melissamDESMA9

Medicine and art      Diane Gromala explains how she suffers from chronic pain and how that drives her interest in the senses. Her artwork which depicts roadkill as an art was interesting however I didn’t necessarily enjoy or feel comfortable with this type of art. I suppose it wasn’t necessarily designed to be a pleasant response as much as it was meant to induce a strong reaction. She also shares her experience with virtual reality and the senses which help a person focus on certain parts of their body.            This also relates in some ways to how the artist Orlan shares her experience with plastic surgery and incites a reaction from the viewer even though it may not be pleasant. Her work makes the viewer more aware of their body as they watch her alter hers. I found myself often wanting to look away because I have never been comfortable with the idea of surgeries of any kind. Despite this, her work does make me see how t...

Welcome to My Woods This past Wednesday I went to Linda Weintraub’s open workshop called Welcome to My Woods in CNSI. I hadn’t done any previous research on her art so I had no idea what to expect which actually added to my excitement of attending. When I arrived Linda had each of us wait outside the exhibit and introduce ourselves to the whole group. When I said I was a Materials Science and Engineering major she was intrigued and said that the exhibit would definitely relate to my interests. Linda then asked us how much of our life we spend walking on a manmade surface and how much time we spend holding objects made of manmade materials. These questions really made me realize how disconnected I am from nature and how dependent I am on technology. Linda then explained this was part of the inspiration behind her exhibit and she then welcomed everyone to explore her exhibit. Inside there were five circles each with boxes in the center. The boxes were each categorized by the ...

Robotics + Art (https://techcrunch.com/2016/05/13/robots-wont-just-take-jobs-theyll-create-them/)      William Benjamin mentions that often times conventional art is enjoyed while new art is subjected to harsh criticism. I agree with this statement because I find that the public has been very harsh towards the advancements in robotics. There are many comments of how robots will take over all of the jobs, leaving people with no means to make money. Other critics claim that if robot technology continues to advance, robots may someday be able to have their own individual thought.      People fear robots could out-smart and over-power humans, and gain control over our lives. Many movies play on this public’s common fear such as in “I, Robot.” In this movie, robots whose purpose is to serve humans ultimately revolt and take over the government, police and people. These largely held public fears are obstacles that can potentially hinder...

Math and Art                                                                                            (Robert J. Lang Origami) Origami design is a skill that transforms a 2D paper into a 3D sculpture. One can see from the image above, origami artists require a great understanding of geometry in order to design and fold incredibly detailed pieces. By using geometry, an artist is able to figure out what angles to fold a paper which will result in the shape they are envisioning. I find this interesting since I occasionally will make origami, however I don’t have a good enough understanding to create my own designs. Da Vinci used the “Golden Ratio” in many of his famous artworks such as The Last Supper and Mona Lisa. It was found by many artis...

TWO  CULTURES I am a 4 th year Materials Science and Engineering major and will be graduating this coming June. The two cultures have affected my life by making me choose between the two at a fairly early age. My experience throughout my education was that science and art were topics that were never combined. There was also an insinuation that if you excelled at one, you could not excel at the other. I chose to pursue the sciences and was mainly influenced by my family which have chosen careers in science. They told me that there was more job security if I had a career in the sciences which now that I’ve had experience looking for jobs; I don’t know if that’s necessarily true.  (Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Materials_science) However, when I reflect on my choice of major, I do see ways in which art has influenced it. I always enjoyed making pottery and ceramics and now my research in Materials engineering specializes in ceramics. Althou...