DESMA 9 Final Project - Healthy Chip

Event 3 - Orange County Museum of Art

My visit to the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) in Newport Beach was a very different experience from my trip to the Bowers Museum. The art was much more modern and there was a large variety of mediums. The scientific sides of  these works were much more evident based on the various designs that were seen. In one of the displays, an artist had attached dried flowers to an electrically run spinning base so that it created a garden that was in constant motion. It was quite eccentric and at first, a little disconcerting, yet at the same time, very beautiful. Another room displayed a video of a woman using her voice to create beats just like an instrument would.

Exterior of OCMA

What I believed to be ceramic tiles actually turned out to be photographs of the tiles all neatly arranged on the wall so that it appeared to be attached to it. It was quite realistic until you looked up close. The Visionaries Galleries contained a series of pictures made out of gemstones. They were arranged to create a separate design for each piece. I also saw a giant bright pink trumpet made out of what appeared to be yarn among other items that were made from fabric. All the actual painted art was very abstract, each picture had numerous different shapes and colors. Often times, the shapes would come together to create a bigger picture.

The Two Galleries of OCMA

I was surprised by how diverse everything seemed and how different it was from anything I had seen before. This class has really helped me see how much art is apart of science as science is apart of art. In our modern world, science has become so important to way that artists think; it is vital to creativity. I am more aware of my surroundings and when I look at something, I often analyze which aspects have scientific or artistic characteristics.

The Orange County Museum of Art is definitely the place to go if you're curious about modern and abstract art. It is most certainly different from what I'm used to but I'm glad to have gotten the chance to see this other side of art. The variety of materials that were used created an atmosphere that made it feel like you were moving forward into a new world. I think we are slowly making our way into an era of art that will include technology much of the time. It is quite inevitable since we are developing new things everyday.

Event 2 - The Bowers Museum

My trip to the Bowers Museum was very enjoyable. I was able to view artwork from all parts of the world and from many different cultures. Although I was not allowed to take many photos, I was able to take away so much knowledge of the background behind many of these masterpieces.

The first stop I made was to the exhibit on the South Pacific Islands. There was everything from ornamental jewelry such as nose rings and large shells necklaces to hand fashioned weapons such as arrows and spears. Though many of these items had practical uses, I would most definitely consider them to be art, given the time and intricacy they must have taken. Many of the displays also explained the cultural practices and ceremonies these items were an important part of.

In another part of the museum, there was a newly set up exhibit on unusual gems of the world. They were absolutely exquisite pieces of jewelry with a large variety of shapes and sizes. My favorite was a type of stone known as morganite, which appeared as a lovely peach pink color. What I immediately thought of was the scientific art of mining these gems and the process it took for it to appear the way I saw it. Though the tie is tenuous, art and science are very much indeed connected here. Without theses scientific processes, there is no way to produce the gems needs to keep the jewelry industry running.

The third exhibit I visited was something called Gems of the Medici. It was by far my favorite because of the history behind it. The Medici family was very prominent in Italian society many centuries ago. Though they were not royal, they had much political influence and were very involved in law making. Over the generations, they accumulated a magnificent collection of artwork from all eras of history which was currently being displayed at the museum. I saw many depictions of Greek mythology, medieval art and sculptural busts of many of the Medicis themselves. At the end of the exhibit, they showed a video of the process of carving one of these sculptures and the various tools that were used; it took very involved time consuming steps to get to the final product.

I would most certainly recommend making a visit to the Bowers Museum, especially if you are an art lover. You can see the subtle hints of science in everything you look at. Many of the masterpieces took precise measurements and simply put, it is unlikely that what we consider art could exist without science.

Event 1 - Discovery Science Center

For my first event, I decided to pay a visit to the Discovery Science Center. Although this place was designed to expose young children to science, I was surprised by how much I was able to take away from this experience. Almost everything that I had a chance to look at directly tied art and science together. The DSC was currently running a Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit; it showed replicas of many of his achievements in all areas of the arts and sciences. I was pleased to find many displays of the concepts we have learned in DESMA 9. There was a large projection of the Vitruvian Man with an explanation of the golden ratio and the important role it plays it aesthetics of artwork. Correct proportions are so integral yet so subtle that most of the time, we do not even give it any attention.

Vitruvian Man

Another part of the exhibit explored the history of the Mona Lisa; it may appear to a be a simple portrait but it was clearly very carefully designed and was painted in layers. Over the centuries, it has undergone many restorations and there are many subtle changes to the piece of art since it was originally painted many years ago. The actual masterpiece can be seen at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. Da Vince also spent a great deal of time in exploring the human anatomy. He made many drawings of the skeletal system and the muscles of the body. His work lay the foundation for the book known as Grey's Anatomy. We have learned from this class that human anatomy is an integral concept for artists; it has given us many insights and inspiration for new technology in all sorts of fields.

                               Mona Lisa Replica                                      Anatomical Drawings

In other parts of the museum, I saw many connections between art and space, a currently growing aspect of our own modern day society. There was a replica of the Mars Rover and interactive display that allows visitors to explore what the surface of Mars might look like. One of the coolest things I saw at the DSC was a stringless harp. It was designed so that sound could be produced when your fingers triggered the sensors on the harp. I was quite amazed that this is the kind of technology that we are capable of producing today. It was the perfect example of art and science all in one. Overall, I truly enjoyed my visit to the Discovery Science Center. It's the perfect place to see how art and science can connect at both the simplest to the most complex levels. It really helped to solidify my understanding of the many concepts that we have covered in this class and has really broadened my interest in this ever expanding field. I would highly recommend making a visit here; it was more eye-opening than I could have imagined.

Proof of Attendance