KatherineMcNamaraDESMA9

 Katherine McNamara  Event 3: COLOR LIGHT MOTION: Mark Pejian COLOR LIGHT MOTION: Mark Pejian     The third event I attended this quarter was COLOR LIGHT MOTION with Mark Pejian speaking on David's collection and foundation. I liked Mark's introduction to the collection because he mentioned that David started it out of curiosity and it blossomed from there. The first piece of the collection has a fierceness and metallic presence that is impossible to miss. As Mark says the selection of the first piece sets the tone for the rest of the collection because it is the first one people see. I liked how Mark explained the importance of the first piece for those unfamiliar with the strategy of art collections.  First Piece of the collection!     The second piece, Heinz Mack Light Dynamo # 1 from 1966, was a cool transition into kinetic art. While it provided a nice connection to the first piece, I thought it added another dimension of possibility for the rest ...

Katherine McNamara  Nanotechnology and Art  Inside a Diamond      Nanotechnology is an intricate form of science that creates and investigates objects on an extra miniature scale (nanometers). Everyday products sunscreen, superglue, car paint, and computers all use nanotechnology. It is insane how much detail is required to use nanotechnology because the scale of atoms and objects is so small. Our lectures this week helped me grow more appreciation for all art created through nanotechnology. I enjoyed Dr. Gimzewski’s explanation of the makeup of diamonds and other rocks. It was cool to see the inside structure of objects that I see regularly. Additionally, diamonds hold great prestige in our society which made the comparison of their structure to other rocks and objects interesting.  The inside structure of diamonds appeared relatively similar to other materials besides being more compact. It makes me wonder why diamonds are considered the most beautiful as...

 Katherine McNamara  Event 2 Assignment LASER  Mapping Futures: Sculpting Narratives of Culture, Ecology, and Digital Aesthetics Confirmation Alinta (top left), Santiago (top right), Sean (bottom left), Jenny Strickland (ASU/Leonardo)     For my second event, I attended a LASER talk through Leonardo and Arizona State University. This event showcased the projects of three fellows in their program and ended with a Q and A. The three fellows who presented were Dr. Alinta Krauth, Santiago Reyes Villaveces, and Sean Conelly. Each of them had unique ideas that tied science together with art! Alinta discussed her research of animal communication and Artificial Intelligence's potential to bring it into human language, Santiago showcased the "acoustic fossil" device that  creates a feedback loop of vibrations to connect to a struggling ecosystem, and Sean played his compelling film about Hawaii's role in our society's technological advancement.  Map from Sean's...

 Katherine McNamara  Neuroscience & Art      Neuroscience and consciousness play huge roles in art because the expression of emotion is essential to powerful art. Artists use what is happening in their brains to create projects and work personal to them. Artists can express almost any emotion through painting, film, music, literature, etc. For many, people need to use art as their therapy or formulation of feelings.  Depiction of depression through art.      For one of my general education classes at UCLA, I took Psychiatry 79 which was neuroscience of productivity and wellbeing. This class was taught by a neuroscientist, Alexander Korb, and was designed to help students learn to reverse the "downward spiral" of depression and be more productive.  His class and work are extraordinary examples of art and neuroscience because they tell people how to help themselves. Alexander has a book called The Upward Sprial which teaches the basic...

Katherine McNamara  Event 1: Color, Light, and Motion Featuring Ryszard Kluszcyński Our wonderful speaker, Ryszard W. Kluszcyński      I attended the Color, Light, and Motion virtual event on Zoom on Saturday, April 27th. This event was special because it focussed on cybernetics in contemporary art and the works of Wen-Ying Tsai. With Ryszard's introduction to Wen-Ying Tsai and cybernetics, he mentioned a spark of interest in the subject during the 1950s-1960s that has since declined. I immediately wondered if the interest in cybernetics in the 50s and 60s differs from the present day because technology has advanced. In the 50s and 60s, cybernetics could have been perceived with wonder and excitement for what’s possible. Today, I feel that people approach technology with skepticism and fear because there have been major societal changes due to it (and not everyone loves change).  Cybernetic Art! I thought the relationship between cybernetics artists and n...

   Art and MedTech X-Ray Art      When thinking about MedTech and art my first thought was of X-Ray art pieces that use the body and other objects in an X-Ray image. Some artists may alter existing X-Rays and some may manipulate objects to create a specific image that appears on the X-Ray. I always found this type of art to be incredibly compelling because it uses the internal appearance of objects to convey a message.  ACL-Patella Tendon Graft!  This week’s lectures increased my liking and respect for MedTech art because it is incredibly diverse. I never considered surgery as an art form until it was mentioned in a lecture because the purpose is largely to give aid to people. However, surgery is commonly referred to as a performance because surgeons are skillfully reconstructing or repairing body parts to restore or alter them. Even though we focused on plastic surgery in lectures, I think all forms of surgery can qualify as art. Last January, I had A...