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On Saturday, I attended a performance known as the Laboratory of Embodied Intelligences. In the introduction to the performance, Nina Waisman, one of the main choreographers of the piece, explained what the dancers were doing and what they were trying to convey. Microbes are small, living microorganisms that we were said to have evolved from. In Waisman's piece, dancers would mimic and portray the ways in which these unicellular organisms travel, communicate, and interact. At first, the performance was confusing because I did not fully understand what the dancers were doing. However, the farther we got into the performance, the more I began to understand it. This performance was especially amazing because the dancers never broke character—even when people walked past and through their performances. It consisted of them making fast and quick movements with abrupt stops to allow us to see how microbes transport themselves while other parts of the performance conveyed their m

On May 25, 2017, I attended an event known as LASER, a monthly rendezvous that has happened for the past few years in order to allow those who are involved in both the arts and sciences to present the research they have done on a particular topic or to give insight into a new project they are working on. Stefanie Volland Topics ranged from architecture presentations by Hans Barnard about ancient Egyptian civilizations and their artifacts to Stefanie's Volland's presentation on the eye, specifically focusing on the intricate make up of the photo receptors . Nonetheless, the presentation that I found to be the most intriguing was Behnaz Farahi's research on interactive technology and the human body. She mentioned a cape that was interactive with the body, such that when you breathe, it breathes with you.  Behnaz Farahi  This overall course focuses on the combination of science and art and I found it quite intriguing that she incorporated this into fashion t

The topic of Neuroscience and Art for this week was extremely interesting to me, especially given the fact that I am a psychology major. As a psychology major, I study the brain and the different things that may affect it. At first,   I did not quite understand how Neuroscience and a rt could be used simultaneously until Professor Vesna explained the concept of Brainbow. Picture of Brainbow This use of fluorescent proteins to distinguish between different neurons in the brain was beautiful to look at but also possessed a sensible use, such that scientists are able to track brain activity and observe these neurons more closely because they are more distinguishable. This was probably my favorite display of art and neuroscience throu ghout this week's material  because it combines the   functionality and creativity that can be displayed through the combination of art and science .   Out of the material given to us this week, I found the lecture on Neurochemicals to be one

In this week's lecture, we learned about one of the more controversial topics revolving around the intersections between art and science. In each of the lectures, Professor Vesna talks about the different organizations and artists that have become relevant by progressing in their combinations of art and biotechnology.   These issues become controversial when artists begin to create hybrids or alter the genetic codes of living creatures—mainly animals. I feel as if the use of animals and other living organisms to express art has an inherent feel of "playing God," such that some artists feel that they have a message to relay to the world by altering the biological features of another creature.   Stelarc, an artist, had an ear surgically attached to his arm T ransgenic animals are animals that have been  genetically  altered for scientific purposes.  I feel that art and technology are similar due to the fact that they both make advancements overtime and push boundaries t