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cassiedoddDESMA9 Event 3 - teamLab Planets Tokyo

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Visiting teamLab Planets Tokyo felt like diving into a different world, one where physical space, digital technology, and art merge into a single interactive experience. As soon as my teammate mentioned the possibility of exploring this exhibit, I immediately thought of DESMA 9 and how teamLab embodies various themes that we explored within this class, especially the relationship between space, perception, and interactivity. From the start of the experience, teamLab challenges traditional boundaries between viewer and artwork. The removal of your shoes was a necessity to fully immerse yourself in the art exhibits, as many of them required you to walk through water. My personal favorite water exhibit consisted of digital koi fish swimming in ankle-deep water, with the fish reacting to your movements. This art made me think of Roy Ascott's description of interactive art as the “viewer becomes a co-creator of the experience.” It was cool to be part of the piece, shaping it in real tim...

cassiedoddDESMA9 Space + Art

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When we think of space exploration, we usually imagine rockets, astronauts, and high-tech science however, space has always been about more than just data. It allows kids to have an imagination and, naturally, art. It began centuries ago when Copernicus proposed that the Sun, not Earth, was at the center of our solar system. That one idea flipped everything people thought they knew and sparked a revolution in how we see our place in the universe. The Copernican Model: A Sun-Centered Solar System In the 1600s, the telescope opened new worlds. Today, with tools like nanotechnology, we continue to reshape our understanding of the cosmos. Although it hasn't been just science. Art has contributed as well.  From ancient star charts to dreamy sci-fi landscapes, artists helped us visualize the unknown long before we had photos. Their work didn’t just fill pages and screens, it inspired real missions, inventions, and careers. Even ideas like space elevators are now being seriously explo...

cassiedoddDESMA9 NanoTech + Art

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Nanotechnology is rapidly transforming our everyday lives; from medicine to food and cosmetics, it impacts the way we live and interact with technology. Nanotechnology looks at manipulating matter on a scale of 1 to 100 nanometers, which is much smaller than the width of a human hair. Over the past few decades, nanotechnology has evolved from a concept to a practical, transformative force with countless applications in our daily lives. Nanotechnology traces back to physicist Richard Feynman’s famous 1959 lecture, where he envisioned the possibility of manipulating atoms and molecules at the smallest scales. This sparked interest in two primary approaches to nanotech, top-down methods, where large structures are broken down into smaller ones, and bottom-up techniques, where atoms and molecules naturally assemble into intricate nanostructures. These foundational ideas laid the groundwork for the cutting-edge developments we see today. Richard Feynman Lecture (1959) By the 1980s, nanote...

cassiedoddDESMA9 Week 7 Neurosci + Art

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This week’s lecture has taught me that the history of neurochemicals like cocaine and LSD isn’t just about science; it explores how we understand emotion and creativity, and maybe even deeper than that, the soul. These substances have been seen as miracle cures, mind openers, and dangerous threats, all depending on who you ask and when. Personally, before this week, I would’ve viewed it as the latter 100%, but now I can’t say I am so sure. Take Sigmund Freud, for example. In the late 1800s, he was all in on cocaine, calling it a cure for everything from depression to fatigue. He even used it himself and prescribed it to patients until things went south and fast. His failed treatment of a patient named Emma Exin, coupled with his own struggles with addiction, revealed the dangers of medical overconfidence, ultimately casting a shadow over the drug and shaping the skepticism we hold toward it today.  Image of Emma Exin Then came LSD. Albert Hofmann accidentally discovered it in 1943 ...

cassiedoddDESMA9 Event 2 Post

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  My weekly screen time is atrocious. I am fully aware that I spend too many hours consumed by a tiny device that can fit perfectly in my hands, not to mention the time spent in front of my computer or TV. So for this week’s event blog, I thought I’d challenge myself and attempt the unplug challenge. Unfortunately, attempt is the right word, not complete.  I started this challenge on Saturday morning as I had no commitments that day and felt as though I would be able to complete the challenge.  For the first few hours, it was peaceful. I went for a walk to a coffee shop, read a bit of a book I’d been putting off (Throne of Glass Series - if you know, you know), and even did some journaling. But by the afternoon, something started to creep in, a sort of restlessness that I hadn’t expected. It wasn’t just boredom. It was homesickness. As an international student, being away from home is something I’ve gotten used to on the surface. But the reality is, my phone is my connect...

cassiedoddDESMA9 Week 6 BioArt

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Is life itself a valid expressive medium? In the world of BioArt, the answer is an overwhelming yes. This emerging field redefines the boundaries of creative expression by using living matter, including but not limited to DNA, cells, bacteria, and even entire organisms, as artistic material. Founding figure Eduardo Kac has challenged the conventional divide between art and science. Kac’s GFP Bunny , a fluorescent rabbit named Alba created using jellyfish genes, demonstrates that art can now be both alive and evolving, resulting in a great ethical debate. Eduardo Kac's Fluorescent Rabbit (GFP Bunny) BioArt often gains its power not only from the completed product but from the processes behind it. Techniques such as genetic recombination, transgenics, and selective breeding have a significant symbolic weight, drawing attention to the very act of manipulating life. Marta de Menezes’s butterfly wing interventions, altering cellular development to create natural anomalies, resulted in t...