Jasmine's DESMA Blog

For my second event, I attended the California Science Center's latest exhibit: "Dogs! A Science Tail". The exhibit examined the relationships between humans and their dogs, and dogs and one another. Through a series of interactive exhibits I was able to learn the reasoning behind many dog behaviors such as sniffing one another, and the origins and evolution of what we now know as domesticated dogs. The interactions varied in type, but the exhibit started with the testing of human speed versus different breeds of dogs. I really liked how easy it was to engage in the information, and how family friendly the environment was. Each piece of the exhibit paired technology and science together in ways that would be beneficial to learn and apply knowledge in. From racing dogs, to training them in a virtual simulation, the creativity allowed for a simply way to educate yourself, while also having fun. In context to this class, the exhibit was representative of how a...

In examining BioTech and art I look at the questions provided in relation to Ruth West.  Is life itself a valid expressive medium? How do we define and value artistic media and technologies? And ultimately, are there (or should there be) limits to human creativity? Victimless Leather via TCA Project In trying to answer these questions is it important to understand the definitions of both biotech and art, and the fluidity of both of them. Biotech is the pairing of " cellular and biomolecular processes to develop technologies and products that help improve our lives and the health of our planet" (Bio). As mentioned frequently throughout my various blogs, art is expression through various mediums. Its definition is fluid and I find the definition of biotech to be equally as fluid as well. The intersection of the two is seen through many different displays. The Museum of Modern Art in New York, actually has its own bioart exhibit-- in a leather jacket was made using ...

This past week I attended UCLA's Sound + Science 2.0 program, in which different speakers and presenters expressed different ways in which sound and science intertwine. The first presenter I saw went by the name of Ivana Dama-- Dama designed a program that could turn a microscope into an instrument. Originally born in Yugoslavia, now Serbia, Dama had a different perspective on sound and vibrations because her experiences with bombings within her native country. In translating that curiosity, she sought to create a musical instrument that could be accessible to everyone and could showcase the pairing of science and art. Her performance consisted of using the microscope to create sounds in relation to the slides that it was examining. Her presentation was really interesting in that it showed how art can be unconventional and far from traditional. Following Ivana Dama, James Gimzewski, a Polish researcher, presented on quantum entanglement and the sounds that can come from it. His p...