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EC Event: Undergraduate Senior Exhibition

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Me in front of the exhibit On June 7, 2018, I attended the Undergraduate Senior Exhibition for DMA graduating seniors. There were dozens of fascinating projects that were revolved around technology. There were two main types of projects, interactive, game-like ones as well as ones that were created immersive environments. For the game-like ones, there were projects that utilized cameras that could read facial features and artistic computer games. However, what appealed to me the most was the immersive environment displays. Many of the displays used a rudimentary form of Augmented Reality. They would set up an environment that they want to emulate (like a grassy field or a peaceful temple) and use various technological tools such as a projector or television screen to show the audience their story. In addition, there were displays that used virtual reality to place the user in extraordinary circumstances with other physical features that made the experience even more realistic.
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EC Event: Motion Exhibition

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A picture of me in front of the exhibit On May 29th, 2018 I was invited by one of my friends to go to the Motion Exhibit for the class DMA 24. It was essentially the compilation of the work of 21 students over the whole quarter. All of them were videos with music and stretched along 3 screens, all of the screens containing different content. The students used motion graphics and immersive projection mapping to create their projects. I was able to film some of the pieces that were shown there. Unfortunately, I could not find out the name of the artists who created these videos. At first, I did not think I would use this exhibit as an event for this class. However, as I watched the projects, I realized that I could connect it to the topic of neuroscience. (Unfortunately, Blogger would not accept my video so here are the screenshots of the videos) First Video Second Video Third Video Different projects provoked different emotions in me. In the first video, I felt
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Event 3: Media Art Nexus

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A selfie of me at the event! On May 22, 2018, I attended a guest lecture from Ina Conradi & Mark Chavez who are both part of the Media Art Nexus in Singapore. One of Ina's most prominent works Ina Conradi spoke first. She first talked about her early works as a student at UCLA in the late 80s as well as her work in Japan in the early 90s. She then talks about the work she has done at the NTU Singapore School of Art, Design, and Media. Much of her work regards a concept called S3D Pictorial Spaces Expanded Cinema. She uses computer graphics and art to create beautiful masterpieces. During her times there, she created the Elysian Fields which was a short film nominated for an Oscar. She then talks about current projects such as the Media Wall, The Cube Out as well as future projects such as Elman 2018. A recent project of Mark Sanchez Next, Mark Chavez spoke. He first began with his very early works such as the Stone Mountain animation and his MFA thesis project wh
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Week 9: Space and Art

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Our Solar System's position in the Milky Way Galaxy (McLamb) Space has always been a passion of mine. I am always filled with awe when I think about the wonders out there millions of miles away from Earth. We are just tiny specks compared to the whole universe. Size comparisons of various celestial bodies (WikiMedia) The Powers of Ten video really intrigued me. We put so much importance in our own lives, but we are only a microscopic piece of the universe (Powers of Ten). To put myself in scale, I am about 1.9 meters tall on a planet of over 7 billion people. The largest planet, Jupiter, can fit 1,300 Earths in it. The sun can fit about 1,000 Jupiters (Space Facts). The Milky Way galaxy contains 200-400 million other stars much like the sun. In fact, the largest known star is believed to be 100 times greater in size than the sun. And finally, there are believed to be 100 billion galaxies in the universe (Howell).  Star Trek , one of the most influential works of ar
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Week 8: Nanotech + Art

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UCLA spelled out using CO molecules (Gimzewki) Nanotechnology is a fascinating topic for scientists and non-scientists alike. Popularized in movies like Terminator, nanotechnology is shown to be a tool that should be feared. However, this is not true. In the lectures by Dr. Gimzewski, he shows that nanotechnology can be used to create art that is unseen by the eye. A particular work that impressed me was that of Lisa, one of Dr. Gimzewski's students ( Gimzewki) . While it looks simplistic, the process to move the atoms was complicated. This prompted me to look into nanoart even further. One of the earliest electron microscopy images The origins of nanoart began with basic electron microscopy from George Emil Palade (Orfescu). From there came the IBM's scanning tunneling microscope which allowed scientists to see individual atoms. Next, in 1989, Don Eigler and Erhard Schweizer manipulated individual xenon atoms to spell out the IBM logo which is widely considered
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Week 7: Neuroscience + Art

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A model of the neurons and synapses within the brain (Ghose) The human brain is remarkable. There are almost 100 billion cells connected by trillions of bridges that work together to keep us alive and control our movements (Voytek). Between every neuron, small electronic shocks send millions of messages every second. Each part of our brains has a specific purpose: the temporal lobe processes sound and language, the hippocampus and amygdala help control memory and emotion and the occipital lobe takes care of our sight (just to name a few) (Lewis). The way our brains function and how it keeps us alive and functioning is an art itself. A collection of Suzanne Anker's art Recently, many artists have begun using images of our brains for art. Suzanne Anker was one of the first pioneers of brain art through the Neuroculture movement (Vensa). She obtained pictures of neurological maps, traced a series of individual neurons and found that many of them looked like butterflies. T
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Event 2: Vivarium

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On May 10, 2018, I visited Maru Garcia's 'vivarium' exhibit at CNSI. When I first entered the room, I was confused. It was a small exhibit, consisting of only two containers with plant life and soil as well as two videos playing on the walls of the room. However, upon closer examination, I noticed how complex and insightful this work of art was. Me at the exhibit I talked to one of the students that had a part in the work (I am not sure if it was Maru). Upon hearing her talk and re-examining the displays, I learned so much more about the whole exhibit. The videos on the wall were actually live video footage of the contents of each 'vivarium'. In the live video, you can see the richness of life in the plants and the scuttling of small insects in the dirt. In addition, one of the vivariums had a cutout hole while the other one was completely enclosed. I do not know how I missed this the first time, but there was a person's head in the vivarium through
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