Extra Credit Event 1

EXTRA CREDIT EVENT 1

I was unable to attend the opening night of Delete Me due to a class conflict so I instead attended the following day but was not able to meet with any of the artists. I saw a few of the artists in the gallery however they were with DMA professors in what I assume to be critiques. The Delete Me show was a showcase for recent work of the DMA MFA students. The work covered a large variety of mediums and topics.

The work I will focus on was Kate Hollenbach’s USER_IS_PRESENT. Kate is my TA for my Network Media class this quarter. She has shown and discussed a number of her pieces in our class so I was excited to see her piece in the show. Kates work tends to focus on the mobile phone and how we relate to our devices.

Her piece USER_IS_PRESENT was no different, it also stemmed from her interest in our relationships with our mobile phones. The piece consisted of three screens depicting what appeared to be layered views of an iPhone screen - our view and one of the phone itself. One view being the view of what Kate can see of her phone and the other being what the phone see’s back of her. In her statement about the work Kate describes it as “the experience of a place and time cannot be complete in just the physical or virtual world alone: presence is now required in both.” There was a variety of imagery from emails to videos of her face walking or sitting in class.

I really enjoyed this piece. I think it is a very accurate depiction of how much our devices have encompassed and taken control over our lives. You could view practically Kate's whole week in a condensed period of time and space because her phone was there to experience the whole thing. It also shows how much of her focus is on her device throughout the day because a majority of the imagery was her looking at the screen.

I also think this fits impeccably with the rest of Kates work and is recognizable as her style of work which I think is very important. I also think the piece was relatable to anyone even if you did not previously know Kate, her work or story. I am not sure why there were three screens however I think aesthetically it was a good choice.

Below are a number of photos of me at the gallery.

Event 3

For my third event, I attended the Final Review Session with Professor Vesna and the TAs on Wednesday 5/24 from 12 - 2 in EDA.

Here are my notes from the review:

Quiz - Due June 9th

• Meet with group 6/8 to review readings. Each person is in charge of one week (weeks 6-9)

Blog Summary - Due June 9

• Combine all blogs into one condensed PDF. Include brief summary of what you learned each week and how the knowledge fit together. 
• What is the synthesis of the 10 weeks?
• Can you summarize the core concepts and information into 1 paragraph?
• Combine blogs 6/4 after Week 9 is complete
• Finish summary on 6/5

Essay - Due June 11

• Use your major or area of interest as a base for your topic
• Economics 
• Food Sustainability
• Begin essay outline 6/4
• First draft 6/7 - Send to TA for review
• Find images and related artwork
• Proofread and submit by 6-11

Space, Science & Art

SPACE, SCIENCE & ART

This week’s lecture and reading focused on space, the final frontier, which Vesna refers as the “place where it all comes together” which is fitting since it is our last unit.

Professor Vesna begins with the history of space and space travel beginning with Copernicus and his heliocentric concept of the solar system. His impact on the history of the understanding of space was very significant. The next major phase of discovery was Galileo’s Telescope. Although it was not until after World War II, that contemporary space exploration actually began and was achieved. With the focus of the cold war being the arms race, competition in space exploration became imminent among countries. The Soviet Unions’ launch of Sputnick had a huge impact on the idea of space travel and created a great amount of paranoia around
around the world. The space race greatly impacted the education system and increased math and science programing.

The Russians were the first to send a living being into space to test the physical or physiological impacts that might occur - a dog, Leica. She died after 6 day in the trip because of the batteries controlling her life support system that failed. The first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong, landed July 20th 1969. A number of people were in space and circled the earth prior to this. Numerous space shuttle disasters occurred following this.

While traditionally space research and travel is seen as science, we can change our perspective view it through the lens of art and design. Because much of space is still a mystery and unknown to us to this day, it is up to the artists to use their imagination and take free reign to dream up plans of what civilization might look like on the moon, or what extraterrestrial life may resemble. Space has no restrictions or rules. Any dream or fantasy is off limits. Rules of physics, scale, or time do not exist.

Wall-E , one of the many movies inspired by space exploration

The mystery and availability for creativity of space has inspired numerous films, shows, art works, media and more over the years. Including, Men In Black, Pixar’s Wall-E, Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, paintings by Chesley Bonestell, Tomorrowland in Disneyland , Spielberg’s E.T., etc.

Chris Hadfield - photo from a YouTube video he filmed from space

Chris Hadfield, a Canadian astronaut who now serves as the Commander of the International Space Station, shares photographs of his travels throughout space. He published a photography book of these images called “You Are Here – Around the World in 92 Minutes”. He also post on various social media channels including his YouTube channel where he posts videos.

One of Thomas Ruff's photograph of space from the NASA website

Thomas Ruff, a photographer, took photographs from the NASA website of satellite imagery and created works of art and even 3D printed some of them. They are perfect examples of the blend and crossover between science and art when it comes to space.

Overall, space is probably the best example of the opportunity for the blending of art and science simply because there is so much mystery and unknown that is assciated with space. Therefore there are no rule to be followed which allows for countless possibilities and imagination.

CITATIONS

"Where Art And Space Travel Meet: Why Is The Art World Suddenly So Captivated By The Cosmos?" Creators. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 June 2017.

Thomas Ruff - March 8 - April 21, 2012 - Images - Gagosian. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 June 2017.

Vesna, Victoria. "Week 9: Space and Art." UCLA. Lecture. Web.

Staff, SPACE.com. "Astronaut Chris Hadfield's Amazing Photos of Earth From Space." Space.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 June 2017.

Kennedy, Randy. "When the Space Age Blasted Off, Pop Culture Followed." The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 Sept. 2007. Web. 03 June 2017.