Event 5: Extra Credit 2

On June 7, 2018, I attended Coyotes in Two Directions Event by Sarah Rosalena Brady at Art-Sci Center Gallery at UCLA. This event was somewhat special for me because when I first looked around the exhibition, I had no idea what they were, and what they represented. At first I thought I came to the wrong place. When someone guided me that this was the correct spot, I slowly looked around and read the description on the website. “Coyotes in Two Directions examines the signifier of the trickster and shapeshifter as a symbolic metaphor to create techno-hybrid forms. Coyotes are symbolic in mythology and present in Western urban landscapes as one of the most successful animals surviving the Anthropocene. Emergent forms are employed through sculpture, automata, and 3D scans “(Coyotes in Two Directions). After reading this I slowly understood what the art works represented, However, I still had no idea what coyote was.

(Me at the Coyotes in Two Directions)

“The coyote appears often in the tales and traditions of Native Americans—usually as a very savvy and clever beast … These members of the dog family once lived primarily in open prairies and deserts, but now roam the continent's forests and mountains” (National Geographic). After reading some descriptions, I could see that “Aposematic” represented coyote’s claws. This art piece was exactly the same art that I saw in the Weak or No Signal event. This craft was featuring dessert, animal, and virus. Because Coyotes are very smart and adapted to Anthropocene, I thought about biotech + art topic. Most of the time, scientist artificially changed and tested genetic of many animals to make human life better. However, coyotes didn’t not get help from human but still managed to get along very well. Also, I liked how every time there was a weird sound and each claws directed to different ways. I felt like this represented how coyote has the sense that humans don’t have and manage to detect and escape from danger.

(Aposematic)

Coyotes Paws

The long stick of feet on each end, I had no idea what they represented. There were two sticks and total of 4 paws of some animal. I assume that those paws are coyote’s. Since the material was very similar to Aposematic, made with some silver metal, I assume that they were related to each other. I feel like there is robotic + art technology behind it because it is made of same material and the claws are sending signal to the paws.

Rattlesnake Tail

This art piece also had no idea what it was. My friend told me that it looked like a rattlesnake’s tail. Because the environment represented dessert, rattlesnake was the prefect representation. “A rattlesnake's rattle is composed of a series of hollow, interlocked scale-like segments made of keratin. The snake produces its rattling sound by activating special muscles in the tail which causes the segments to vibrate and rub against one another” (Ryan, Kate). Because rattlesnakes are very poisonous snakes, if they bite coyotes, coyotes will die within a day, therefore, Sarah Rosalena Brady was trying to represent that every time coyotes hear or feel rattle snake, they keep out of it.

This event was related to medtech + art topic because exhibition was about how coyotes were able to evolve themselves and keep out of rattlesnakes. However, I would not recommend students to this exhibition because it lacked of information and there was really nothing to watch. Everything that I had to assume it and only three art pieces were there. However, it was beneficial for me because I learned about coyotes and more about how rattlesnakes make sound.

Work Cited

1.      “COYOTES IN TWO DIRECTIONS.” COLLECTIVE BREAD DIARIES: A TASTE OF PROTEST | UCLA Art | Sci Center + Lab, 1 Jan. 1970, artsci.ucla.edu/node/1395.

2.     “Coyote.” National Geographic, 10 May 2011, www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/c/coyote/.

3.     “Rattlesnake.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 June 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rattlesnake.

4.     Ryan, Kate. “What's Actually Inside A Rattlesnake's Tail Will Really Creep You Out.” Elite Daily, Elite Daily, 25 Apr. 2018, www.elitedaily.com/envision/what-is-inside-a-rattlesnakes-tail/1445492.

5.     Study.com, Study.com, study.com/academy/lesson/coyote-adaptations-lesson-for-kids.html.

6.     “What Exactly Is Inside a Rattlesnake's Rattle?” Interesting Engineering, 12 Mar. 2018, interestingengineering.com/whats-inside-rattlesnakes-rattle.