Unit 3: Robotics + Art

The idea of robotics arose during the Industrial Revolution, “as a response to the mechanization of labor” (Vesna). The concept of automation and mass production became prevalent and continues to exist in our daily lives. As robots permeate into people’s daily lives, robots threaten humanity’s culture by taking jobs away from humans and posing as a large risk to the essence of human nature itself.

Robots are becoming more human-like

There are multiple estimates that robots will displace millions of people from their jobs by 2035 (Winick). This is a foreshadowing that something similar that occurred during the Industrial Revolution will occur in the future. Automation can help improve our lives, but threatens to take our jobs away. Yet, society accepts automation because without automation, society risks falling behind in this industrialization race. The idea of mechanization and robots is prevalent in industrialized countries including Japan and the United States, but both culture have different perspectives. In the United States, robots were vital to the Industrial Revolution and generally designed to perform one specific task (Kusahara).

Baymax 

In Japan, robots are important to Japan’s mechanization, but are more human-like or humanoid in nature. This was seen in the movie Big Hero 6 where the movie’s protaganist Baymax is a robot that is less robotic and more soft and friendly. Baymax’s main function is to provide healthcare and he excels at his function, while possessing many human characteristics and relatable quirks including curiosity and clumsiness. While the United States has long separated robots from humans by portraying robots as a menace in media, the line is getting blurred. David Hanson has designed robots that are capable of facial expressions and possess a “character engine” (Hanson). Zeno is a robot that is being mass manufactured, and Hanson aims to bring Zeno to the masses as a companion and teacher for children. While robots have not reached human empathy levels, robots become more human-like as technology advances. 

As Walter Benjamin said, there is an aura of authenticity that surrounds the original artifact or artwork. Thus, reproduced robots will never reach the authentic essence of humans theoretically. At the same time, with mechanical reproduction, robots have become more apparent and conventional. Similar to the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s, new technology and processes have developed and the public has slowly grown accustomed to the pervasive influence of robots and technology in industrialization.

                                                    Zeno, mass-produced robot 

Sources: 

Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Germany,  1936.

Hanson, David "Robots that 'show emotion' " TED Talk, uploaded by TED, February 2009, https://www.ted.com/talks/david_hanson_robots_that_relate_to_you/up-next
Harkins, Sarah. Humans vs Robots. https://medium.com/so-digital/post-14-100dde355674. Accessed 18 April 2018. 

Kusahara, Machiko. "Robotics MachikoKusahara 1" YouTube, uploaded by uconlineprogram, 14 April 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQZ_sy-mdEU 

"RoboKind ZENO R50: Robot Introduction" YouTube, uploaded by Robokind Robotics, 26 April 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWhyExDKe4Q 
Vesna, Victoria. "Robotics pt1" YouTube, uploaded by ucolineprogram, 15 April 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRw9_v6w0ew 
Vesna, Victoria. "Robotics pt2" YouTube, uploaded by uconlineprogram, 15 April 2012,   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAZ8bo9T_Pk

Winick, Erin "Every study we could find on what automation will do to jobs, in one chart". Business Impact, 25 January 2018, https://www.technologyreview.com/s/610005/every-study-we-could-find-on-what-automation-will-do-to-jobs-in-one-chart/. Accessed 21 April 2018.  

http://www.createcg.net/baymax-big-hero-6-free-3d-model/ Accessed 18 April 2018. 

Unit 2: Math + Art

Math, art, and science are three distinct branches, but they can impact and inspire one another. In fact, all three branches strive to understand and explore the natural world, and describe it in multiple dimensions (Henderson). Specifically, mathematics is the study of relationships of numbers, proofs, and symbols; it is a way of arranging numbers into a system (uconlineprogram). This form of organization is interpreted by our brains as orderly and likable, which is why mathematics has had a profound influence on art. Realistic art has always been fascinating to me because of how tangible it seems. One way that realistic art can be depicted is through one-point perspective. Not only is there a specific geometric method for drawing in one-point perspective, there is also a specific formula for optimal viewing of one-point perspective pieces (Frantz).

Perspective technique

Throughout the course of time, techniques have evolved and the relationship between math and art have shifted. In the 20th century, artists became interested in the idea of the fourth dimension of space, leading to the disappearance of one-point perspective and rise of surrealism (Henderson). On the other end, abstract art’s deceiving simplicity also has mathematical basis. There are times when I have viewed abstract artwork, and believe that it could have been made by randomly throwing splotches of paint at a canvas. Upon closer inspection, abstract art is based on fractals, as seen through Jackson Pollock’s works (Ouellette).

Pollock's Ocean Greyness is made of fractals

I am particularly drawn to the use of pure numbers in art because art and pure numbers seem to be located on opposite spectrums. The golden ratio is the basis of historical and modern architecture and many pieces of artwork, including Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Le Corbusier’s buildings; it even explains how we innately categorize the ideal face (Ruska). In particular, pi is interesting to me because it is a never-ending, irrational number that is significant in the field of mathematics. Martin Krzywinski is an artist that exemplifies the use of math in his artwork; he creates art based on systematically color coding each digit of pi and manipulating this system in various ways. Although pi is a seemingly random number, Krzywinski’s work is aesthetically pleasing and orderly. Since math is a language, when pi is depicted in this manner, a pattern materializes leading to a creative work of art (visavedlatinv).

Color coding each digit of pi

Connecting each digit of pi to a different digit with a chord 

Sources:

“Fractals-Mandelbrot” YouTube, uploaded by DlimitR, 17 June 2006, https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ivRQDbAduoM

Frantz, Marc “Lesson 3: Vanishing Points and Looking at Art” 2000, Accessed 12 April 2018.

“Golden Ratio- The Perfect Face & Change the Sex of People” YouTube, uploaded by Jimmy Ruska, 23 July 2007, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO3o9drC1mQ

Henderson, Linda. “The Fourth Dimension and Non-Euclidean Geometry in Modern Art: Conclusion.” Leonardo, Vol. 17, No. 3. (1984), pp. 205-210, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1575193. Accessed 15 April 2018.  

Krzywinski, Martin https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/03/14/10-stunning-images-show-the-beauty-hidden-in-pi/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1342d1ca25a8 Accessed 11 April 2018.

Ouellette, Jennifer. “Pollock’s Fractals.” Discover, 1 November 2001, http://discovermagazine.com/2001/nov/featpollock. Accessed 15 April 2018.

Pollock, Jackson. "Ocean Greyness" https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/348. Accessed 15 April 2018. 

“Pi movie trailer” YouTube, uploaded by visavedlatinv, 30 July 2006, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ1sZSCz47w

“Mathematics-pt1-ZeroPerspectiveGoldenMean.mov” YouTube, uploaded by uconlineprogram, 9 April 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMmq5B1LKDg http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Perspective.html Accessed 11 April 2018.