Week 8 | Nanotech + Art

This week in lecture I learned about Nano-tech + Art. This form of art differs from the past eight weeks' in that nano-tech seems to go against the common phrase, "seeing is believing" (Gimzewski and Vesna). Through the emergence of nano-tech exhibitions such as the John Curtin Gallery (specifically, the Phillips eye exhibition), it’s clear to say that nano-tech's impact on human society through medicine and art is certainly immense (Curtin).
Sunflower Nano-art, taken with a Scanning Electron Microscope (Ho)


 I found this week's lecture exciting because, as I said in my last blog post, I currently work in a synthetic biology lab working with things I cannot see like DNA. DNA, it turns out, has been the basis of many nanotech art projects! Paul Rothemund, for example, has been folding DNA along with the help of synthetic biologists and molecular programmers. This DNA “origami” creates beautiful structures that also help us learn more about DNA’s pattern behavior in its process (Rothemund). This reminds me of one of my lab member’s origami projects too, where he is trying to fold proteins instead of DNA.
DNA "Origami" (Rothemund)

Another interesting aspect of nano-tech is its blending of both robotics and medicine (Week 3 and 4). Scientists, for instance, just developed a new nano-robot that can enter the bloodstream, find blood clots, and make them visible to doctors so that a heart attack can be prevented (Washington University School of Medicine). It’s amazing what nanotechnology can do, and I’m interested in seeing where the field will progress. A lot of nano-robots have already inspired artists in painting depictions of what they think nano-tech could look like. 

An artist's depiction of a nano-robot targeting a red blood cell (Sutton and FineArtAmerica)

Unsurprisingly, many of the depictions look like small insect-like aliens (Sutton). Perhaps this just goes to show how unknown yet fascinating the emerging field of nano-tech is to both artists and scientists alike.

Sources: 
Curtin, John. "Art in the Age of Nanotechnology." Art.Base. The Art.Base, 11 Mar. 2010. Web. 28 May 2017.

Gimzewski, Jim, and Victoria Vesna. "The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of Fact & Fiction in the Construction of a New Science." The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of Fact & Fiction in the Construction of a New Science. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2017.

Ho, Ghim Wei. "Nanotechnology Now." Nanotechnology Art Gallery. University of Cambridge, n.d. Web. 28 May 2017.

Rothemund. "Dna Construction Set Ultraphyte Origami." Counter. Grupoetor.org, 26 Apr. 2017. Web. 28 May 2017.

Sutton. "Nanotechnology, Illustration." Fine Art America. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2017.

Sutton, Spencer. "Spencer Sutton's Art." Spencer Sutton's Art. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2017.

Washington University School of Medicine. "New Nanoparticles Make Blood Clots Visible." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 02 Feb. 2011. Web. 28 May 2017.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 6 | BioTech + Art

Image
This week, I learned about BioArt and how extremely controversial its projects are in regards to ethics. However, I found everything particularly interesting because I currently work in a Synthetic Biology lab on campus. The controversies of Synthetic Biology work overlap with BioArt immensely – Is it right to transfer a gene from a jellyfish into mice to make it glow in a way that nature never intended? (Vesna). Transgenic mice glowing due to "foreign" GFP gene (Herper) In my lab, I encounter these ethical issues at a milder level because I work with “mindless” bacteria (E.Coli) genomes instead of mice when inserting genes. While my perspective may be controversial, I believe that genome editing and lab-grown life/tissue (Atala) are relatively harmless and can even be applied to human gene therapy in the future when regulated carefully . However, I definitely agree that for BioTech + Art to continue advancing, it must have one of the strictest ethics and regulation bo
Read more

Week 4 | Art + MedTech

Image
In 3 rd grade, my class went on a field trip to the Body Worlds Exhibit (Vesna) at the California Science Center. Initially, I remember we had to sign parent permission forms at first. The “art” was going to be controversial, disturbing, and maybe even a little inappropriate according to the form. Nonetheless, I eagerly attended this exhibit and found it disgusting... at first. Body Worlds Exhibit: Human body during Basketball (Phys.org) I was excited to see the Body Worlds exhibit mentioned in lecture, because I didn’t realize how famous it was until now (Wong). I googled more about how the Body Worlds Exhibit has evolved since I attended years ago, and began to see the exhibit from a more artistic and anatomical standpoint, unlike my 3 rd grade self. The body itself is a work of art, though not in the stereotypical aesthetically-pleasing manner. Rather, I believe that the human body is a work of art because of how complex it is, like robots (Week 3). Surgeries, for example
Read more