desma final - nguyen pham

7/27/2019 Desma Final - Nguyen Pham

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DESMA 9Art + Science + Technology

Summer 2014 Session A

Professor Victoria VesnaSection 2B

Title:

MOLD ART GLOBAL SCALE

Name: Nguyen Pham


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ABSTRACT

In our current lives, people are becoming busier and busier withdomestic duties taking a backseat to professional and scientificadvancement. Gone are the days where there is time to clean yourdishes and properly dispose of all food waste. Yet, taking a step back, thedecomposition of food is a natural reaction with oxygen breaking down

the remainder of our uneaten meals. The oxygenation of food leaves uswith intricate patterns and textures as mold forms in various waysdepending on the composition of the food matter, air quality and thecontainer. Life is created as bacteria populates the waste. Now, witheveryone swaying towards this sloth-like lifestyle and leaving their foodout in the open on a global scale -- we are left with an amazing macro-

image of mold across the globe. I present to you, MOLDART.


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CONCEPT

Have you ever forgotten to throw out that leftover piece of pizza or leftyour bowl of cereal out for days? You may not realize this, but you arebecoming the next generation of art-scientists. You are making art,breeding life and creating beauty in conjunction with mother nature.


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CONCEPT

Mold comprises of various fungi that cover surfaces in the form of fluffylooking mycelia and is known for producing copious amounts of asexualspores.

The mold growing on your food is amicroscopic fungus with three parts:

The roots, which reach down into thefood and are nearly impossible tosee without a microscope,

the stalk, which rises up over thesurface of the food,

and the spores, which are roundbulbous accents that form at the endof the stalks. (ScienceDaily)


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CONCEPTIn order to control the growth of mold to increase ones canvas of art, one

must create a warm, moist environment to facilitate molds natural habitat.In addition, one can also expect high mold-growth when unspoiled food is inclose proximity to mold, as spores often look for fresh places to spawn at alltimes.

Using mold as both ones paint brush and canvas is completely safe for thehuman environment. Mold is natural in cheeses such as Roquefort (more

commonly known as blue cheese).

However, when utilizing the sporadic nature of mold to create art, one mustbe sure not to eat the food subject matter. A common misconception is thatfood is safe once the mold is removed, but the roots of the fungi areinvisible to the naked eye and make food no longer safe (Park).


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CONCEPT

Although people may be repulsed by the sight of mold, people forgetthat it has so many artistic features sought out in the greatest ofmasterpieces. With mother natures help at hand, mold can be sobeautiful in the most radical ways. The thought of not havingcomplete control over your work is a daunting, yet exciting factor inmaking mold-art.

In the above pictures, you see that mold can take many differentcolors from green to black, many different textures from furry to roughand many different patterns from random to predictable. Thus, this isa great way for earth to come together and produce a global work ofart since everyone can easily contribute to this effort. We all have it inus. The artist? No, the lazy artist.


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CONCEPT

Now finally, what if everyone in the world just decided to spread outtheir moldy food into designated areas around them. We would havea collective project bringing the world together without much effort atall. Looking down from space, we would literally change the color ofthe planet with the help of the planet (and its atmosphere) itself.

With legislation, we can ban the disposal of food into our waste

system. We can simply not accept the waste and fine those whochoose to dispose of their food instead of contribute to the art-scienceeffort.

In school, we can start educating kids to save their uneaten food cultivating this mindset from an extremely early age.

Parents can cook with the idea of what ingredients will result incertain kinds of mold? The economy would be stimulated due toparents buying food in excess to ensure that there is enough tocontribute to the mold effort. The making of art starts right from themoment people buy food from the market.


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CONCEPT

Does this earth look familiar to you?


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SOCIAL CONTEXT

As a college student, Im always faced with thedilemma of whether I should study for a class ordo my dishes. More often than not, I neglect thecleanliness of my dishes in favor of more time tostudyand I know Im not alone.

With laziness being a natural human tendency,busy parents, hectic professionals and thetypical college student will easily fall into thepractice of leaving their food out to mold. It isntsomething that requires a huge social changesince it plays right into a natural tendency.

Economically, people will be spending moremoney on food to ensure proper food will be leftover to mold. College students will have moretime to study, stimulating intellectual growth andscientific advancement.


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HISTORICAL CONTEXTMold has been a very big part of history throughoutthe years being linked to many instances in theBible, the Salem witch trials, the Irish potatofamine, and the curse of the mummys tombs.

In the Bible, we see this in Leviticus 13 as peoplewere forced to have house inspections all the way

back in history. If someone told a priest they hadseen something that looked like mildew, he wouldorder that the house be cleared out for purification.In the Salem witch trials, mold was consumed inrye kernels, giving people hallucinations that werelinked to witchcraft. Thus, people were wrongly

persecuted for being witches. In Ireland, fungusgrew on potato plants that caused them to rot soquickly that Ireland faced starvations for manyyears. (Duffy)

Mold has been our enemies for so long, but if wecan incorporate it into finely appreciated cheese then its time to bring it into art.


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SCIENTIFIC PRECEDENTSMold has been an extraordinarily importantcontribution to managing disease inhumans and other animals. In 1941,penicillinwas invented with mold as themost potent ingredients at its core. Mold inthe form of fungi has been used to producestrains of antibiotic penicillin including

immunosuppressant cyclosporin A oneof the most powerful antibiotics known toman.

In the 1970s, gliotoxinsfound in moldgrowing from trees were discovered to

have immunological and antibiotic activity.Primarily found it fungi strains such asAspergillus fumigatus, they strengthenones immune system in a manner similarto vitamin C. However, these effects areradical in nature and have not beenapproved by the FDA.


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ARTISTIC PRECENDENTS

Klaus Pichler definitely inspired this idea with his photographic series of foodrotting on real time. His artwork truly combines mold, art and powerfulmessage. The project is titled One Third and is derived from the 1.3 billiontons of food that is normally wasted in the face of starvation. Pichler alsoaccompanies his images with eye-opening statistics on the foods origin,transportation and carbon footprint. (Pichler)


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ARTISTIC PRECENDENTS

Chelsea Padgett, an expert art connoisseur recently published an article onwater damage and mold to prized paintings. To Padgett, these paintings arenot ruined, but rather finely aged with an increase in artistic expression.Mother nature comes into play as she puts her mark on our paintings,reminding us that we cant control every single part of art. This collaborationbetween the elements and human artistic talent gives renowned paintingsmore character and shows their passage through time and presence here withus. (Padgett)


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CONCLUSION

As we advance in both art and science, it is critical that we combineour talents in both in order to advance further in each respectivefield.

There is no reason not to tap into basic human tendencies such aslaziness to bring the world together in this collaborative effort tomake a global exhibition of mold. War and terror tear people apart,yet art and science is universally enjoyed by all. By using thisexhibition as a global glue, we are bringing social peace into thepicture along with art and science.

So consider it. Let us join forces with each other and mother naturein order to put together a ginormous work of art. Let us utilize thegifts that we have in order to advance further into the future.


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WORKS CITED

Park, Madison. "College Diet 101." CNN. Cable News Network, 10 Aug. 2009. Web. 8Aug. 2014.

"Mold." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily. Web. 8 Aug. 2014.

"Mold in Human History ~ Consumer Advocate ~ Tim Duffy." Consumer Advocate.Web. 8 Aug. 2014.

Pichler, Klaus. "Just the Two of Us: Portraits of Cosplay Enthusiasts in Their Homesby Klaus Pichler." Colossal. Web. 8 Aug. 2014

Padgett, Chelsea. "Water Damage and Mold Stains on Art." Water Damage and MoldStains on Art. Slideshare. Web. 8 Aug. 2014.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Vesna, Victoria. Conscious / Memory (Part 1). UCLA.UCLA, Los Angeles, Lecture. 16 Nov 2012. Lecture.

Vesna, Victoria. "BioTech + Art PT1." BioTech and Art. UCLA. UCLA, Los Angeles. 19 July 2013. Lecture.

Gray, Henry. "Gray, Henry. 1918. Anatomy of the Human Body." Gray, Henry. 1918. Anatomy of the Human Body. Bartleby,n.d. Web. 13 July 2014.

FSIS." Molds On Food: Are They Dangerous?USDA. Web. 8 Aug. 2014. .

Payne, Cathy. "Mold in Food: Here Is What You Need to Know." USA Today. Gannett, 14 Sept. 2013. Web. 8 Aug. 2014.

Laden, Greg. "What Happens If I Eat Mold?" Greg Ladens Blog. Science Blogs. Web. 8 Aug. 2014.

"Molds, Toxins, & Contaminants." Food Safety. US Government. Web. 8 Aug. 2014.

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