Week 8: Nanotech + Art

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Prior to this week's lectures, I had no idea what nanotech was or what the field encompassed. After watching Dr. Gimzewski's lectures, I was surprised and intrigued to learn about things such as nanoparticles which are in a surprisingly large amount of products on the market. I was also uninformed about nanomedicine like Abraxane but I think this field of medicine could certainly be the future. I was still unsure of how nanotechnology could relate to art after watching the lectures but the provided reading and some outside sources helped me realize the correlation. 


In the reading by Professor Vesna and Dr. Gimzewski, they assert that nanotechnology operates on a scale that is past the point of comprehension for the human mind; therefore, humans turn to imagination when dealing with nanotechnology. And imagination is the essence of art. The two are connected by the human imagination and it can be argued that nanotechnology is an art form because it requires the utilization of imagination.
I also read an interesting article about Vantablack which is an excellent example of how nanotechnology and art can intertwine. Vantablack is "a treatment process for coating literally any surface in a dense “forest” of carbon nanotubes" (Majeswki). Vantablack was applied to a number of different surfaces and the pictures went viral. Vantablack, a nanotechnological creation, has captivated tons of people and is viewed as a work of art that everyone wants to get their hands on.
Bust covered with Vantablack.
References

Dillow, Clay. “The World's First Programmable Nanoprocessor Takes Complex Circuitry to the Nanoscale.” Popular Science, 9 Feb. 2011, www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-02/worlds-first-programmable-nanoprocessor-takes-complex-circuitry-nanoscale.

Gimzewski, Jim, and Victoria Vesna. “The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of Fact & Fiction in the Construction of a New Science.” The Nanomeme Syndrome: Blurring of Fact & Fiction in the Construction of a New Science, vv.arts.ucla.edu/publications/publications/02-03/JV_nano/JV_nano_artF5VG.htm.

O'Brien, Nathan. “Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials; Where Science Meets Art.” Nano News, 18 Apr. 2017, blogs.flinders.edu.au/nano-news/2017/04/18/nanotechnology-and-nanomaterials-where-science-meets-art/.

“Vantablack - Super-Black Coatings for Stray Light Suppression.” Surrey NanoSystems, www.surreynanosystems.com/vantablack.
“What Is Nanotechnology?” Nano, www.nano.gov/nanotech-101/what/definition.

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