Event 5: LACMA

Once again, I couldn't help but notice how much of science is integrated into art during my visit to LACMA. There was an entire exhibit on Art and Technology, and there were so many other beautiful paintings and sculptures where I could distinctly see what a great influence science had in creating and building them.

The turmoil of World War I affected artists across Europe and the United States. A specific sect of artists called “Dadaists” created works from everyday objects, discarded materials and street trash. The Red-Blue Chair pictured below was created using such discarded materials. Blocks of wood that were in the trash were picked up and this beautiful chair was created. The works by the “Dadaists” pushed the conventions of how art was defined.

The painting pictured below really fascinated me. It is a painting made by a young American artist during the Second World War. While usually one would only notice its beauty and morbidity, I could not help but think about how the artist perfectly captures the aspect of the human body and anatomy.

The painting of the life-sized can of Spam also intrigued me. It is interesting to see how the can is sailing like a comet in the sky. In this way we see how the artist, Ruscha, adds an element of space into his artistic work. It is also interesting to note that the element of space is added with the intention of referencing the US-Russian Space Race.

Thomas Wilfred studied music and art in Europe. After moving to America, he began constructing machines, which were based on the physical characteristics of light- refraction, reflection and color. Wilfred was a pioneer in the field of light art, art based on the manipulation of light. He orchestrated silent performances of amorphous, moving forms that he hoped viewers would experience as “the fundamental rhythmic flow of the universe.”

The Art and Technology exhibit was truly amazing to see. Andy Warhol had three prototypes for artificial weather machines- one that simulated snow; another, wind; and the third, rain. Warhol wanted to pair these machines with holographic/3-D images and managed to successfully create the Rain Machine- 3D prints of four plastic daisies on a bed of artificial grass and in front of the prints, two layers of “rain” fell from metal water nozzles that moved from side to side.

Another thing that caught my attention in this exhibit was Robert Rauschenberg’s Mud Muse. Rauschenberg started working with a technology company by had become very interested in art that actively engages its viewers. He designed Mud Muse, which emulated the bubbling mud of Yellowstone National Park’s geothermal “paint pots.” It is a sound activated piece that reacts to both external sounds and an internal soundtrack of noises sampled from daily life. The actual and recorded sounds are then translated into electrical “on-off” signals relayed to a system of pressurized air inlets at the bottom of the mud tank.

After taking this class, every time I visit a museum now, I cannot help but notice how many different disciplines are integrated to produce a work of good art. I have started appreciating art so much more. People need to realize that art does not simply involve mindless painting; there is so much more that goes into it!

Event 4: Griffith Observatory

My visit to the Griffith Observatory was nothing short of spectacular. I have visited the Griffith before and I have been enthralled by all the knowledge and beauty. However this time round, my experience was quite different. I began to notice, all around me, the integration and overlap of science and art.

Just as one enters, one sees the Observatory Pendulum, a 240-pound giant brass sphere suspended from a 40-foot steel wire. At first glance this looks like nothing more than just a beautiful oscillating pendulum. However, one quickly realizes that this is not simply a piece of art. A ring magnet above the ceiling keeps the pendulum in motion, without influencing the direction of its swing. Every ten minutes the pendulum knocks over a peg, but in fact it is not the pendulum that has moved over to hit the peg. The earth has moved the peg into the path of the swinging pendulum. The pendulum is essentially disconnected from the turning of the earth and the earth rotes beneath it, making it look as if the pendulum is changing the direction of its swing. I thought it was so fascinating how much of artistic thought and effort has gone into building this scientific object.

At the Griffith Observatory, one can also see the largest astronomical image to ever be put on display called the Big Picture. It is an astronomical photograph of a small sliver of the night sky and embedded in the Big Picture are thousands of stars from our own Milky Way Galaxy. Looking at this I could not help but think about how its creation was the result of the two disciplines of art and science working together. While astronomers and scientists were required to observe, study and plot the night sky, it was the duty of the artists to perfectly capture and recreate what they had observed. If not for the astronomers/scientists and the artists, the Big Picture would never have been created with such accuracy and perfection.

The earth experiences four seasons because our planet is tipped on its axis and the two poles point to the same direction in space all year. Summer occurs on the hemisphere that is tipped towards the sun and our seasonal weather depends on where we live. While I was always aware of this knowledge, it was only now that I started thinking about how fascinating it was that a purely scientific phenomenon is used by artists to convey emotion in their works, be it in paintings, movies or short stories. Winter is used to convey a sense of gloom and despair, summer suggests joy and freedom. Never before had I really given much thought to this.

The last thing that I thought was super interesting was that countless meteorites fall to the earth every year. However finding and identifying them is tricky. While meteorite hunters are undoubtedly scientists, they can also be considered subtle artists. Recognizing a meteorite is an art because not all strange-looking rocks are meteorites. The meteorite hunters must study the shape, size, surface, etc. of the rock to determine whether or not it came from space.

This time round, my visit to the Griffith Observatory was completely different. It was for the first time that I recognized how much of art exists even in the context of space and the endless universe!

Event 3: The Getty Center

I was always told about how the Getty Center was nothing short of a visual treat but when I went there this past week I was absolutely amazed. I was completely taken in by the sheer beauty of it. I simply could not believe that I had never been there before. It was such a peaceful spot, buried away from the hustle and bustle of life in LA. It was so fascinating to actually pay attention to and notice how science has always been used to create beautiful art.

In the 1300s Venetians started adding tin oxide to the glass mixture in order to produce a kind of opaque white glass. They called this glass “lattimo” (latte means milk in Italian). In the 1500s craftsmen started using thin sticks of lattimo to create filigree glass- glass with beautiful patterns and designs. The white thin sticks were manipulated with hot glass to create parallel stripes, spirals or twists.

During the Renaissance period, talented artists in Tuscany developed a special type of decoration referred to as “relief-blue.” Ceramics were painted in a thick cobalt blue glaze and the blue pigment used was mixed with a large proportion of lead. The addition of lead would cause it to swell during firing, which made it stand out in relief. I thought this picture of a Relief-Blue Jar with Rampant Lions was absolutely beautiful and perfectly demonstrated how the integration of art and science is not a relatively new phenomenon.

Another thing that I found particularly interesting was the stream outside, which ran though the Central Garden. I thought it was amazing how the designers of the garden strategically placed boulders and rocks of varying sizes in the streambed to vary the sounds at different points from the flowing water. The designers had to have had some scientific understanding to be able to add this special touch to what would otherwise just be a beautiful flowing stream.

My visit to the Getty Center only made me further realize how deep and interrelated the relationship between art and science is. It made me think about how, as discussed in the lectures of Week 1, people are naïve to believe that artists and scientists have nothing in common and that opting for art implies that one has given up completely on science and vice versa.