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Showing posts from April, 2017

Robotics + Art

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With the industrialization of society came the integration of technology into all aspects of human life, including art. As humans usually do with things that are foreign to them, the response to the mechanization of the labor force was stemmed by fear. This gave rise to the concept of robots which became a common theme of many Sci-Fi movies. Blade Runner , released in 1982, is a perfect example where a nightmare future scenario comes true and humans and robots are indistinguishable. From then on technology has become more and more infused with art. The integration of robotics and more generally technology with art hasn’t been solely positive. As Walter notes, mechanical reproduction has taken away a bit of the authenticity of original pieces of art. While reproduction allows for better preservation of art, in a way, it renders the original as less valuable. The changing manner in which art is perceived is reiterated in the readings of Davis, who echoes some of the

Math with Art & Science

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This weeks’ viewing and readings accentuate how collaboration between two different academia can produce content that caters to both and delivers a better overall product. Implementation of mathematical laws and theories in art has allowed art to develop elements that have created artistic styles centered around mathematics. The most shocking insight of the week though is the realization that math has essentially been a part of the art for ages. The two have gone hand in hand to produce some of the greatest historical pieces of art dating back to the Renaissance period and before. The application of the Golden Ratio in the construction of the Parthenon in Athens in 440 BC is one such example. The Golden Ratio has been a center piece of math and art through various periods showing up again in the many works of Leonardo da Vinci. The Golden Ratio, alternatively known as the Divine Perspective, is the proportion of a plane figure in which the ratio of a smaller rectan

Two Cultures

The idea of two cultures presented by the readings is indicative of our society’s perspectives on two types of intellects. One type rooted in science, specifically the physical science, and the other in literacy and the humanity sciences that comes with it. It’s a distinction that has been noted and very much prevalent on the UCLA Campus. The campus is commonly split into “North Campus” and “South Campus.” North Campus is home to the more literary sciences and humanity majors while South Campus is home to majors related to physics, biology, and chemistry. Common stereotypes prevail for each side from the idea that South Campus students are less happy and often working longer hours than their North Campus counterparts. In some ways it is parallel to the global gap between those in physical sciences and those more in the literary arts. In a similar fashion, this distinction creates two entities with the idea that the other side is ideologically different from us. Whi