EVENT 3: The Discovery Science Center

 

Boy did this place take me back! The Discovery Science Center is a really cool place targeted for kids but can still fun for people of all ages! There are definitely a lot of examples of Math & Art, Robotics & Art, and Technology & Art in all the cool exhibits, but I'm choosing to focus on the environmentally conscious games available for kids to play. Below is a picture of a game for kids that highlights the importance of recycling.

The next game was a fully stocked, artificial grocery store where kids can pretend to grocery shop while learning the damage each product can cause to the planet. 

And the next was my favorite which was an interactive game that teaches kids how to properly dispose of any household products that can be toxic to themselves and the environment. I took a video because its pretty cool!

Although these games relate closer to environmental problems then art, I can relate it to the Nanotechnology unit because the planetary damage being caused by toxic waste products is happening on a nanoparticle level. 

EVENT 2: The Bowers Museum

Growing up in Orange County, CA I have visited the Bowers multiple times before, but by using the knowledge I have gained from this course I was able to see the museum from a different perspective. Last quarter I had taken a Chinese Religions course which really inspired me here at the Bowers. The museum had a lot of Chinese art and history but the piece I found incorporated the Desma unit about Two Cultures from week one was an ancient Chinese gong called the "Temple Drum."

The drums main symbol is the Yin and Yang. Being a new expert in Chinese religious philosophy I was able to know that Yin and Yang is a Daoist principle that describes how apparently opposite or contrary forces are actually complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another, similar to the way we studied Two Cultures. Both represent many tangible dualities (such as light and dark, fire and water, and male and female) and are thought of as physical manifestations of the two. 

The drum is painted beautifully and was truly magnificent to see. It's amazing that two contrasting elements can be so dependent of one another and become such a pivotal belief of chinese people. 

EVENT 1: The Hammer Museum

A few weeks ago, my teammates and I decided to check out the Hammer Museum. I had never been before and was not expecting to see a very modern, comforting space. Being a Geography/Environmental Studies major, I was immediately drawn towards the architecture in nature section. I was intrigued by two proposed models of how to build beautiful gardens in the desert. Of course, these man-made oasis would not naturally form in that type of climate which is what makes it special.

The first artist proposes a public park in the Indian desert by building it somewhat "underground." This way the natural environment is preserved instead of destroyed. The construction of the oasis should be an inspiration to many other architects because there is a way to build wonderful landscapes without destroying our Earth's natural state. This piece can be related to the BioTech & Art unit in a way because the project works to create a hybrid environment of two climates with the intention of bettering the space. This is what biotechnologists work to achieve in the laboratory with GMOs and mutant animals.

Below is another proposed model of the same type of underground desert oasis.