Final Statement

           Before this class, I saw no connection between art and science even though some people in art classes I had before used various methods and experiments of science in their art pieces. This semester I learnt a lot about NASA, space, and how art and science interact. I think artists and scientists are similar in a way that both asked the big question: What is it? Why does it matter? They both try to find the answers deeply. Even at JPL, the man who made topography of Mars explained that he used different colors to show different elevation of Mars surface. This shows that some of the scientific findings were integrated with art to make complex data or findings understandable to people who were not experts in that particular field. Also, it is a lot easier for people to see pictures or drawings of something rather than just listening to the explanation of it. For example,  during Jenna Levine’s lecture, even though she explained everything in a simplest way, it was hard for us to understand the equations and how black holes suck in all the lights. The perceived drawings of black holes made it a lot easier to imagine that the object could be seen around the black holes, which was also the reason why we could never hide behind the black hole.

            Apart from all the lectures and speaker events, I learnt most from my classmates. Since this class was based mostly on our own ideas, everybody had different ideas for their projects that involved usage of various medium, techniques and materials, which I think was very interesting and I was shocked to see amazing works at every critique. It also inspired me to be more and more creative with my projects unlike previous art classes that I had. I did video art pieces for my projects because I like learning new technology and it also gave me the ability to create things that I couldn’t even imagine or think of doing. Even though I struggled with it for some of my projects, it also helped me generate new creative ideas as I learnt new techniques. For my projects this semester, I mainly experimented around with the use of sounds, lights, and images and the effects of all these. My first project was mixture of fractals found in nature and human-made fractals moving around the screen with the nature sounds, such as the sound of the beach, waves, tress, and birds. Even though the soothing sound was playing, the viewers could see fractals flashing in and out of the screen, making the viewer felt uneasy.

             For Mars project, I stacked layers and layers of Mars landscape and Mars itself to illustrate the experience of multiple dimensions, inviting the viewers to explore the surface of the Mars in an intriguing way. My optical illusion was collection of different sizes of blue and red lights blinking at different times, creating an illusion of going into an unknown space. The video also had an ambient sound playing in the background to enhance the feeling from the illusion. Lastly, my final project demonstrates the intersection of art and science where I interpret/describe my experiences from sound baths through my artwork. Certain nerves were stimulated when different bowls were played and that special science stirred my mind, creating bizarre visions. I also believe it is more powerful to show than describe my experiences during sound baths. Thus, this piece invites the viewers to feel my experiences at the Integratron.