Week 10, Michelle Baba - Wrapping up the Class...

I can't believe that this is already the last blog (actually, I suppose I am a little relieved! i'm about due for a break from school...). Overall, this class ended up being a lot different than I expected - completely unlike what I imagined after reading the course information website while enrolling. I thought I was going to be learning about how to use technology and science for art rather than their relationship, the ethical dilemma, and art/science history. I must admit though, I did find myself interested in many of the topics presented. I just wish that we were able to study some of them more in-depth rather than just lightly grazing a huge list of works and subjects. I felt that Steve Kurtz (as a person & as a performance artist) was super fascinating and was a great way to start off the quarter. Learning about CP Snow's two cultures really changed how I view art and science, especially in the context of our school's campus and how it is strictly divided between north and south campus. Prior to the class, I would have never thought of the gap between the two - let alone how to bridge it. So being exposed to artists who integrate nanotechnology and robotics in their art (and reading about scientists and researchers who are inspired by artists' thoughts) was very interesting to me.

Guest lectures. So, our typical slide lectures were always packed with information, artists, and inventions that I had never heard of before... so they were enjoyable and most interesting. However, I do not feel that I can say the same about all of the Wednesday lectures. Though I did enjoy Sean Dockray's energetic personality and Casey Reas' inventive Processing program, some of the lectures from other artists and scientists at UCLA did not seem very related to the course topic of art,science, & techonology. But overall, for being the first quarter that this art/science/technology course was featured, it was very enjoyable and interesting. With some further development (and, as brought up once in discussion, the involvement of a possible second [south campus] professor?) this class has the potential to be great.