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Event Blog #3: The Fowler Museum

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 Event Blog #3: The Fowler Museum For my final event, I decided to go to the Fowler Museum on campus. I didn’t know much about the Fowler Museum, but when I brought it up to one of my friends, he said that it was actually a very interesting museum, and suggested that I go.  The first area that I visited was the silver collection. This collection really emphasized the concepts that we learned in class because of the way that the goldsmiths made the silver. Since antique silver had such high demand that could not be satisfied, the goldsmiths knew that they would have to come up with another way to make silver. Therefore, they made new silver that looked old. This process of creating new silver and melting down antique silver required a knowledge of how the material melts and how it reacts with other materials, which are basic concepts of chemistry. Additionally, to create the silver pieces, the artists needed knowledge of how silver could be melted, bent, and contorted. Ther...
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Week 9: Space & Art

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 Week 9: Space & Art I have always found space very interesting, so I was very excited to learn about space and art. It is very obvious that the knowns and unknowns of space contribute to the creation of art, as this can be seen in popular media, such as sci-fi movies.  An example of science fiction using space (Image 1) Additionally, the use of art can be seen in the representation of the knowledge that we have about space. These models have been created for several centuries, and have changed over time as we have gained more knowledge. For example, Copernicus created the first heliocentric model of the solar system, with the Sun in the center and planets orbiting around the Sun. This allowed people to see how the solar system functioned. Overtime, we have created much more advanced and accurate models, which included things like ellipses and accurate distances from the Sun.  Copernicus’ model of the solar system (Image 2) Additionally, scientists and astronomers can...
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Week 8: NanoTechnology & Art

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 Week 8: NanoTech & Art Nanotechnology is a type of science that alters atoms and molecules at a microscopic level to change the makeup of different materials, potentially making them more useful. “Nano” is a prefix meaning one billionth, which means that nanotechnology refers to technology at a microscopic level. These changes that occur at this microscopic level can have very large impacts, despite them being very small changes.  When I first learned what nanotechnology was, I realized that nanotechnology requires a certain amount of creativity, similar to how art requires creativity. In order to make these microscopic changes, engineers/scientists must be creative to come up with new ideas and how to make big changes from nanotechnology. In a way, this means that nanotechnology can be considered art because it requires a level of creativity and curiosity, both of which align with the main ideas of art.  Example of a nanotechnology model (Image 1) Furthermore,...
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Event Blog #2: LightFest FIAT LUX

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 Event #2: LightFest FIAT LUX For my second event, I attended the LightFest event called FIAT LUX. When I got there, I saw a laser and a projection of plants. Additionally, there was calming yet complex music playing in the background. Upon entry to the building, I was given a pair of green flimsy glasses that made the colors of the laser more vibrant and added color. When I entered the room with the laser, there were more glasses that had more structure and were dark. These glasses eliminated a lot of the color, making the room appear darker, and giving focus to one color.  The flimsy glasses and the way the lasers appeared with them on (photos are my own) Dark glasses and the way the laser appeared with them on (photos are my own) After observing the laser change for a while, the professor explained that the plants shown on the projector were imaged by an advanced visualization lab. These plants were healing plants, such as mint and lavender. She then went on to explain ...
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Week 7: Art + Neuroscience

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  Week 7: Art & Neuroscience Neuroscience, the study of the brain and nervous system, relies on art for many things, like the representation of ideas and analysis of findings. For example, in his TedTalk, Christian deCharms describes looking into people’s brains using MRIs that show a variety of colors and images. These colors and images, which can be viewed as an art, allow people to understand what is going on in people’s brains, which contributes to developments in neuroscience.  An image of colorful MRI brain scans (Image 1) Another example that I found very interesting that combined art and neuroscience was Vesna’s octopus brainstorming. In this creation, observers could view the participants’ mental states by looking at the colors of the octopus on their head. I really liked this example because it utilized art in a way that wasn’t basic or overly simple, but still allowed people to expand their knowledge about neuroscience. A photo of octopus brainstorming (Image ...
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