Nanotechnology + Art

Nanotechnology is science, engineering, and technology that deals with the manipulation of

individual atoms and molecules conducted at the nanoscale, which is about 1 to 100 nanometers. Nanotechnology is applied to medicine to conduct research in the medical field, which is called nanomedicine. It has been very helpful in the cancer research because it can be applied to
pharmaceuticals to create drugs to target specific tumors. For example, these nanodrugs can be used to lessen the toxicity for breast cancer. Nanoshells are also being used as antibodies to detect and recognize cancer cells.

The makeup industry is also taking advantage of nanotechnology. Quantum dots are particles that can change colors when the particle is nanosize. The material could be all one substance, but different colors because the smaller the size the redder the color and the larger the size the blacker the color. Because nanoparticles and drugs helps with toxicity, these particles are non-toxic. L’Oreal has been

investing a lot of money in nanotechnology for their skin products and are starting to look at using it for pigments. This technology could vastly change the game for makeup artists because there have incidents where actors have been sent to the hospital because they were allergic to an ingredient in the makeup or getting burned from materials heating up from the stage lights. Schumacher said it the best, “ Wisdom requires a new orientation of science and technology towards he organic, the gentle, the non-violent, the elegant, and beautiful” (Gimzewski & Vesna, 6). 

Artists use nanotechnology to create beautiful molecular

landscapes of nanoparticles. Nanoart represents natural molecules that exist in nature blown up make the idea of nanoparticles more visual and easier to comprehend. Their artwork can be used as research and
learning tools because being able to visualize something the naked eye cannot see helps scientists understand what is going on in a world that is practically invisible to us.


Images:

• Fluorescence Imaging with Quantum Dot Nanocrystals. Digital image. Semrock. Web. 
• Simon, Virginie. Nanomedicine. Digital image. My Science Work. 26 Apr. 2011. Web. 
• Tranquilin, Ricardo. Extraordinary Beauty of the NanoArt World. Digital image. Discovery News. 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 

References:

• Baker, Silvia. "Makeup History." Makeup for the Stage Lecture. Los Angeles. 5 May 2015. Lecture.
• Gimzewski, Jim. "Nanotechnology + Art Lectures." Desma 9 Lecture. Los Angeles. 18 May 2015. Lecture. Online
• Gimzewski, Jim., & Vesna, Victoria. "The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of fact & fiction in the construction of a new science." (2004): 1-8. Print.
• "NANOART." NANOART 21. Web. 22 May 2015.
• "What Is Nanotechnology?" Nano.gov. United States National Nanotechnology Initiative. Web. 22 May 2015.

Psychological Psychedelic Relief

It’s crazy to see the transformation of opinions on the topic of hallucinogenic drugs. In the 1950s LSD, or lysergic acid diethylamide, was believed by some people to be a psychiatric miracle drug that cured depression, schizophrenia, addicts, and criminal behavior. It was commonly used as an accepted practice for psychology students in training to understand what the patient was going to go through. 

Aldous Huxley wrote “Doors of Perception” about the experiences of this hallucinogenic trip, which eventually lead to the naming of the band, The Doors. This rock n roll band was apart of the psychedelic rock genre that focused on the message of transition and transformation. The in 1967 song “Break on Through” by The Doors talks about breaking barriers and crossing over to the

other side where things are better. Victor Turner outlines the three steps of transition: detachment from one’s former self, the liminal period where nothing resembles the past or future, and finally the transition is complete and the person is in stable state (Turner, 4). An LSD trip can be described the same way, where the act of taking the acid is escape the former self or psychological abnormality, the liminal period is the acid trip itself, and then finally the person sees reality in a different light after the trip but completely stable. Some psychologists at the time thought the transition that occurs during a LSD trip was the key to help people overcome their psychological suffering.

Because LSD has been documented to change people’s behavior, for example helping AA participants stop drinking, it is believed to tap into one’s subconscious. Freud believes
that the unconscious is processes of the mind that are not available to consciousness and where all the repressed feelings, thoughts, and urges live. The idea of consciousness and unconscious give artists the freedom to portray people’s wildest dreams in their artwork.

Images:

• Dalí, Salvador. Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening. Digital image. Park West Gallery. 1 Jan. 1944. Web.  
• Harris, Dave. "Rare Footage of 1950s Housewife in LSD Experiment." YouTube. Web. 16 May 2015.  
• Usher, Melanie. Keep Calm and Break on Through to the Other Side. Digital image. Pinterest. Web.

References:

• Bansal, Gaurav. "How Consciousness is Classified." (2009): 1-4. Print.
• Fink, Robert. "Psychedelic Rituals." Music History 5 Lecture. Los Angeles. 27 April 2015. Lecture. 
• Szalavitz, Maia. "LSD May Help Treat Alcoholism." Time. 9 Mar. 2012. Web. 16 May 2015.
• Turner, Victor. "Betwixt and Between: The Liminal Period in Rites de Passage." The Proceeding of the American Ethnological Society. (1964): 4-20. Print.
• Vesna, Victoria. "Neuroscience + Art Lectures." Desma 9 Lecture. Los Angeles. 11 May 2015. Lecture. Online

BioArt

         

Many types of “life” itself have been used as an art form. We see live art where people themselves are apart of the art display, animals used in art pieces, and live neurons used to create art. I believe that life can be a valid medium for the expression of art if used ethically and the organism is not hurt in the process. For example, the art piece “Fish and Chips” done in the SymbioticA lab used goldfish neurons to power a robotic arm that to create drawings. The neurons were grown in the lab, but an actual fish was not used. I personally thought this piece was very creative and could be an insight to how fish think. Hackers, on the other hand, do not protect their life forms while using them as a medium. Hackers use their knowledge of since to impress others to show that they understand the system well

enough to control it and to make it do something it wasn’t meant to do (Kelty, 1). In my opinion, Marta de Menezes could be categorized has a hacker when she did her butterfly piece. Genetically altering the wing patterns ended up hurting the butterfly by creating holes in the wings, and the butterfly’s life and well-being is more important than artistic needs.

          In Kathy High’s empathy rat piece with hybrid rats was used as a message towards the medical community and how they treat animals in scientific experiments. None of the rats were hurt or mistreated during her exhibition; she took care of them until these rats became healthy again. Because the rats were not harmed and actually treated better, the use of life as an art medium is valid and actually got a message across. This being said, I do think there should be firmer restrictions on artists using biotechnology than for scientists.

Using non-human life forms in scientific research is different than using them for art pieces because it is usually for academic purposes to further our knowledge about disease, medicine, and the brain. Medicine would not be where it is today without animal testing. There is no substantial gain from manipulating living organisms for an art piece, except for the praise or criticism of the artist.

Images:

• Bio-Art: The Ethics behind the Aesthetics. Digital image. Nature. 2009. Web. 
• The Steve Potter Lab. MEART -The Semi Living Artist. Digital image. ArtBots: The Robot Talent Show. Web.
• Summers, Alex. An animal rights argument for biomedical research. Digital image. SciScoop Stuff. 15 Nov. 2011. Web

References:

• Kelty, Chris. "Meanings of Participation: Outlaw Biology." 1-8. Print.
• McRae, Emma. "A Report on the Practices of SymbioticA Research Group in Their Creation of MEART – the Semi-living Artist." University of Western Australia. Web. 9 May 2015.  
• Stracey, Frances. "Bio-art: The Ethics behind the Aesthetics." Nature.com. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, June 2009. Web. 9 May 2015. .  
• Vesna, Victoria. "BioTech + Art Lectures ." Desma 9 Lecture. Los Angeles. 9 May 2015. Lecture. Online.
• Zurr, Ionat. & Catts, Oron. "The Ethical Claims of BioArt: Killing the Other or Self-Cannibalism?" University of Wester Australia. Web. 9 May 2015.