The Aurora // PRECEDENT X WEEK 12
I’m not sure if this can be counted as a precedent but to me, it is so I’ll put it in the collection as well.
Aurora has that colorful element that I need to put in the black and white collection of UV photos. Aurora is a result of solar radiation/magnetic field which is a focus of my concept. Aurora is also a study source for scientists to study the effect of the sun to our climate/weather. In short, imitating the aurora can enable me mentioning the effect of the sunlight and UV in the concept.
Moreover, no one can deny the beauty of the aurora.
Art Gallery Foto. “Home Gallery - Grayscale Gallery” Accessed November 03, 2016.
Art Gallery Foto// PRECEDENT X WEEK 11
I got stuck with the logo design and visual design for my website then I came across this website of artworks. There’s no name of the artist or name of the artworks.
What got me stuck was that I don’t know how should I moderate the visual to be perfectly match with black and white UV photos.
This galley gave me an idea then. Why not use pop art? Why not illustrate the pixelated light flare? Why not add a strong solid color into the grayscale that was set?
With something looking normal and easily losing viewer’s interest like these portraits, I really need something bold to light it up.
Lee, Howard. “Realistic Food drawings.” Accessed November 03, 2016. https://www.instagram.com/howard__lee/
Howard Lee // PRECEDENT X WEEK 11
Howard Lee’s works are a bit far from my concept responding to climate change but what interests me is the way he raise people interest in his work. The answer to this is quite simple: Raise viewers’ curiosity then reveal the truth.
We usually assume things to be normal when we cannot point out the differences and when the truth is unfold, it appears to be captivating and appealing to us.
This way of creating the aethetics for a project is sort of what I’m after as well since my project is about Invisible abnormality. I wonder what would people think when I pop out the truth to them? Is it brutal? Is it enough to change their mind about climate change and the unhealthy state of living we’re in at the moment? Is it gonna push them to make a move?
This should be a start for an interesting feature of my website
Edwards , Susanna. “Curious: the Craft of Microscopy.” Accessed November 03, 2016. http://www.susannaedwards.com/projectpages/17_curious1.html
Curious: the Craft of Microscopy // PRECEDENT X WEEK 10
This collection of work by Susanna was meant to documented the evolution of an important item in science studies - the microscope. It was mesmerizing to see that she went with an item but then discovered another beauty lies under the scopes.
The pictures was actually what hits me hard. When you studies the evolution or change of a living creature, it is best to get it under the scope and zoom it up to see the changes clearly. I don’t know how to explain it fully, but the aesthetic, the meaning, the most powerful part of the change is in the visual. It can be harsh truth, it can also be a good lesson.
Maybe I should add the scope feature in the picture gallery?
SKIN // PRECEDENT X WEEK 10
This is particularly strange but captivating to me.
Like Cara Phillips’s website, this is so simple. I have thought of how to represent portraits for weeks but this hits me hard like Cara did: Better make it simple!
UV portraits are all about the black and white and it’s hard to incorporate something complicated with it. And it’s not good to distract viewers as well. Mybe just a well laid grid of photo is good enough?
Only UVB rays prompt vitamin D production. UVA rays can damage all skin tones. There are studies showing that exposure to UVB rays helps skin protect itself from UVA rays; the problem is determining when UVB rays are reaching your skin, since they have a shorter window of reaching earth (very short during winter - basically only a couple hours around noon) and cannot pass through clouds. UVA rays, which are cancer-causing, can reach earth and pass through clouds virtually any time of day as long as the sun is out.
Just because the sun is hitting your skin doesn’t mean you’re getting vitamin D or any of the other remarkable benefits of UVB ray exposure. And yes, instances of skin cancer are much lower in people with dark skin, but melanoma could still happen to anyone.
If spending time out in the sun has ever resulted in red, painful, blistering or peeling skin, then you’ve probably had sunburn.
Sunburn is caused by a particular set of light wavelengths emitted from sun. Much of the light produced by the sun is outside the range of human sight, including infrared and ultraviolet (UV) light. You can sense infrared light—you feel it as heat on your skin when you step into sunshine. Stay in the sun unprotected for too long, however, and ultraviolet light will leave its mark in the form of a sunburn.
Ultraviolet Radiation
Ultraviolet light is extremely damaging to the DNA of living things. Luckily for us, the Earth’s atmosphere and ozone layer do a great job of blocking a lot of the ultraviolet radiation the sun throws our way. UVA and UVB rays are notable because some of them get through. About 3% of sunlight is made up of UVA/UVB radiation, and of that 3%, about 95% of that is UVA. UVB is what tends to cause you grief every time you get a sunburn, burning the upper layers of your skin, known as the epidermis, to cause the redness we associate with catching the sun. UVA doesn’t cause burns, but unfortunately it does penetrate the skin’s layers much more deeply, getting all the way to the tissues underneath. It is responsible for “photoaging,” the process that accelerates the breakdown of collagen and connective tissue in skin.
Solar Erythema or, Darn it, I got Sunburned!
The effects of a sunburn, or solar erythema, may not be noticeable right away; the full extent of the burn takes anywhere from 6 to 48 hours to appear. However, once the symptoms start, they are difficult to ignore. Sunburn triggers an immune response reaction as the skin tries to heal itself. This is characterized by redness or excessive heat that radiates from the skin, caused by the dilation of blood vessels near the skin’s surface as the body increases blood flow to the burned area, in order to help with the healing process. The pain that accompanies sunburn is caused by cytokines, protein messengers that signal to the body that damage has occurred. White blood cells soon arrive on the scene to attack and remove the harmed skin cells. This part of the healing process is what causes the itching, peeling, and blistering that occurs over the hours or days following getting burned.
Skin Damage and Exposure
UVA and UVB radiation both cause skin damage, but in different ways:
UVA triggers a tanning response in skin, which is a sign that the skin had been exposed to too much UV radiation. Specialized skin cells called melanocytes, or pigment cells, work to guard the skin from UV exposure. If these cells get overwhelmed, they ramp up production of a substance called melanin to produce a tan in order to protect the skin from additional future damage. UVA lights are used in tanning beds for this reason. This is also why there is no such thing as a safe tan, since it is a sign that the skin has already been injured. It is also important to note that UVA rays are constant throughout the year, so people who only apply sunscreen in the summer will still be exposed to UV light over a long period of time.
UVB exposure can vary greatly depending on the time of year. It is easiest to be burned midday in the summer, when the sunlight is most direct and concentrated. However, UVB rays can damage skin year-round, especially at high altitudes (the thinner atmosphere allows more UV radiation through) or in areas with highly reflective surfaces, such as snow or ice. Because UVB damage occurs on the topmost layer of skin, it is a major factor in the development of skin cancer. Skin cells are short lived, with new cells replacing old in a 28 day cycle. This rapid cell growth makes it much more likely that if a mutation occurs, it will get passed on instead of destroyed.
Skin repeatedly damaged by sunburn or tanning lamps is vulnerable to cell mutations which can lead to skin cancers, including basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma.
UV Protection
Your skin does provide some natural protection in the form of the melanin produced by melanocytes. The amount of melanin naturally produced by your skin determines skin color: the more melanin in your skin, the darker it is. People with lighter skin will burn much more quickly than people with darker skin, but a higher melanocyte count simply means that person has a greater tolerance to UVB radiation, and it does not make them immune to the damage of UVA radiation.
Seeking shelter between the hours of 10am and 4pm is best if you want to avoid UV rays at their strongest. Keep in mind that windows only block UVB, not UVA rays. Hats and clothing made out of tightly woven materials in darker fabrics can help block or absorb UV rays; some clothing is even manufactured with a UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) rating. UV light can damage your eyes as well, so wear sunglasses that offer UV protection.
Make wearing sunscreen a habit and reapply often! Sunscreens act as a chemical absorber or a physical filter to UV radiation. Only sunscreens labeled with broad spectrum or UVA/UVB protection contain ingredients that protect against both the surface damage of UVB and the deeper tissue damage caused by UVA radiation.
Calculate a sunscreen’s Sun Protection Factor (SPF): The sun protection factor number is a multiplier you combine with how long it takes for you to burn naturally. For example, if you burn after five minutes without protection, putting on SPF 30 will theoretically give you 150 minutes of burn-free fun in the sun. There are a lot of caveats to consider: sunscreen won’t last as long if you swim or sweat a lot, you need to apply it evenly and you need to use at least one and a half ounces (a shot glass full) every time you apply.
Video: Animation - Short and Long Term Effects of UV exposure
http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/RadiationEmittingProductsandProcedures/Tanning/ucm135889.htm
References:
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Risks of Tanning. http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/RadiationEmittingProductsandProcedures/Tanning/ucm116432.htm#1
JAMA Patient Page | July 02, 2015. Suntan and Sunburn. http://jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jama.2015.8045
Skin Cancer Foundation. Understanding UVA and UVB. http://www.skincancer.org/prevention/uva-and-uvb/understanding-uva-and-uvb
Wired Magazine. Big Question: How Does Sunscreen Shield Your Skin With Science? http://www.wired.com/2015/07/big-question-sunscreen-shield-skin-science/
By Jenna L., Writer.
Edited by Anna G.
Traditional sunscreen works by reflecting harmful ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation away from your skin, but a new compound does something even better - it guards your skin cells from the effects of the sun from the inside out.
Offering protection inside the cell where the greatest damage from UVA occurs, this compound is said to offer “unprecedented protection” against skin cancer, and the effects of photoageing, such as sags, wrinkles, and sunspots.
Dubbed the mitoiron claw, the compound clings to the insides of cells, and prevents the kind of iron leakage that’s triggered by UVA exposure. If severe enough, this iron leakage can ultimately leads to cell destruction.
To understand why loose iron is such a problem, you need to understand how UVA affects cells. Radiation from the Sun unlocks free radicals - highly active oxygen molecules - in the skin, which then cause damage to DNA, cell membranes, and proteins.
At the same time, it also releases iron from the cell’s mitochondria, which depletes the cell’s energy supply and causes the cells to produce more free radicals. In other words, UVA causes cells to be killed off, and this can eventually lead to skin cancer.
It also causes skin to sag, wrinkle, and age, as you might have noticed if you spent a lot of time basking in the sunshine as a kid.
To combat this, researchers from the University of Bath and King’s College London in the UK developed the mitoiron claw, which is a type of chelator - a compound that binds to an iron atom. This allows it to target iron that’s loose in the mitochondria of the cell and prevent the release of extra free radicals.
(Source: sciencealert.com)