Week 8: Nanotech + Art

 

Nanotechnology is how people interact with the microscopic unseen world of atoms and molecules. Just talking about it sounds like a conversation from the future and it was hard for me to imagine what ways nanotechnology would intersect with art. Through Dr. Jim Gimzewski’s guidance, I was able begin understanding the nature of the microscopic world and its influence on the world at large.

Image Credit: (British Musuem Images, n.d.)

As a history major at UCLA, I was surprised to learn of the use of nanoparticles by ancient and medieval civilizations to produce different works of art. The use of nanoparticles of gold alloys to produce different colors was an amazing feat that I would have attributed to a modern artisan had Dr. Gimzewski not brought it to my attention. The manipulation of particles on the nanoscopic scale has since advanced greatly in precision and scope.

Image Credit: (Sommerer & Mignonneau, 2002)

 Modern science allows the us to move and manipulate individual atoms to produce various effects including the production of words and pictures. My favorite use of nanotechnology in the realm of art production is the work of Christa Sommerer & Laurent Mignonneau, who use magnets to allow guests to determine the structure of an invisible shape. Learning about the varied ways in which people are currently able to interact with the microscopic world of atoms and molecules fascinates me more than the futuristic and, as of yet, unobtainable and unrealistic portrayals of nanotechnology in pop culture and media.

Image Credits

British Musuem Images. (n.d.). Lycurgus Cup. British Musuem Images. https://www.bmimages.com/results.asp?txtkeys1=lycurgus%20cup.

Sommerer , C., & Mignonneau, L. (2002). Nanoscape. Nanoscape an invisible interactive sculpture. http://www.interface.ufg.ac.at/christa-laurent/WORKS/artworks/Nanoscape/Nanoscape.html.

 

Resources

Curtin, J. (2010). art in the age of nanotechnology A Perth International Arts Festival exhibition . Art.Base. https://art.base.co/event/2104-art-in-the-age-of-nanotechnology#6.

Daw, R. (2012, April 24). Nanotechnology is ancient history. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/nanotechnology-world/nanotechnology-is-ancient-history.

Sunipapramanik. (2017, May 12). Art Conservation and Nanotechnology: A Wonderful Confluence of Arts and Sciences. Sustainable Nano. https://sustainable-nano.com/2017/05/12/art-conservation-and-nanotechnology/.

UC Online. (2012). Nanotech Jim pt2. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEp6t0v-v9c&t=820s.

Vesna, V., & Gimzewski , J. (n.d.). The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of fact & fiction in the construction of a new science. http://vv.arts.ucla.edu/publications/publications/02-03/JV_nano/JV_nano_artF5VG.htm.