Day 3

Today we learned a lot about the science behind contemporary art, such as differing color lights and other effects. We learned about three artists in particular: Ksuama, Flavin and Eliasson, whose artistic pieces are characterized by pintilism, lights, and physicality, respectively. This lecture really sparked my attention because I have seen Dan Flavin’s work firsthand in a museum in Los Angeles a while ago. It’s one of the things that I love about contemporary art–that it’s not all just about paintings and sculptures. The use of new innovative materials and methods such as installations, lights, and graphic design has really inspired me artistically.

Our lab visits also included a lot of information about new forms of energy such as electric cars. This reminded me a lot about a movie and discussion I had in my journalism class where we watched a movie called “Who Killed the Electric Car” and had a discussion about alternatives in relation to the oil crisis in our world. A new cleaner form is energy is necessary for the automobile industry. However, I have heard that generating electricity leads to the emission of carbon dioxide, so the idea is not perfect, though I believe it is one of the best current technologies. We also learned about solar power, in which we were shown algae that can store energy from the sun. I think the use of solar power should be more widespread because it is so readily available, clean, and powerful as long as we find a efficent method of capturing it. My friend’s roof is covered in solar panels, and it seems to be pretty efficient because he doesn’t need to pay the electricity bills. I think in this time and age, people should try out alternative forms of energy that may be safer for the environment.