Week 7: Psychology and Art

The connection between different kinds of consciousness and art is fascinating. Being an English major, I can recall different pieces of literature that examine or utilize different forms of psychology and consciousness. For example, William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies uses characters that personify different forms of consciousness as defined by Sigmund Freud, whom Professor touched on in Lecture II.

 Divided in to the conscious, unconscious, id, and super ego, Freud argues that there are different levels at which the human mind functions. In The Lord of the Flies, Piggy acts as the conscious mind, constantly in touch with his emotions and those around him. He seeks to please and be liked, and is the most relatable and empathetic character in the novel.  On the other hand, Jack is the personification of the id, one who is completely animal like and acts outside of normal society. Jack murders Piggy in a vicious and  horrific way, making him the villain of the novel. He is the one whom the audience does not want to relate with because of the uncomfortable notion of being more animalistic than human in a societal setting. It’s interesting how different psychological conditions can be portrayed through art.

Sources:

https://youtu.be/TFv4owX3MZo

https://youtu.be/E5EX75xoBJ0

Golding, William, and Edmund L. Epstein. Lord of the Flies: A Novel. New York: Perigee, 1954. Golding, William, and Edmund L. Epstein.

Week 6: Biotechnology

According to the Biotechnology Industry Organization, “biotechnology is technology based on biology - biotechnology harnesses cellular and biomolecular processes to develop technologies and products that help improve our lives and the health of our planet”. The most common form of biotechnology in the modern era would be the use of genetically modified plants and animals, specifically for human consumption.

There are different viewpoints on whether or not GMO’s and other genetically modified foods or animals are ethical. In the pro-biotechnology article Healing, Fueling, Feeding: How Biotechnology Is Enriching Your Life, they state that “more than 13.3 million farmers around the world use agricultural biotechnology to increase yields, prevent damage from insects and pests and reduce farming’s impact on the environment”. The subsequent backlash of GMO’s by the public and other groups has forced the USDA to create the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture (AC21). One of the most pronounced areas where the AC21 committee has focused most of their attention is on “how farmers who produce different crops intended for different customers-biotechnology-derived, conventional, or organic-can best co-exist and produce the crops that meet their customers' needs” (USDA.gov).

While the main concern in the beginning part of my blog post is the use of biotechnology, there seems to be a fad on biotechnology in the media as it has been commercialized. The latest example of this is the continuance of the Jurassic Park series. Jurassic Park (dir. Spielberg, 1993) follows scientists who have created genetically modified dinosaurs that inhabit a theme park. This use of biotechnology is key to the premise, originally created by author Stephen King, and has allowed for the continuing conversation of whether or not biotechnology is ethical or moral. The latest installment of the Jurassic Park is the creation of Jurassic World, which is set to premiere in June 2015, and follows the same premise of genetic modification of animals in order for human entertainment.

Sources:

https://www.bio.org/articles/what-biotechnology

https://www.bio.org/articles/healing-fueling-feeding-how-biotechnology-enriching-your-life

http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=BIOTECH

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107290/

Week 4: Medicine+Technology+Art

In this week’s lecture we learned about the relationship between art and the physicality of the human body. After watching the videos for this week, it seems to me that there is a fascination with what can be done to the body in order to keep it as a human form without being entomological human anymore. I think one of the most intriguing things in this new world is the development of prosthetic arms and legs by global companies like Ossur that act and look like skin and flesh. This technology is not only able to help those with physical disabilities, but is a new connection between the human and what can be created out of the human form.

Prosthetic leg designed for above knee amputees

Another interesting thing that I found was the use of MRI technology in looking at brain function versus neurological changes that appear as art (Casini). The MRI art can only be created with a function of the human mind, something that happens naturally.

A look at an MRI done at the Bunge Lab at UC Berkeley

In reading the Hippocratic Oath, it was interesting to see the difference in the translations and the changes that have been made due to the advancements both in education and technology. This leads me to wonder what kind of changes will be made to the Hippocratic Oath in the future due to new technology that could allow for changes in techniques and practices, such as the introduction of brain scans and the sort.

 

An original translation of the Hippocratic Oath

Sources –

Ossur - http://www.ossur.com/prosthetic-solutions/bionic-technology

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as Mirror and Portrait: MRI Configurations between Science and the Arts - Silvia Casini

The Hippocratic Oath Today, Peter Tyson, NOVA - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/hippocratic-oath-today.html

Bunge Lab, UC Berkely - http://bungelab.berkeley.edu/recovery-from-focal-brain-injury-early-in-development/

Week 3: Walter Benjamin and Mechanical Reproduction

Walter Benjamin wrote “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” in 1936, and it has remained an important piece of criticism ever since. Benjamin writes that because of the availability to reproduce art, even in such medias as photography and cinema, the meaning and cultural context of the original art become lost. In relation to the mechanical reproduction of visual art, Benjamin is critical, writing that “First, process reproduction is more independent of the original than manual reproduction. […] Secondly, technical reproduction can put the copy of the original into situations which would be out of reach for the original itself.” By this he means that reproduction of art displaces the art, taking it both out of its original context of where and how it should be viewed. Therefore, the meaning of the art in relation to the viewer is changed and distorted. This brings in to question the authenticity of artwork that is now mass produced, as well as its influence on the viewer being dependent on where it was viewed and not what is actually being portrayed through art.

An example of this would be the mechanical reproduction of Monet’s “Water Lilies”. I have seen several different of Monet’s classic paintings in textbooks throughout my time in school; however I have never seen them in person. By viewing them only as a reprinted, smaller image in a textbook, or online as I google searched this, I am removed from the authenticity of the original intention of the painting as Monet would have wanted.

(MoMA "Water Lilies")

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/avant-garde-france/impressionism/v/monet-les-nymph-as-the-water-lilies-1918-26

http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/438008

L. Ram, Week 1 Blog Post: Two Cultures

Through reading these texts and examining the videos, it is astonishing to look at and perceive the changes and separation of art and science over time. C.P. Snow first developed the concept of two different cultures, the arts and the sciences, in his 1959 Rede Lecture “Two Cultures and The Scientific Revolution”.  In this lecture, Snow analyzes the specific ways in which the individual disciplines of art and science have broken all ties and communication over time. Snow writes that he believes “the intellectual life of the whole of western society is increasingly being split into two polar groups...Literary intellectuals at one pole - at the other scientists, and as the most representative, physical scientists. Between the two a gulf of mutual incomprehension - sometimes (particularly among the young) hostility and dislike, but most of all a lack of understanding" (4).Throughout the lecture, he continues to convey the way this breakdown and overall separation between the two disciplines is causing (and will continue to cause) difficulty in solving the world’s problems. Snow argues that there is a decline in the quality of education because of the fact that students are focusing on either only the humanities or only the sciences. Snow makes a comment that "...some of the very best scientists had and have plenty of energy and interest to spare, and we came across several who had read everything that literary people talk about. But that's very rare” (13). He also goes on to say that those in the humanities do not have a basic understanding of scientific laws.

I believe that the third culture, that of the arts and sciences intertwined, is the culture that is necessary for a progressive and constructive future. I agree with Snow that education needs to expand to study both the arts and the sciences simultaneously, and that there are only negative effects to be seen if they continue to chasm.

In relation to the two cultures, I myself am definitely more centered in the arts portion. Being an English major, I spend all of my time on North Campus taking humanities courses and Film/DESMA electives. However I do feel myself needing to engage the technical or more scientific part of my brain as liberal arts classes can get a bit monotonous. It’s nice to take a class that has concrete information to study, like a science class, and concepts that are not abstract but comprehensible. I think it is necessary to engage in both arts and sciences on a college campus in order to get the best educational experience.