Unit 4: MedTech and Art

I believe one of the most common practices that bridges medical technologies and art is plastic surgery. However, the more unappreciated practice is that of using computer software to accurately model the human anatomy for scientific papers, research, and textbooks. Researchers and artists at John Hopkins University are undertaking a project to create a three-dimensional visualization of the nervous system and how it branches through the body (McKenna). The results can be used by doctors and surgeons to treat patients suffering from Pudendal nerve entrapment, which is a source of chronic pain due to the compression of nerve endings (Fred).

Anatomical illustrations of the nervous system in the pelvis region.

In addition, graduate students at John Hopkins School of Medicine have created a computer program that models post-operative livers in patients. This is very important as doctors need to understand the anatomy of post-operative livers when treating patients who underwent liver transplant surgery, but the resources are currently lacking.

However, there are more extreme cases that make me feel a little bit eery, but only if they are used in the wrong way. Kevin Warwick is famous for implanting a microchip in his nervous system so that he can directly communicate with a computer or another human with the same implantation without moving ("Professor Kevin Warwick"). I definitely see the potential benefits for disabled people to live a more normal life as this gives them another means to communicate. However, this technology can be used maliciously such as being used in a way that the computer communicates with the human, and since it is connected to the human's nervous system, there is the possibility that the motions of a human can be controlled.

Professor Kevin Warwick

Another ethical dilemma that can be discussed is the genetic alteration of humans. Recently, there have been babies born with the genetic code from three people (ABC News), and again I see the potential medical benefits of genetic alteration to prevent people being born with severe illnesses. However, we must have the conversation about what amount of alteration is too much, and whether it should only be legal to alter the genetic code to prevent illnesses, not to give certain desirable physical characteristics. In conclusion, the combination of medical advances and art can lead to great things, but as a society, we must determine when it is ethical and when it goes too far.


Resources

McKenna, Courtney. "Pudendal Nerve Entrapment: An Anatomical Study And Three-Dimensional Visualization Of Nerve Variations And Branching Patterns." Graduate Program: Thesis. The Department of Art as Applied to Medicine at John Hopkins University, 1 Jan. 2010. 

Howard, Fred. "Pudendal Neurlagia Information." URMC Imaging. University of Rochester, Medical Center, 1 Apr. 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/medialibraries/urmcmedia/imaging/patients/documents/pudendal_neuralgia_brochure.pdf>.

Siegel, Elyssa. "Visual Resource for Liver Transplant." Visual Resource for Liver Transplant RSS. Department of Art as Applied to Medicine at John Hopkins University, 1 Jan. 2015. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://livertransplant.jhmi.edu/?page_id=23>

"Professor Kevin Warwick." Kevin Warwick - Home Page. The University of Reading. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.kevinwarwick.org>.

"Report: First Genetically Altered Babies." ABC News. ABC News Network, 4 May 2014. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=117472>

Unit 3: Robotics and Art

We see the robotics and art coupled in everyday products such as curved TV's, new cellphones, and prototype cars. For example, the BMW i8 concept car uses new technologies to create the hybrid performance car while encompassing a futuristic, artistic design (BMW USA News).

These products show how new technology was first created, and then artistic design followed. However, robotics is an interesting case because the concept was first derived in Karel Capek's play R.U.R, which popularized the concept of a human-like machine that can do labor intensive work (Koreis). As the sci-fi genre gain popularity during the past century, so has the ability for art to predict future technologies. One of my favorite movies growing up is iRobot, which further humanizes robots and shows a futuristic society where mass produced robots perform all service based jobs (Robotic Dystopias).

While these technologies might seem far fetched at first, culture's obsession with these art-driven concepts have pushed technologies passed boundaries we wouldn't expect. Atlas is a real-life robot with 28 degrees of freedom that can recognize its surroundings and perform basic tasks, such as walking upstairs, and search and rescue operations (DARPA).

These robots are still many years off before being a household item; however, 3D printing is a technology that is accessible to a large customer base, and is the current epitome of the integration of art and robotics. Arduino is a company that produces hardware and integrators that can be controlled using easy to learn softwares, such as C++ (Arduino - Introduction). Now, 3D printing allows a large amount of people to realize their artistic designs.

References

"A vision becomes reality" BMW USA News. BMW Group. 4 Mar. 2011. Web. 18 Apr. 2015 

Koreis, Voyen. "Capek's R.U.R." Karel Capek. Booksplendour. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://www.booksplendour.com.au/capek/rur.htm>.

"Robotic Dystopias." I, Robot (2004) Analysis. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://academic.depauw.edu/aevans_web/HONR101-02/WebPages/Spring2006/Akinbola(Mike)/I, Robot analysis.html>.

"Upgraded Atlas Robot to Go Wireless as the Stakes Are Raised for the DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals." DARPA RSS. 20 Jan. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://www.darpa.mil/NewsEvents/Releases/2015/01/20.aspx>.

"Arduino - Introduction." Arduino - Introduction. Web. 18 Apr. 2015. <http://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/Introduction>.

Unit 2: Math and Art

I was very interested to learn how math and art are related since they have always been two completely separate topics in my life (especially in engineering). After watching Professor Vesna's lectures, I realized math and art are related in such a way that math can be used to explain how to transcribe three-dimensional space onto a two-dimensional canvas. The most prominent feature is the vanishing point. This point is "the intersection of the projections of two parallel lines in space onto the picture plane" (Anderson 2007). Marc Frantz provides an excellent visual showing how the vanishing point works in reality.

If this person can only see in one dimension, the person is able to see the line L when he looks in any direction not parallel to the direction of the line. As the difference between the angle of his sight and the angle where he sees the vanishing point reaches zero, the distance at which his line of sight intersects line L approaches infinity.

A similar phenomena occurs in Edwin Abbot's "Flatland". Edwin states, "Take for example an equilateral Triangle... Figure 1 represents the Tradesman as you would see him while you were bending over him from above; Figures 2 and 3 represent [how] you would see [it] if your eye were close to the level... and if your eye were quite on the level of the table". As the angle between your line of sight and the table reach zero, any depth of the object vanishes. 

Furthermore, art and math coincide when discussing the Golden Ratio. The Golden Ratio is the ratio of two line segments where "the longer part divided by the smaller part equals the whole length divided by the longer part" ("Golden Ratio" 2014), which equals approximately 1.618. 

We see that the golden ratio was used when constructing the Parthenon, where "each of the grid lines is a golden ratio proportion of the one below it" (Geisner). The ratio was also used when Leonardo Da Vinci explained the ideal proportions of a human body. It surprises me that using the golden ratio on objects can make the objects more aestethically pleasing.

I now understand a little bit more how art used mathematics during the Renaissance era and earlier to draw more accurate depictions of reality. However, I am curious to know if any modern mathematics is used in modern art, or vise-versa.

References:

Anderson, Kristi. Geometry of an Art. New York: Springer, 2007. Print.

Frantz, Marc. "Lecture 3: Vanishing Points and Looking at Art." University of Central Florida, 1 Jan. 2000. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://www.cs.ucf.edu/courses/cap6938-02/refs/VanishingPoints.pdf>

A. Abbott, Edwin. "Section 1 Of the Nature of Flatland." Flatland, by E. A. Abbott. 1 Jan. 1883. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/eaa/F01.HTM>

"Golden Ratio." Golden Ratio. 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 12 Apr. 2015 <https://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/golden-ratio.html>.

Meisner, Gary. "The Parthenon and Phi, the Golden Ratio." Golden Number. 20 Jan. 2013. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. <http://www.goldennumber.net/parthenon-phi-golden-ratio/>.

Event 1: Hammer Museum

Today I attended the "Architecture and Design of Heatherwick Studio" exhibit at the Hammer Museum. The exhibit showcased futuristic architectural designs in which some have actually been implemented. I really enjoyed my visit and recommend it to other students in this class.

The pieces shown incorporate both the arts and sciences. For instance, buses in London were redesigned so that they could be more aerodynamic and decrease their fuel consumption by about 40%. Below is a picture of one of the buses, and about 600 of these will be delivered in 2016. I really like the way the windows are placed on the bus.

Another piece I found interesting is the "Seed Cathedral". This is a mock-down of the original exhibit that has 66,000 acrylic rods that channel sunlight into fiber-optic lights to illuminate the pavilion at night. This design shows how prevalent the "third culture" is in today's society, as coming up with the architectural design definitely takes creative and artistic skills, while knowing which materials to use for the rods and using fiber-optics take technical skills. I wish I could see this at full size, which is 75 times larger than the one shown at the museum.

There were also really interesting paintings of futuristic architectural pieces that have very intricate designs and would require extensive engineering to implement. The pieces look like architecture in a future utopia.

This is a biomass power station that can power 2000 homes.

I was very impressed with the designs shown at the exhibit, and I left wishing that I could live in a world where all of the pieces shown were implemented.

Unit 1: Two Cultures

C.P. Snow originally suggested that a person could either be an artist or scientist, but not both. He stated, “I believe the intellectual life of the whole western society is increasingly split into two polar groups…Literary intellectuals at one pole – at the other scientists” (Snow 4). However this is not always the case; Renaissance men had a wide range of knowledge and skills. Below are some pictures that show the diversity of Leonardo Da Vinci’s work, such as the Mona Lisa, the Vitruvian Man, and his invention of a “flying machine”.    

At the time, it was uncommon for one to only be a scientist or only be an artist. However, after the Industrial Revolution, we saw a separation of the two. Furthermore, as technology progressed, scientists became more specialized in their fields in order to make new innovations, thus making it more difficult to also be knowledgeable in the arts.

UCLA has a division within its undergraduate body – south campus and north campus. South campus encompasses the mathematics and sciences, while north campus encompasses the arts and humanities. Below is a picture showing this division, where the orange region is south campus, and the yellow region is north campus.

However, some people believe that instead of there needing to be a bridge connecting the two cultures, a new culture can be defined where “contemporary scientists are the third culture” (Vesna 122). The third culture consists of people who are both artists and scientists. I think the popularity of this culture experiences fluctuations throughout time. During times when technology and medicine progress, the third culture is less popular and the division between the other two cultures is stronger. During times when culture is rich such as the Renaissance era, the third intellectual group becomes more prominent. 

I am majoring in Chemical Engineering and I will only take four north campus classes before graduating. Since I was little, I have pushed away the arts and humanities and attached myself to mathematics and sciences. It will be interesting to see if I can use any of my chemical engineering knowledge when analyzing or creating art.

References

"Flying Machine." Leonardo Da Vinci's Invention. InventHelp. Web. 1 Apr. 2015. <http://www.da-vinci-inventions.com/flying-machine.aspx>.

"Leonardo's Vitruvian Man." The Vitruvian Man. Stanford University. Web. 1 Apr. 2015. <http://leonardodavinci.stanford.edu/submissions/clabaugh/history/leonardo.html>.

"UCLA Vending Machines Locations." Vending Machine Locations. UCLA, 1 Jan. 2001. Web. 1 Apr. 2015. <http://www.vending.ucla.edu/housing_site/vending/vendmap.htm>.

Snow, C.P. "Two Cultures and The Scientific Revolution." Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 1959.

Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being In Between." Leonardo 34.2 (2001): 122. Print.