EVENT BLOG 1- ART|SCI ECO-CENTRIC ART+SCIENCE WEEK: WELCOME TO MY WOODS

Upon signing up for the Art Sci Eco-centric workshop with Linda Weintraub, I had no idea what to expect, so I came to the event with an open mind. After attending the event, I found a deeper understanding of art and the concept of neo-materialism in the art movement. In particular, her exhibit further cemented and juxtaposed the concepts I have learned during our unit on Robotics and Art.

A screenshot of my ticket to the Art Sci Eco-centric workshop with Linda Weintraub.
Prior to entering, Linda told our group a small anecdote about some students who experienced the beach for the first time and their inability to adapt to the new environment, particularly the uneven, hilly texture of the sand on the beach due to the materialistic norms they were used to (i.e. paved and flat ground). With that story, she introduced the topic of neo-materialism in art and how some artists, like herself, are looking to reintroduce natural materials as a means to overcoming the overuse of manufactured material in art that has caused society to be unable to recognize the already present medium in the environment. With such mindset, she instructed us to leave our pre-conceived norms of materialism behind and follow the instructions along the exhibit, which included various natural materials she collected from the woods near her home in upstate New York.

The title of the exhibit was "Welcome to My Woods", which included natural material the artist found outside her home in upstate New York.
I found it very invigorating to be able to experience the natural material found in her woods, using various senses to reconnect with nature and get a firsthand understanding of the ideas she presented.

One of the walls of the exhibit included images of how studio art and technology have merged and is currently becoming more "green". 


I did not realize how little interaction I have had with nature and non-synthesized/non-manufactured material. As I took pictures of parts of the exhibit, I felt rather guilty due to the serenity and atmosphere Linda portrayed at the beginning of the exhibit.
Some of the activities at the exhibit involved feeling some of the natural medium, as seen through my walking on the grass platform.


One of the activities in the exhibit which involved acorns found in the woods outside the artist's home.

Reflecting on this experience, I have come to realize how much this particular artist’s perspective on art, particularly the belief for a need to go back to natural material rather than technology as a medium for art, has again exemplified how much Western and Eastern thought differ in technology. The artist specifically demonstrates Western tendencies to be weary rather than embracing of technology as a medium for art. Like Walter Benjamin, Linda Weintraub shared the belief that technology can reduce this sense of aura, or in this case, inhibit people’s ability to perceive (Benjamin).



Works Cited

Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Marxists. N.p.. Web. 18 Oct 2012. <http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm>.

Weintraub, Linda. Welcome To My Woods. 2017. Art|Sci Center South, California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI at UCLA).







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