Extra Event #2: What’s wrong with fat?

It is very lucky to get to see the specialists working in different areas to share their thoughts about “what’s wrong with fat”. The organizer is very great as we have professors from department of sociology, gender studies, medical school and the author of the book to talk to us their own knowledge or opinions over this issue. Their differentiated perspectives help the audience learn about this more holistically.

The guest speakers are very professional and they share some wonderful ideas over the issue of fatness. They first share about their feelings/thoughts after reading the book, and then talk about their own experience related to this topic. I thought it is common sense that being fat means being unhealthy. There are definitely health risks from being fat, but people tend to put too much attention on the negative effect on this issue.

I like professors sharing their opinions which may not be coherent with the viewpoints from the book. In fact, the guest speakers talked about what part of the book that they disagree with the author. Before stepping into the conference room, I thought that this talk will be fairly one-sided. However, the guest speakers share something different from the points in the book, which is very interesting to me and lead me to more brainstorming.

I also appreciate the author’s effort of looking at the fatness issue from a standpoint of a sociologist. I also have some fat friends, and sometimes their fatness may be something which causes them to get teased. I have never thought about the social impact of fatness and how people should look at this issue. This talk brought me a lot of fresh thoughts and made to reflect on my personal feelings over the topic.

I really appreciate this opportunity to listen to professors from different departments to talk about the issue of fatness. I will probably read this book during the winter break. I guess I will definitely enjoy reading it as I gained so much from this talk.

the guest speakers and the author of the book

the host

having lunch before the event

Reference:

"What's Wrong with Fat? A Book Discussion with Abigail Saguy." — Center for the Study of Women. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. <http://www.csw.ucla.edu/events/whats-wrong-with-fat-a-book-discussion-with-abigail-saguy>.

"UCLA Professor Abigail Saguy on What's Wrong with Fat?" Reason.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. <http://reason.com/reasontv/2013/03/18/ucla-professor-abigail-saguy-on-whats-wr>.

"What's Wrong with Fat?" - Hardcover. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. <http://global.oup.com/academic/product/whats-wrong-with-fat-9780199857081?cc=us>.

Extra event #1: Fowler Museum

I have been taking classes in Fowler since freshman year, but I have never been to a single showroom in Fowler before this visit. I thought that Fowler Museum is always there, just a few minutes away from any building on campus, so I do not have the intention of going there. I really regret for that, and I should visit Fowler again before graduation.

The above art piece is very interesting to me. It is a female figure found at Murik Lakes, Coastal Sepik region, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea for 19th century or earlier. Just looking at the human face, I believe that it is hard to tell whether this is a male or female figure. This one is more like monkey look rather than a modern human face. I wonder if this is a good-looking or not so pretty girl at that period. I wonder what a typical male face is like. I wonder what the art piece is made for. Is it made by a professional or just some amateurs?  I guess I have too much curiosity over one single art piece, but it is pretty fun to make guesses on such things.

There are several exhibitions going on in the museum, and I find out that most of that have strong connection with history. This piques my interest as history has been my favorite subject since very young. No matter which country that the history refers to, the things from ancient times and the process of historical development always interest me to a large extent. When looking at something from the past and reading the description of it, I will always think about how people at that time use or deal with it. I will try to imagine how I will live and what I can do at that time period. Imagining things in old time is always very fun.

Reference:

"Overview of Collections | Fowler Museum at UCLA." Overview of Collections | Fowler Museum at UCLA. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. <http://www.fowler.ucla.edu/collections>.

"Current Exhibitions | Fowler Museum at UCLA." Current Exhibitions | Fowler Museum at UCLA. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. <http://www.fowler.ucla.edu/exhibitions/current>.

"Publications | Fowler Museum at UCLA." Publications | Fowler Museum at UCLA. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. <http://www.fowler.ucla.edu/publications>.

Event #3: Le Reve-The Dream

I was in Vegas during Thanksgiving holiday and got a chance to watch “Le Reve-The Dream”, a water ballet show with the help of modern technology. When I was in the theater, I was very impressed by the visual impact of the entire show, and I believe that this show is a perfect combination of art and technology.

    a photo taken before the show

This show wish to set up a warm, romantic and mysterious environment and it aims to put all the audience to feel like in a dream. The storyline is quite old-fashioned: the female protagonist and the male protagonist met and fell in love, then separated, and then got together again in the end. There are 84 cast members in this show, including several clowns, dancers, swimmers and generalists. Besides them, this show is very well supported by a large group of backstage people, such as musicians, technicians, doctors and stage management people. Some of the swimmers were former participants in Olympic Games. All of their dedications and effort make this event a huge success.

       the aqua elevator stage

Technology is widely used on the stage. I am always very interested in stage 

management, as great stage management will lift the show to a higher level. Stage lighting, including lasers and fog machines, is the key factor in creating great visual impact. The elevator stages with the control of water level enable the performance to be conducted in a changing environment. The wire suspension system helps the performers to fly and guarantees the safety of each of them.

       the wire suspension system

I am very impressed by the visual impact of this performance. I feel the power of Le Rêve – The Dream's provocative twist on water ballet. From a thrilling high-dive to an underwater tango, the show mesmerizes me from beginning to end. The Aqua Theater is so intimate, and I feel like I am part of the dream.



         great visual impact

If given a chance, I will be very happy to watch this show again. It is a wonderful journey of romance, action and fantasy.

Reference:

"Le Rêve - The Dream." /event/le-rve---the-dream/8152/?src=paidmedia|7779905|714784|100802357|274031936|0|. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. <http://www.lasvegas.com/event/le-rve---the-dream/8152/>.

Event #2: Hammer Museum

I was very happy to get a chance visiting Hammer Museum with a couple of friends. Hammer Museum provides a wonderful platform for students to learn about various artists and their great artworks. I believe building this museum is a great investment from the school and it is really great having a trip there at zero cost.



In the first place, the project “Cabaret Crusades” catches my attention. The Egyptian artist Wael Shawky initiated this project to tell the story of Crusades by showing puppet films about this period of time. I like his idea of using puppet in this short film. Puppet is created in ancient time and is a perfect representative of ancient art. The usage of puppet is the key element which enhances the mythical atmosphere of the film.




"a screenshot of the puppet film"


Secondly, I am very interested in a drawing called “View of Maya” by Forrest Bess. I guess most people do not understand what the artist is trying to convey in this masterpiece. The description tells me that the view of Maya refers to spiritual duality, illusions and other ideas of consciousness. I believe the contrast between the two colors in this painting represents the duality part. The stripes in line show some form of patterning and regularity. In the other hand, the purposely made overlapping of colors may refer to the uncertainty of illusions. I like these two colors the artist used in this painting. These two colors strengthen the contrast without have too much visual impact to me.



“View of Maya”



Lastly, I am intrigued by the masterpiece “Le passe. Le present. L’avenir.(Past, Present, Future)“ by French artist Honore Daumier. The artist intended to show the untruthfulness and snobbishness of politicians. I believe the most interesting part of this artwork is the difference in the three stages. The facial expression gets most intense when it comes to future. It seems to be the same expression for all three at first sight, but I find differences in the shape of eyebrows and mouth. Putting the three stages together strengthens the visual impact of this art piece.




“Le passe. Le present. L’avenir.(Past, Present, Future)“



There are a lot more masterpieces to explore in Hammer Museum. I will definitely recommend my friends not taking this class to visit because the artworks are very insightful which always make me think. Sometimes the artwork is just too profound that I do not even know what the description means.

photos taken with the staffs





Reference:

"Collections - Hammer Museum." Collections - Hammer Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. <http://hammer.ucla.edu/collections/collections>.

"Exhibitions - Hammer Museum." Exhibitions - Hammer Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. <http://hammer.ucla.edu/exhibitions/exhibitions>.

"Programs - Hammer Museum." Programs - Hammer Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. <http://hammer.ucla.edu/programs/programs>.

Event #1: GLOW

The first event for this class I went with a group of friends is GLOW at Santa Monica Beach on September 28. This is a wonderful all-night experience featuring original commissions by various artists for their thoughtful artworks. I did not know this event before taking this class. It was really great participating in this huge artistic party.


The first artwork we saw was Djoko Walujo’s “Java: Land of Dreams”. A group of students performed Javanese dance with the beautiful gamelan accompaniment. This reminds me of my experience of studying and playing gamelan during high school days. Gamelan is a set of traditional Indonesian instruments and it requires great collaboration of all the performers. In ancient Indonesia, gamelan will only be used for very serious religious rituals or major festival celebrations, and it is a great part of the traditional Indonesian culture.


     "photo taken before the performance"

The second artwork piquing my interest was Rebecca Mendez’s Circumsolar Migration. The artist managed to record the whole process of a sea bird flying from Arctic to Antarctic. It experiences two polar summers of 24-hour daylight each year, which makes it the one creature in the world that experiences the most daylight, a reality appropriate to Glow. The artwork is also a video portrait of the artist herself. The artist is a Mexican immigrant. She told us that she had a hard time of adapting to the new environment when first moving to United States.


          "With Rebecca Mendez"


Lastly, we got a chance to talk to our Professor Victoria Vesna for her “Octopus Mandala Glow”. Professor Vesna invites people all over the world to “occupy the wheel”. Nowadays, modern technology has been playing an increasingly important role in our daily life. Professor initiated this event to stop people from being controlled and driven by the technology. Ferris wheel has been invented long ago and it is a representative of modern technology in this case. People “occupy the wheels” so as to convey the idea of “humans controlling technology”. People should be aware of the negative effect of heavy reliance on technology. Other than technology, there are definitely things which are more significant in our life.



           "With out professor"



       "I am an octopus!!"

I really appreciate the chance of participating in such a great artistic event. It will be great if I can be there again next year!

Reference:

"Glow Santa Monica." Glow New Home Page Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. <http://glowsantamonica.org/>.

Week 9 Blog Post: Space+Art

This topic for this week is space and art. It seems to be hard for me to think of any link between these two terms. However, after watching the lecture videos, I feel that there are several connections between art and space.


Firstly, the powers of Ten interests me most because most people do not really have a clear understanding of how big the space is. To think about that there are more planets out there and to think there could be other forms of life broadens the perspective of human beings. Besides, the contrast between the space and an atom make me think a lot. The space is definitely something we need to explore more because there is no limit for human beings to expand our knowledge of the space. In the other hand, an atom seems to very small, but we still need to put in more effort as people still knows little about the atomic world. The powers of Ten teaches human beings to never underestimate the complicated nature of the world.

The Milky Way Galaxy from the film, Powers of Ten, by Charles and Ray Eames

http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/powersof10/45841/images/45841-hi-10_21.jpg

Secondly, I was very interested in the part of lecture mentioning Apollo 11. The manned lunar landing means a lot as it was a historic day in human beings. It is unbelievable that the astronauts were able to have a conversation with students in Maryland from space. I find several interesting things NASA has done on its official website in the past. For example, NASA hosts “Human in space” Youth Art Competitions to raise awareness of the NASA researches and projects among the youth. NASA has several endeavors to promote space science and technology using art as a form of platform.

Apollo 11 liftoff from launch tower camera

http://history.nasa.gov/ap11ann/kippsphotos/39961.jpg

The last lecture mentions several movies and TV productions about space and art. The space technology indirectly boosts the film industry as it provides great ideas and sources for movies like 'The Core,' 'Gravity' and 'Tomorrow'. Since space science is an interesting topic to the public, the movie producers will be very happy to adopt it into the movies.

"Invasion '55"-one of the early movies with space science in 50s

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO0e1wCuO629Q7nuHev4AFhQcSpGmdpbShyphenhyphenRLIVRdys27skuery7M3iQOnmC3ePN6r5f8Zn7k1uxf4wmOprxOQxaBY7n2KTprpVNBUYZvmLi4-iKvr7XstwTS9C-wSiLoa8ZPmSSi5iy0/s1600/inv55_0001.jpg

All in all, space science and art get connected in several different areas, and the advancement of space science actually inspires the artists to produce more artworks. It is great to see the positive mutual effect between art and space science.

Reference:

"Powers of Ten. Based on the Film by Charles and Ray Eames. An Eames Office Website."Powers of Ten. Based on the Film by Charles and Ray Eames. An Eames Office Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. <http://www.powersof10.com/film>.

"Powers of Ten: How the Eames' Experimental Film Changed the Way We Look at Chicago-and the Universe." Slate Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2013. <http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2012/12/powers_of_ten_how_charles_and_ray_eames_experimental_film_changed_the_way.html>.

NASA. NASA, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2013. <http://www.nasa.gov/press/2013/november/nasa-astronauts-chat-live-from-space-station-with-maryland-students/>.

Dunbar, Brian. NASA. NASA, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. <http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo11.html>.

Lowodourink. "Modern Science Fiction Space Movies." IMDb. IMDb.com, 10 June 2011. Web. 02 Dec. 2013. <http://www.imdb.com/list/Y9BzN28vGPU/>.

Week 8 Blog Post: Nanotechnology+Art

The topic this week is nanotechnology and Art. There are several parts of the lecture influenced my understanding of this topic. The Blue Morpho Butterfly is the first thing piques my interest in this topic. The wings of the butterfly are not colored on its surface. What really happens is a manipulation of the photons which make our eye to see the color of blue. The nanotechnological approach is very interesting in the sense that a phisically small and tiny change will cause huge impact just like the color change. This method of “coloring” is also responsible for the colors of beetle shells, mother-of-pearl, soap bubbles, and the feathers of hummingbirds, blue jays, and pheasants.

A picutre of Blue Morpho Butterfly

http://www.webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/images/content/blueMorpho.jpg

Secondly, the Nano-scientists create a barrier to maintain the air pressure and bounce of the inner core of the tennis ball, Air D-Fense. This barrier extends the lifetime of each tennis ball to a double. I thought that nanotechnology is a cutting-edge science which may not be applicable in the real life of a normal human like me. However, this example changes my mind because I am a tennis lover. I believe that this barrier will reduce millions of people’s cost of buying new tennis ball. The professional tennis players will definitely love this because they save more money than a normal person. Nanotechnology is everywhere.

A thorough explanation of how the air barrier works

http://www.anntincheng.com/files/gimgs/14_picture-24.png

Lastly, the application of nanotechnology in the field of medicine may be one of the most beneficial ones to human beings. One example of nano-medicine is the use of nanotechnology for brain cancer. Nano-medical materials, which are modified at the atomic or molecular level, may have the potential to be game-changers for brain cancer patients. The blood-brain barrier (BBB), a semi-permeable membrane of tightly knit capillary endothelial cells that protects the brain from harmful substances in the blood, and the tumor cell membrane itself. Nanotechnology can be used for saving people’s life given that the death rate from brain cancer is one of the highest among all the other kinds of cancers.

the effect of the use of nano-medicines for brain cancer

http://www.nature.com/nmat/journal/v12/n11/images_article/nmat3792-f3.jpg

All in all, the use of technology has created huge impact into people’s life. Personally, I really appreciate the effort of the nano-scientists to improve the quality of my life. It will be great if it can be applied to save people’s lives just like the nano-medicines.

Reference:


"Butterflies | Causes of Color." Butterflies | Causes of Color. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://www.webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/15A.html>.


"Nanotechnology To Double The Life Of Tennis Balls and Improve Tyres - New Product."Nanotechnology To Double The Life Of Tennis Balls and Improve Tyres - New Product. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://www.azonano.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=319>.


NCBI. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23738667>.


"About Dana Press." Treating Brain Cancer with Nanomedicine. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <https://www.dana.org/news/features/detail_bw.aspx?id=35592>.


"15 Astonishing Real-Life Applications of Nanotechnology | Urbanist." WebUrbanist RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. <http://weburbanist.com/2008/08/17/15-astonishing-real-life-applications-of-nanotechnology/>.