Does Tech Upgrade Art?

Art has had an interesting relationship with technology over the years.  Technological advances such as paintbrushes, the printing press, and computers have opened up new ways for artists to express themselves.  However, I want to emphasize that "new" does not always mean "better". There's a reason that people still gather in ancient museums to see artwork that has stood the test of time. 

A great example of the relationship between art and tech is Digital Revolution, an art show at London's Barbican Centre. Check out the following two pieces for examples of how art is upgraded or downgraded by technology.

Upgrade

Matthew G Lloyd / Getty Images.

Remember making shadow puppets with your hands?  This piece by Chris Milk, The Treachery of Sanctuary, uses 3D camera technology to take shadow manipulation to the next level. If you've ever wanted wings, your shadow can have them applied in this exhibit. It's the next best thing!

Downgrade

Matthew G Lloyd / Getty Images.

This image is striking, but does it really need the random assortment of piano pieces and other machinery within the pyramids?  The piece would have been even more striking without it. Instead, the tech distracts from the image. Also, the piece features a hologram of rapper-i-used-to-like-but-love-to-hate will.I.am, who actually stated "This is Mona Lisa times a million". 

Yeah.

Below are some other videos from the exhibit.  For more media, check out the Barbican's visual section as well as The Verge's coverage.

Cassini Liked It So He Put A Ring On It

Saturn in natural color, photographed by Cassini, 2004

If you've seen a recent photo of Saturn (such as the one above), it's likely from the Cassini spacecraft. The 10th anniversary of the Cassini spacecraft reaching the Saturn system (the planet and its moons) occurred on June 30th.  The spacecraft is named after Giovanni Cassini, an accomplished scientist who, among other things, noted a gap between the rings of Saturn now known as the Cassini Division. This is the dark area within the rings of the above photo.

Ten years later, and our understanding of our system has been greatly enhanced by the discoveries of the Cassini spacecraft. Check out an infographic followed by the top 10 accomplishments of the program:

Below are the top accomplishments from the Cassini spacecraft in the past 10 years:

-- The Huygens probe makes first landing on a moon in the outer solar system (Titan)

-- Discovery of active, icy plumes on the Saturnian moon Enceladus

-- Saturn’s rings revealed as active and dynamic -- a laboratory for how planets form

-- Titan revealed as an Earth-like world with rain, rivers, lakes and seas

-- Studies of Saturn's great northern storm of 2010-2011

-- Studies reveal radio-wave patterns are not tied to Saturn’s interior rotation, as previously thought

-- Vertical structures in the rings imaged for the first time

-- Study of prebiotic chemistry on Titan

-- Mystery of the dual, bright-dark surface of the moon Iapetus solved

-- First complete view of the north polar hexagon and discovery of giant hurricanes at both of Saturn's poles

Check out the infograph below for a nice summary:

Check out the top Saturn images selected by the Cassini team!

Action Items from Blogging While Brown 2014

If you have a question at a conference, ask it!  I'm asking about how churches handle technology and social media in the modern age

The Blogging While Brown conference, now in its 7th year, is a great place for bloggers of color to convene, learn, and have fun.  I attended for the second time, and while it was fun to return home to the New York area, I wanted to leave with some action items to implement.  I'm going to make the list public so that I can be held accountable - feel free to call me out!

1. Develop a writing schedule
   • Currently aim for weekly content, but I'd to do something more concrete.  I'm going to start writing 30 min on Mon, Wed, and Fri  - even if that means only one blog post goes out a week. The end goal is to have 2-3 posts a week.
2. Investigate STEM freelancing opportunities
   • Begin pitching article ideas to publications that I'm already reading.  Even if I'm rejected several times, I'll still gain valuable pitch writing skills.
3. Provide STEM services for local businesses
   • Starting with the local Chamber of Commerce, I'm going to create a list of small businesses that may benefit from someone with a STEM background.  Eventually I'm going to increase the range from Milwaukee to Chicago
4. Increase Science / Math tutoring opportunities
   • Get list of existing tutoring opportunities in libraries, churches, community centers, etc that fit the hours of 6-8 on weekdays or anytime on the weekends.
   • Consider starting my own tutoring service
5. Speak at a conference
   • Create a speaker link on the site, which will borrow content from the Press section. The section will include a list of topics I can speak on, and video / photography of me speaking.
   • After the section is created, I can refer to it when apply to science related conferences for speaking.

STEM GOOOOAAAAALLLLLS

Cosmos was awesome, so I definitely had to get the DVD! Click on the pic to access my Cosmos posts!

In the spirit of the World Cup, let's check out some important goals to achieving diversity within the STEM community. But first .... Germany's Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA's Reid Wiseman and Steve Swanson are both celebrating advancing to the next stage of the World Cup.  Check out some quick soccer moves on the International Space Station (ISS).

We've made great progress in a few STEM diversity goals - let's check em out!

1) Highlighting women in science.

While we will always advocate for more women in STEM, we don't want to forget about the ones that are representing right now!  Kyla McMullen has done a great job to help us reach this goal. Her list of the Sexiest Black Female Scientists, which was inspired by a similar Business Insider list that featured no women of color, was all over the net recently. Check it out to see some gorgeous, intelligent women that are contributing to the world in a huge way.

2) Showing a diversity of scientists on mainstream TV

Neil deGrasse Tyson, a Black astrophysicist, conquered Westeros and Essos and consistently topped ratings in the Sunday evening time slot for Cosmos. I hosted live tweets every Sunday and had great engagement and participation from science lovers and newbies alike.  Tyson definitely helped show the world that a person of color can successfully lead a science program.

3) Showing a diversity of video game makers and shakers

The people behind the gaming industry tend to be white and male - not representative of the diverse set of people that enjoy games. Recently, Aisha Tyler continued her excellent hosting duties during the largest video game industry conference of the year (Ubisoft's press conference at E3 2014).  She also interviewed with NPR about diversity in the gaming space.  Finally, I've been lucky enough to be a part of several episodes of the Spawn On Me podcast, which focuses on people of color within the gaming industry.

I'll make sure to check in on these goals and others!

#Cosmos E13 - World B Free

Well ... that's it. Cosmos is done!  On one hand, it means that I can return to regular science blogging on this site.  I am sad though - it's truly been a great experience to share this show with you and others that realize the impact that science has in your life.  Congratulations to Fox, Seth McFarlane, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ann Druyan, and everyone else that made this series possible.

Check out a video from the show discussing the Alexandria Library.  Below the video is the Storify live tweet that I hosted on Sunday.