Event 5: Breathing Light

This past Friday, me and a few of my friends made the arduous drive down Wilshire to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  After waiting in traffic for some time, we bought our tickets for the LACMA and signed up for the hour-long wait to see James Turrell's Breathing Light Exhibit.  Thanks to this hour of waiting I was able to explore the museum with my pals and we found works from world famous artists like Picasso, Monet, and even Andy Warhol.  But after the hour elapsed, we ventured over to the James Turrell exhibit where we were greeted by the fellow pictured below with the iPad.  He checked us in, and told us we were to wait to be called in.  When we were finally called into the room with the exhibit, they had us all take off our shoes and place them in the cubbies beneath us after putting on white booties over our socks.  Then we were instructed to walk up the stairs into the exhibit, and to not get within 5 feet of the walls or edge.  The exhibit was a large, white room with curved sides, designed to eliminate the viewer's depth perception.  After talking a little with the workers at the exhibit, they informed me that James Turrell’s art is a nexus for the worlds of art, science, architecture, astronomy, mathematics, archaeology, and spirituality.  A lot of these worlds are topics that we have covered in this quarter's curriculum.  Overall, Breathing Light was a really cool experience from my perspective.  I especially enjoyed "zoning out" looking at the back wall of the exhibit, making the color of the walls the only thing in my line of sight.  After staring at this wall for a while, and after the color of the exhibit changed a few times, my brian began creating shadowy images against the colorful backdrop.  I saw shadows of people begin to form on the back wall, and I was in awe.  I really enjoyed the exhibit and have been raving about it to all my friends ever since.  I think anyone and everyone should definitely go see this exhibit at some point.  

Week 9: Space + Art

This week's lecture was all about the final frontier: space.  Like Professor Vesna said, this week's topic is a culmination of all the topics we have covered up to this point because space is so vast and incorporates a number of different subtopics within it.  I especially enjoyed learning about the history of space, specifically things like the atomic bomb, the Cold War, the Space Race, and even Star Trek and Star Wars!

Lately, art and space have been converging in a number of ways, with a lot of modern artists seemingly becoming more fixated with the cosmos.  One of the most notable "space artists" is probably German photographer Thomas Ruff who transforms satellite imagery in space and creates famous news photos.  In 2010 Ruff created the "ma.r.s" series which was a series of satellite photographs of Mars' surface that he took from the NASA website. This is just one of many examples of modern artists utilizing satellite imaging to create works of art out of the most wondrous parts of our universe.  These photographers are taking space and its natural beauty and transforming it into new age art.  

Another example of space and art coming together is the Star Wars series, which is a major part of pop culture.  This famous series has generated millions of dollars and has transported audiences for years to a galaxy far, far away.  Throughout the series there are a number of characters and creatures that were inspired by wildlife on our planet.  Now, Star Wars has gained so much popularity and influence that modern scientists have been naming new species of animals after Star Wars.  Some of these species include Han Solo, Tetramorium jedi and Yoda purpurata.

 The next great sci-fi series that needs mentioning is Star Trek.  This show coined the phrase "The Final Frontier," and the whole show is about exploring space and seeking to conquer that final frontier.  The first Star Trek series debuted in 1966, and they have been making spin-off TV shows and movies ever since.  The most recent movies are critically-acclaimed motion pictures, and some of the picturesque CGI scenes in the movie are works of art in themselves.  Star Trek has expanded its influence over the years, and some people even consider the show responsible for inspiring the invention of the cell phone.  The show is also incredibly progressive, having one of television's first multiracial casts.  This show combines space with the art that goes into creating an original TV series and a series of movies as well.

In this week's lecture Professor Vesna talked about the Space Race, and to me this is an incredibly important period in American history. Because of the Space Race and the Cold War, the United States has asserted its superpower status in the world after knocking off the rival that was the USSR.  Between Sputnik, the Apollo missions, and many other advances, the US and the USSR both put large sums of money into the Space Race.  Many argue that this was a waste of money, but because of this exploration we made many advances in modern technology.  Some of these items include Satellite TV, Laptops, the Dustbuster, smoke-carbon monoxide detectors, telemedicine, the joystick, 3d graphics and virtual reality, non-reflective displays, ear thermometers, and satellite navigation.  

But you cannot holistically cover the topic of space without talking a little bit about NASA. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the U.G. government agency in charge of the civilian space program and aerospace research.  On the NASA website is an article about the 50 years of NASA history in which NASA's chief historian analyzes the history of his organization.  From everything like Sputnik I and II and the Space Race, to lunar and planetary exploration, NASA has contributed a lot in terms of space exploration.  This organization may cost us a lot of money, but because of this exploration, we have made a number of incredible discoveries that have fueled the Digital Age.  And if we want to keep developing as a species, and continue to grow and learn new things, we must seek what else is out there because if we do not, our planet will not last much longer. 

 Works Cited

Chayka, Kyle. "Where Art and Space Travel Meet: Why Is The Art World Suddenly So Captivated By the Cosmos?" The Creators Project. N.p., 9 Oct. 2012. Web. 30 May 2015. <http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/where-art-and-space-travel-meet-why-is-the-art-world-suddenly-so-captivated-by-the-cosmos>.

Jens, Kevin Beent. "A Fish Called Greedo: 10 Species Named After Star Wars." StarWars.com. N.p., 01 Apr. 2015. Web. 30 May 2015. <http://www.starwars.com/news/a-fish-called-greedo-10-species-named-after-star-wars>.

"Star Trek." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2015. <http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek>.

"The Space Race." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 30 May 2015. <http://www.history.com/topics/space-race>.

Dick, Stephen J. "50 Years of NASA History." NASA.gov. NASA, 10 Apr. 2008. Web. 30 May 2015. <http://www.nasa.gov/50th/50th_magazine/historyLetter.html>.