DESMA 9 Event 1 -- Ecocentric Art + Science Symposium: Prophesies & Predictions

    This Friday I attended the Eco-Centric Art + Science: Prophecies and Predictions event. Even though I was only able to stay for the first two hours, I gained a lot from the two lectures given by artist Linda Weintraub and professor James Gimzewski. In the first lecture, Mrs. Weintraub informed us a lot about how modern artists are able to create really innovative artworks by reflecting on the relationships between human, art and nature in the age of industrialization. Professor Gimzewski, on the other hand, presented a very thought-provoking story about a subtle yet inspiring connection between art and science, which is closely related to the topics included in this course.

Linda Weintraub during her lecture

    In her lecture "WHAT's NEXT? Eco Materialism and Contemporary Art", Mrs. Weintraub talked about several artists and their contribution to neo-materialism through different kinds of art forms, including Gebhard Sengmüller and his "Parallel Image", as well as Natalie Jeremijenko. However, in my opinion, the most impressive one throughout her lecture was the visual and performance artist Jae Rhim Lee. Contrary to most people today believe about humans' role in the environment, which is that we are always the ones who cause pollution, Lee chose to explore the ways in which we humans could be of beneficial resources to our environment through a natural process. 
   
Jae Rhim Lee's living unit used for urine processing system


    N=1=NPK=KIMCHI=N, a project by Lee, is a mobile living unit which consists of a urinal, urine processing system, hydroponic napa cabbage garden (which uses mineral nutrient solutions instead of soil), seedling growing area, a foam bed in the shape of her body, and a kitchen table. The artist undertook the task to grow food using her own urine, with her body acting as a filter to maximize nutrients for growing the cabbage. She first sent her urine to a floriculture lab, followed a customized vegan diet designed to transform her urine into the ideal nutrient solution for plants. She then used the resulting cabbage to cook kimchi and fed her colleagues and gallery visitors from the living unit. With this project, Jae Rhim Lee synthesized concepts of the self-body, narcissism, death, and ecology to arrive at a methodology for the long-term preservation of the self and planet. What's most impressive about her work, though, is how she could convey her message, in the form of visual and performance art, with the essence lying in the field of science. This is a perfect example of how art and science can be integrated together, and how the result could apply and benefit our society.


   
Marino Morikawa standing in the wetlands

    Professor James Gimzewski told a story about how a peruvian scientist, Marino Morikawa, saved the ecosystem of a lake by reviving wetlands in his homeland using nanotechnology. As a natural paradise from his childhood, Cascajo wetlands were so contaminated that they were about to be capped. Morikawa's treatment is done with tiny bubbles, the nanobubbles, a thousand times smaller than the ones we can see in a glass of soda. These bubbles attract bacteria and metals using static charge and then decompose, releasing free radicals which destroy viruses present in water. Biofilters were also deployed to ease the cleaning process of the water. Morikawa divided the wetland area with pieces of bamboo, creating sectors to order the withdrawal of the aquatic weeds.



Professor Gimzewski showing the result of Morikawa's work
    A few months after the beginning of the treatment, it was possible to see that El Cascajo waters were more crystalline. According to the scientist, currently, it is possible to say that the water of El Cascajo is 90% recovered. At least 70 species of birds and 5 fish species are once again part of the Lake ecosystem. Even though Morikawa's treatment was based on nanotechnology, it could be tied to art because of the simple, creative and artistic nature of nanobubbles. 






    At the end, I would strongly recommend this event to anyone who is interested in the field of either art of science, or even those who is just wondering how a person could make a change around him or her. The presentations were really enlightening in terms of the applications of science through art, or the other way around. I can still remember Professor Gimzewski, at the end of his lecture, urged and encouraged us to start taking actions to changing the environmental degradation by thinking outside of the box. This further confirms my belief that math, art, and science combined together can not only inspire creative works, but also lead to actual visions and benefits to our future.

Proof of attendance: picture of professor Gimzewski and me


References:

Weintraub, Linda. Ecocentric Art Science Symposium. CNSI, Los Angeles. 23 Apr. 2017. Lecture.

Gimzewski, James. Ecocentric Art Science Symposium. CNSI, Los Angeles. 23 Apr. 2017. Lecture.

Pinterest.com <https://www.pinterest.com/pin/99219998013631902/>

Lee, Jae Rhim, "N=1=NPK=KIMCHI=N" Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2006. Web. 23 Apr. 2017.

Donyae Coles. "Nanobubbles – cute name for a powerful anti-pollution innovation." N.p., 8 Aug 2016. Web. 23 Apr. 2017 <http://www.redferret.net/?p=53142>

TEDx Talks. "Using science to clean up a wetland | Marino Morikawa | TEDxTukuy." YouTube. YouTube, 31 Jul. 2015. Web. 23 Apr. 2017.

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 24, 2017 at 3:34 PM

    Hi,

    I really enjoyed your post this week. I found the mobile living unit particularly interesting! Art has always been used to illuminate social issues that plague our communities, as evidenced by the countless propaganda art created during war times and in the midst of promoting social movements. However, the mobile living unit was the first time I've heard of urinal processing system literally being integrated in the creation of art. I thought it was a fascinating cause that really grabbed my attention, probably how it grabbed the attention of those who viewed the mobile living art. It's a great example of how science can emphasize and better illuminate social issues.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DESMA 9 Week 2 Blog

Image
    Making Art From Equations     This week's lecture is about the convergence of Math and Art.  As a significant part, or even "base" of all science, math plays a pivotal role in all aspects of life, even art!  In anything from a detailed drawing, to graphic design, to architecture, math is at work in tandem with art.  Especially nowadays, art is being taken to whole new lengths beyond just a palette and a canvas. Designers are now able to use computers to develop their own unique styles of art that help bring their craft into the technologically advanced 21st century.  This first article i read summed this all up pretty well: "Art is illusion, and transformations are important in creating illusion." These transformations are only made possible by the computers and the mathematics behind the computers that help this art come to life.          I still remember the following TED talk that I came across years ago, which is very relevant to our discussion
Read more
Image
  DESMA 9 Week 1 Blog       We have covered the topic of "two cultures" in this week,  two worlds of thinking, that of the arts and that of the sciences.  It is the conception and stereotype that scientists believe literary intellectuals to be "lacking in foresight" and "restricting of art to the existential", while artists think of scientists as "unaware of man's condition" and "shallowly optimistic" that caused the divergence.  It is interesting to me that C.P Snow, the man who coined the phrase "Two Cultures" in the 1950s, wanted the title of his lecture to be "The Rich and the Poor".  This in itself is evidence that there are many types of culture gaps between groups in our society. I'm from China, and in most Chinese universities students are separated into two groups of liberal art and science. And misunderstandings arise with stereotypes and conflicts between them. For example, most parents want
Read more

DESMA 9 Week 9 Blog

Image
    I found Dr. Vesna's summary of Space in popular culture over time to be quite interesting. She discussed the history from Copernicus, to Galileo, to Arthur C. Clarke's space elevator, to sputnik, to Laika, to the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong (Vesna). I was well aware of the impact of Star Wars and other more recent science fiction pieces due to growing up with them, however, I did not realize the impact of Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot or shows like Lost in Space until I watched this discourse.  Corpernicus' Heliocentric Model http://usercontent1.hubimg.com/4891706_f248.jpg     When I think of space and art overlapping, I think of the film Gravity that came out in 2013. It is a story about how an astronaut is able to return back to earth after a failed mission in space (Gravity 2013 Extended Trailer). I remember when I saw this in IMAX and the visuals were stunning. This allowed me to see space in a way I never had imagined it before. It is inter
Read more