Shyam Patel Desma9

For my first event, I was able to attend Art and Alchemy with Ann McCoy. The reason I selected this as my first event was that, Alchemy was something I had zero knowledge of, and after a quick definition search, I wanted to learn more about it. It was fascinating hearing about McCoys past experiences and the way they fueled her art. You were able to see so many details in her artwork that showed you how much time and thought went into each piece. What this made me think about most, strangely, was fever dreams. Usually when I have been sick is when I have also had some of my most vivid dreams. Albeit, those are not dreams that are exactly pleasant, rather more chaotic similar to what I felt McCoy’s art was like. Personally, these kinds of dreams are often also the most memorable as well. I think some of the most interesting content in the event was the talk about the subconscious. I often think about the ideas of my conscious and subconscious minds. I am someone who thinks a lot and tal...

Medicine has been something that has interested me since I was young. My mom pushed me growing up to study math and science so that I could become a doctor. Even though I did not end up going to college to pursue this occupation, I still learned so much about medicine through personal learning and even by watching shows like Grey’s Anatomy.  One of the most fascinating parts of medicine for me has always been advanced scans. I have often had these done when going to the dentist for example and also when I suffered injuries like concussions playing sports growing up. This week I learned just how recent the technology really is with MRIs and CAT scans and it got me thinking about how in the near future it is very possible that we can make these machines safer and more accessible so that the average person can constantly receive scans to identify any health risks early and that will drastically improve the overall health of the population. Things similar to this are already being done...

Robotics and Art Walter Benjamin’s “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” highlights the key point of the uniqueness/aura of art and that is destroyed by reproduction. In some ways, I agree with what Benjamin is saying. This specific argument has many claims to support both sides. In terms of spreading information like what the printing press was able to do, reproduction is a good thing because it allows the spread of ideas and information to a much larger audience. This is also the case with the modern printing press: Ford’s assembly line. It improved the quality of life for the majority and is one of the most notable moments in American history.  However, it is true that in many instances, the reproduction of art and work can be a bad thing. The drawback of this includes Taylorism. It dehumanizes workers and caused many labor issues, especially in other countries. Child labor was prevalent and workers had little job security or bargaining power in these types of ...

 Week 2 - Math + Art The artist that really stood out to me was Leonardo Divinci. He has always been the most interesting historical figure to me personally. His work with the golden ratio and the Fibonacci sequence is really some of the most interesting and influential work of all time. The image of the Vitruvian man is what I always remember when imagining Di Vinci and I never knew so much about it until these lectures.  Some of the most interesting math and art combination to me is how much architecture is influenced by math and the golden ratio. I have always been fascinated by skyscrapers and unique buildings in architecture, especially modern ones and it is so interesting to see how long math has been used in architecture. One of the coolest examples I was able to see in person was the Taj Mahal in India that this video describes the math behind it perfectly.  This week really taught me how intertwined art and math really were and how advanced this combination has b...

Walking on UCLA’s campus, I see that the buildings are very differently designed when comparing North and South Campus. Being from New Jersey, this reminded me a lot of when I used to visit New York City growing up. South Campus, where many Stem Majors take their classes, is very modern, seems less open, and very industrial-like. This reminded me a lot of the busy streets of Manhattan when I was first going there because of how busy and hectic it seemed. North Campus, on the contrary, reminded me more of an area like Central Park where it is more open, green, calm, and there is art scattered around which makes the whole place look very beautiful and scenic.  As a double major in both economics and statistics, I often go to both North and South campus for my classes and can see the differences that exist not only in just how it looks but also in the perception of the students who take classes in these respective areas. There seems to be a rivalry between the two where both sides see...