The Getty Center

On the Steps Outside of the Getty Museum!

Me, at Getty Center

            Visiting the Getty Center this morning was a wonderful experience, and I encountered many exhibits there that pertained to biotechnology, medicine, and science. Many of the displays did not allow photography, however, so I spent some time looking through the paintings and sculptures that did allow photography, and I remembered way back to the beginning of our class—the lectures about math and art and medicine and art. As I browsed through the paintings and looked a little closer, I realized that elements of science really are found in all types of art. 

The Miraculous Communion of Saint Catherine
of Siena, c.1513-15

            Most of the paintings I saw seemed to have certain things in common, especially as the paintings became more modern. They all followed a liner perspective that helped convey a more 3-dimensional scene on the flat canvas. Many also had distinctive vanishing points, where you could tell that the artist tried to mathematically set up the characters in a painting so that where and what they were looking at seemed more realistic. On one of the paintings I found, the vanishing points were even explicitly drawn out, like in the painting below, so that the eye follows the direct path that the artist intended.

Saint Catherine of Siena Receiving
the Stigmata c.1513-15, with obvious vanishing point

            Another theme that I noticed is that so many of the paintings and sculptures in the museum feature the naked body. I don’t think that this means that ancient art was perverted, but rather that artists, once they had learned how to correctly depict muscles and ligaments, were excited to show off their mastery in representing the human body. This, layered with the above mentioned techniques for established a vanishing point and incorporating liner perspective, made for very realistic and impressive works of art.

A Young Girl Defending Herself against Eros, c.1880

          We have learned a lot about how art and science are related through our weekly lectures, but it was empowering to be able to apply what I have learned when going out and seeing art in these museums in the real world, on my own time. I think it’s a testament to how much I have learned to be able to identify these techniques in the artwork that I am exposed to from this point forward. I am truly glad to have taken this class, and I am excited to see the direction that the intersection of art and science will take in the future of artistic creation and expression.  

Museum of Jurassic Technology

Me at the Museum of Jurassic Technology

The Museum of Jurassic Technology was much more different than I expected. In fact, the collections from the museum were so unique that I’m still not quite sure how to adequately describe my experience! But one interesting theme that I noticed throughout the museum was one that we have actually stayed pretty far away from in class, though I think it still relates will to the general concepts of art and science. That is, the topic of religion and how it relates to these ideas.

Athanasius Kircher

            One exhibit, featuring Athanasius Kircher, displayed pieces that encapsulated the ideas of art, science, and religion. A Roman Catholic mathematician, linguist, geologist, etc. from Germany, many consider Kircher a “Master of a Hundred Arts”. His contributions to society range from a creating a magnetic clock to establishing the concept of Egyptology. 

Kircher's Magnetic Clock

Many of the pieces in the exhibit that described his life focused on his conversion to Christianity, and the impact that this had on his work. These include “The Conversion of St. Eustace at Mentorella”, a scene depicting a church Kircher rebuilt, and “Why the Tower Could Not Reach the Moon”, based off of Kircher’s last book Turris Babel, which piqued his interests in linguistics and engineering.

"Why the Tower Could Not Reach the Moon"

            Both of the pieces above have biblical undertones, but also have close ties with science and, obviously, art. Another piece towards the front of the museum depicts a small wooden replica of the famed Noah’s Ark, weaving in yet another example of how art, engineering, and religion meet. A blurb on the wall next to it explains the origins of the great flood, as well as a brief nod to the biblical character. This ties in a scientific explanation for the flood as well as acknowledging the religious aspect of the story, which I feel is rare for the scientific community.

Model of Noah's Ark

            No matter what you believe, it’s important to examine all possible origins and explanations for things. It was really exciting that the Museum of Jurassic Technology recognized not only the scientific elements to human development and art, but also the religious aspects, which have been a challenge and an inspiration to artists and scientists alike throughout history. I know our class acknowledged the likes of Freud and Jung and consciousness/dreaming, but I think it would have been interesting to explore religion too—it is not always as antithetical to science as one might expect, as evidenced by this museum.

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles

Gem & Mineral Hall  

 

Me at the Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum in LA has many different exhibits, from the 'Dino Lab', to 'Becoming LA', to the 'Age of Mammals'. But my favorite room would have to be the Gem & Mineral Hall, especially as the subject pertains to the concepts we have learned in this course.

The use of minerals to create art has been around since prehistoric times, as cave painters used substances like iron oxide, manganese, and charcoal to leave their mark on the world. As history progressed, man continued to be fascinated by the natural beauty that exists in gem and mineral form, and attempted to harness that in their artwork. People have always had a desire for beautiful and shiny things, and thus humans took on the challenge of learning how to create tools to shape these impossibly hard materials into jewelry and decoration.

Jadeite vases from late 19th century China

This reminded me of the core of this class, how science and art intersect. Here, people have taken naturally occurring objects and compounds and used them to create works of art, having invented tools like diamond cutters to shape them or figured out how to melt or cut them down, and used the objects themselves to create art.

Nephrite art--18th century China

I think it’s very interesting how people assign value to certain things found in nature, but not to others. For instance, there was an extensive display dedicated to gold and the gold rush, and how people have long traded and fought over/for this precious metal. While this has been valued, other substances, like pyrite, have been largely ignored—a shiny mineral for children to marvel at on the beach, and not much more. I find it fascinating that humans choose what they think is valuable based upon its beauty and scarcity, rather than its practicality and usefulness. I think this too connects to all types of values in society, and reveals a lot about human nature--why beauty and entertainment are often seen as more desirable than practicality.

Gold nuggets! Inspiration for the Gold Rush

The mineral, gemstone and jewelry display’s popularity taught me a lot about what people still value and have always valued. As far as art and science go, their intersection in the case of precious gems and minerals will likely continue—even in our technological world, diamond and gold are still the preferred type of engagement/wedding rings, and the most expensive adornments are still made of these naturally occurring compounds. This exhibit taught me that, as with most science and art, technological advances will not change what humans find fundamentally valuable.  

Fowler Museum: Making Strange--Gagawaka

            

Making Strange--Fowler Exhibit

Vivian Sundaram’s exhibit at UCLA's Fowler Museum, “Making Strange”, featured a unique display of clothing, part of his ‘Gagawaka’ line, that the designer made out of materials ranging from medical equipment to trash to undergarments. While walking through the exhibit, it’s hard not to be taken aback by the beautiful way that Sundaram has arranged these unlikely materials into fashionable clothing. But beyond the beauty of the garments, I also noticed a theme throughout some of the pieces that I thought was both an interesting social commentary a thought-provoking take on the connection between art and science.

Jock Strap Outfit 

Tampon Ensemble 

Dress made of Bras  

Many of Sundaram’s creations were constructed out of materials that no one would typically consider making into clothing. Some of his more provocative pieces were made from jock straps, folded bras, and even tampons. The tampon dress was especially uncomfortable, because the tampons were dyed in such a way that they almost looked used—reaching for an anatomical connection between fashion and art. His purpose in including some of these more controversial pieces was, I believe, to confront the discomfort that some people have with their bodies. I think its very interesting that what people generally hide under their clothing has been made into the outfit itself.

    Sundaram even takes this challenge a step further by putting aside gender roles when his clothes are modeled. When I was in the gift shop, I found a book displaying models wearing the Gagawaka line, and was surprised to find that a man was wearing the tampon outfit, while a woman modeled the jock straps. This gender role reversal I felt added to Sundaram’s theme of confronting the awkwardness that humans feel as they are taught, often from a young age, to be ashamed of their bodies. This is especially true for the opposite sex—I know that a lot of the male figures in my life don’t know much about tampons, and would especially refuse to wear them as clothing.

Male model in the tampon dress

Female model with the jock strap outfit

            I think clothing like this is important. Not only are these ensembles from the Gagawaka line a fashion statement and work of art; they are also socially progressive pieces that encourage the viewer to reflect on the human anatomy and become more comfortable with the body in general. I enjoyed Sundaram’s exhibit, and I think it made a nice addition to what we’ve learned about the human body as it relates to art.

Me, at Fowler!