Monday, June 6, 2016

event #1
Leap Before You Look

In April, I visited the hammer museum where I attended the Leap Before You Look: Black Mountain College 1933-1957 exhibition. This exhibition really touched on many of the lectures covered in class but it was synonymous with the math and art lecture. Many of the works showed high levels of mathematics involved and these applications could be seen in the works themselves as light problem solving.
Me and the geodesic dome

This exhibit was very special because it displayed works from Black Mountain College- a small college aimed at liberal arts education. Upon further research, I found that a wide array of artists and even philosophers were quickly attracted to this school. Therefore, this exhibition had such works as the following: paintings, sculptures, drawings, weavings, and music. I was increasingly surprised at just how much math was involved in most of the works. It really opened my eyes on how flawlessly these works were created with the use of two completely different disciplines- math and art.

The geodesic dome from Black Mountain College

Black Mountain College was able to give its students room to be free with such disciplines and combine different cultures to create magnificent works of art. One of the works, which really caught my attention, was the mat which took about a quarter of the room. This mat was used for dancing performances, which was also commonly seen at Black Mountain College. Additionally, a geodesic dome was displayed which showed the presence of geometry in many of the works. I was beyond happy to attend this event because I was able to visit the hammer and relate the learning's from class to many of the works at the exhibition

.
Event #3
Maria Antonia Gonzalez

 Me at the lecture with art and activism displays behind me 

I recently attended Maria Antonia Gonzalez's lecture in regards to her works at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. This lecture was very fascinating to me because it focused on dealing with the big problems we face as a species and even on a more individual scale by combining humanities, arts, and sciences.

Dr. Gonzalez 

Dr. Gonzalez discussed the strengths of Biotech in agriculture and how art can be used as a form of activism. She mentioned the power that philosophy, art, and science have when combined together and this was seen when she discussed the powerful threat GMO's are making on the maize itself and even the surrounding populations. Transgenic corn has been seen as a very unhealthy crop to consume due to its relations with illness and cancer.


Furthermore, Dr. Gonzalez also went over using this art as a form of activism through exhibitions and workshops. She discussed the power these exhibitions and workshops have on the community due to their interactive qualities, which give the community a better understanding of such subjects. She also described how a community has the power to ignite change through their thinking and artistic propaganda. This lecture allowed students to see how influential the two cultures are together versus when they are standing alone.
Event #2
In Focus: Electric!

I've been able to experience many of the great museums in California since I was born and raised here; therefore I was beyond excited to attend event #2 at the famous Getty. I've been to the Getty numerous of times, but this museum holds a special place in my heart because it was the first museum I've ever attended. The Getty is one of the most visited hot spots in LA and that itself is a testament to how greatly known J. Paul Getty was and his works.



For this event, I attended the In Focus: Electric which touched many of the topics we covered including: robotics, art, and industrialization. This exhibit really highlighted how industrialization had such a large role in the relationship between the two cultures- Art and science. In fact industrialization has had such a large role in this unique relationship that we still witness and use it on a daily basis today. Inventions like photography, film and television were all a result of this unique trifecta. This unique bond is so strong that it is still prevalent today with the use of high tech cameras for photography-some of which were used for this exhibition.


Artificial illumination played a huge role in this exhibition. In Focus: Electric, thirty-nine photographs were exhibited which focused on key points in art and history. As stated before, this exhibition focuses a lot on artificial illumination and how artists used lighting to create magnificent works of art. Furthermore, the exhibition shows individuals how industrialization of electricity changed the lives of millions for the better.