Thursday, June 2, 2016

Event 3---Fowler Lecture

     For my third event that I attended, I went to a lecture in Fowler. This lecture was given by Masa Jazbec who is a researcher and specialist of robots and androids in Japan. I thought this lecture was very interesting because she went over details about Japan. First, she went over the three different classifications the society could consider these new machines/robots/androids in order to give them a name. The three categories consist of: Androids, Geminoids, and Humanoids. Jazbec said that Geminoids are copies of actual human beings, sort of like a clone. Geminoids are the closest to actually living and breathing humans. Professor Ishiguro created a Geminoid prototype of himself as well. I found this very interesting in the fact that this robot looked exactly like him. This robot had the facia hair, the glasses, and even the facial expressions to go along with it.
     Masa Jazbeck also talked about Android science. Through android science, we can create these Geminoids by integrating robotics and science. This cognitive science allows the robots to look similar to humans by the hair, skin, facial expressions, etc. The interesting part to me, is that the robots actual have the ability to learn and get smarter as time goes on. The situation that we are at hand with is how we categorize them in our society.
     Most people are not fulling willing to let robots have a place in society. Jazbec explains that the average person in society is not prepared to accept these machines in our daily routines, because there is still some friction between the relationship of humans and robots. At the end of the lecture there was an interesting question asked directed towards Masa. The question was, if she sees robots as robots? The interesting and intriguing part of her response was that she has adapted to them. This response made me wonder if we as a society were surrounded by robots everyday, would we adapt too?
     I related this to what we are learning about by art and robotics. This relates to the art work put into constructing these robots. For example, the Geminoids are created by sculpting the face, eyes, hair, etc. Also, the robotics and technology put into creating these machines is unbelievable.
Which one is human?

Is this human or a robot?








Masa Jazbec and me on the right, and my friend on the left.








Works Cited:

123theJapan. "Humanoid Robot - Gemonoid HI-1 Android Prototype." YouTube. YouTube, 2012. Web. 02 June 2016.

Event 2--- Hammer Museum



        For my second event, I visited Hammer Musuem. I found a lot of exhibits interesting, but I found Kersel’s sculptures to be most interesting. For example, his sculpture MacArthur Park, 1996. This sculpture, in my opinion, represents art and science in one sighting. Kernel’s sculpture are often kinetic arrangements of objects that incorporate different ideas and themes. This sculpture of his includes a figure made of yellow and green painted balls lying on top of a large Fender speaker. It looks like a doll-like figure with its limbs moving up and down to the sound of Kersel’s voice singing pop songs of love and loss. (images above).
I think this sculpture represents art and science being integrated by the mechanical mechanisms needed to get this sculpture moving to the voice of the artist. Also how this sculpture incorporates a speaker and a CD player integrates the use of technology. The role of technology in this art piece represents technology and art.




The second art piece that caught my attention was this lightly pink colored tree on the wall. This tree was not painted, it was portrayed on the bar wall by a projector. This tree was also moving, like it was swaying in the wind or something. I thought this was a really interest art piece, because is integrated science, technology, and art in now piece of art. This piece of art was subtle and in the corner, but it caught my eye by the use of movement. The leaves and branches were moving to incorporate some scientific feel to it. This portrayed the use of science represented by art. 



My last experience with science and art were the spun chairs.These chairs have the appearance of a sculptural vessel. You can lean on it side to side, and you will never fall over due to the scientific calculations that came along with the creation. When you lean on these chairs, the let you rock side to side or even spin in a 360 circle. Thomas Heatherwick created this Spun chair by using a rotational molding technique to share plastic. 
Not only is this a piece of art that is sculpted to catch your eye, but it is also a convenient and fun chair to sit in. This piece of art incorporates science with the architectural background and calculations behind it, and also includes art by using a molding technique. 

Works Cited:

"Hammer Museum." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 02 June 2016.

"Home - Hammer Museum." The Hammer Museum. Web. 02 June 2016.

"Martin Kersels - ARTFORUM." Martin Kersels - ARTFORUM. Web. 02 June 2016.

"Spun Chair." - Lounge Seating. Web. 02 June 2016.