a creative and artistic, engineering project that had a message behind it. That cube that we filled represented one metric ton of CO2. The idea was that excessive CO2 from cars, for example, hurt our environment, but because we don’t see an immediate effect of the “invisible menace,” many people ignore this problem. The project enabled us to visualize the unseen and understand the impact that CO2 can have. Even more important, we came to that conclusion on our own. By including and interacting with the audience rather than lecturing, Jiayi Young indirectly revealed to us her main point behind the very inventive project.

Week 3: Robotics and Art

Going through the history of robotics, it is important to note the printing press that was brought to the West by Gutenberg in the 15th century. This is an interesting point that Dr. Vesna makes. From looking at the topic of this week, robotics and art, I would not have thought that we would discuss the printing press. However, the printing press was a major shift in the sciences, arts, religion, and the list goes on (Vesna). The ability to print books allowed greater access to literature for scientists and artists and paved the way to incorporate these areas in robotics. 

                                                       Sketch of a printing press, a vital 

                                                        advancement for both the arts and sciences

Another interesting point is that many of first creators of robotic machinery were artists. For example, Leonarda da Vinci created an automata, essentially a predecessor of cyborgs. This is also the case today. For instance, Mirjam Langemeijer and Fred Abels are two artists or creators who invented the Electric Circus. The entire show consists of robots able to carry out tricks as seen in a typical circus. These artists created amazing realistic robots to the point where people would not notice that it wasn’t an actual human or animal. Abels, in the video below, makes a point about being labeled an artist. He explains that he doesn’t define himself as an artist; people labeled him this way, but he embodies a diverse individual working in many different fields that are normally thought to be separate. 

                                          "The Puppeteer and the Inventor" by Mirjam Langemeijer 

                                            and Fred Abels

Walter Benjamin wrote about mechanical reproduction eliminating the originality that defines the original work of people such as Langemeijer and Abels. The aspect of an assembly line was monumental for industrialization but may have removed the artistic nuances from production. This belief by Benjamin may be becoming more and more of a reality as mass production dominates any technological advancement. We begin to no longer look at a car, for example, as a unique piece of art as Felipe Thomas did in his article “La Figaro.”

The movie, I Robot starring Will Smith, embodies the role of robots in modern society rapidly taking the place of humans. Most societies encourage technological advancements, but we should be mindful when robotics are used as a mere means to eliminate the artistic, original, and beautiful work that humans are capable of.

                                          I, Robot Trailer 

Sources: 

Benjamin, Walter. "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." (1936)

Donalo9. “The Puppeteer and The Inventor / Www.electric-Circus.eu.” YouTube, YouTube, 27 May 2008, www.youtube.com/watch?v=szCgiNOx-LE.

“I, Robot.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 15 July 2004, www.imdb.com/title/tt0343818/.

Langemeijer , Mirjam, and Fred Abels. “Electric Circus Dresseur Der Automaten.” Electric Circus Dresseur Der Automaten, Electric-Circus.eu, www.electric-circus.eu/.

Vesna, Victoria. “Robotics pt1.” YouTube, YouTube, 15 Apr. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRw9_v6w0ew.

Week 2: Math + Art

This week’s material emphasized the important role of mathematics in creating guidelines in both art and science. One insight I gained was learning about the origins of zero. I realized that the history of the concept of zero beginning with the Babylonians in 400 BC is a critical paradigm shift in mathematics (Vesna). Another important insight is the origin of the use of mathematics in art. Opposite to what I may have assumed prior to this week, the mathematical basis of zero and concepts such as perspective did not originate in the West. For instance, the number zero was written about by Brahmagupta in India before spreading to China, Islamic countries, and finally the West by Fibonacci (Vesna). Similarly, The idea of perspective and study of optics in art began with Al-Haytham and spread to many scholars and artists such as Edwin Abbott (Edwin Section 6). A third insight I gained was understanding the basics of the Golden Ratio. Because I was born in Egypt, analyzing the Great Pyramids of Giza and the use of the Golden Ratio at that time was intriguing (Meisner).

Image taken from Gary Meisner portraying aspects of

the Golden Ration in the Pyramids of Giza.

An interesting example uniting some of the aforementioned techniques is the work of Nathan Selikoff. He creates interactive art incorporating concepts of mathematics, physics, and optics. One unique piece of work he exhibited in Orlando was a clock projected onto a building. The clock was also connected to an audio system so that one can visually see a representation of sound. Selikoff used a clock, a mathematical apparatus, while exhibiting aspects of optics and sound waves in one single art project (Selikoff). Selikoff and many other artists utilize the studies and analysis of optics from previous artistic scholars. Edwin Abbott, specifically, writes about the way humans are able to recognize each other and other objects in a mathematical sense. Abbott expands on the foundations of optics set by Al-Haytham.  

                                          TED Talk by Nathan Selikoff describing the use of

computer code in art.

Artists and scientists very commonly use mathematics in their work because it is a unifying aspect that helps bring both cultures together. This week, I was able to see the overlap of art, science, and mathematics in my own life. As a part of my biomedical research lab, I am responsible for taking images of fluorescently labeled samples. The beautiful colors created by the microscope in the image below constitute aspects of biology, light refraction, geometric analysis, and perspective.

Image I took on confocal microscope. Each gray

circle represents a cell.

Sources:

Abbott, Edwin. “Flatland: Of Recognition of Sight.” N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. <https://cole.uconline.edu/content>.

Meisner, Gary. “Phi, Pi and the Great Pyramid of Egypt at Giza.” The Golden Ratio: Phi, 1.618, The Golden Ratio: Phi, 1.618, 14 May 2016, www.goldennumber.net/phi-pi-great-pyramid-egypt/.

Selikoff, Nathan. “Fine Artist Playing with Interactivity, Math, Code.” Nathanselikoff , 2012, nathanselikoff.com/.

Talks, TEDx. “I Give You Permission | Nathan Selikoff | TEDxOrlando.” YouTube, YouTube, 2 Nov. 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v9wHJJ6uDQ.

Vesna, Victoria. “Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov.” Cole UC online. Youtube, 9 April 2012. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmq5B1LKDg&feature=player_embedded>