record

Thesis Info

LABS ID
00594
Thesis Title
Seeing Beyond the Senses - Microcinematography as Artistic Practice
Author
Eric Parren
2nd Author
3rd Author
Degree
MFA
Year
2012
Number of Pages
75
University
UCLA
Thesis Supervisor
Casey Reas
Supervisor e-mail
reas AT ucla.edu
Other Supervisor(s)
Victoria Vesna, Erkki Huhtamo, Joost Rekveld
Language(s) of Thesis
English
Department / Discipline
Media Arts
Languages Familiar to Author
English, Dutch, German, Spanish
URL where full thesis can be found
ericparren.net/downloads/EricParren_Thesis_SeeyingBeyongTheSenses.pdf
Keywords
microcinematography, synthetic biology, abstract film
Abstract: 200-500 words
Humans are born with a finite ability to sense the world around them. Our ears, eyes, nose, tongue, and skin all have a limited range of operation. To further our understanding of the universe, humankind has invented instruments to expand the sensory range. Starting with the telescope and the microscope in the 17th century, instruments have furthered our scientific insights and technological advancement. In that same century, the magic lantern pioneered an early form of mass entertainment and mass education, allowing for easier knowledge dispersion. With the invention of the proto-cinematographic instruments in the late 19th century, time could be stopped or sped up at will, giving us insight into the nature of motion. Throughout, artists have been involved with the invention, use, and popularization of these instruments and the knowledge they provided access to. Nowadays, the combination of the microscope and the moving image, microcinematography, is widely used for scientific research and artists are also getting involved. With my project RFP.GFP.CFP I am trying to push these developments in a new direction by exploring the possibilities of an advanced optical microscope, a confocal microscope, and by employing building blocks of the promising field of synthetic biology as the content of an abstract audiovisual film.