Tag Archives: Istanbul

Cloud and molecular aesthetics; an art/science conference features a bionanotechnology speaker

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Here’s a notice from a June 19, 2014 from OCR (Operational and Curatorial Research in Art Design Science and Technology) organization newsletter highlighting an upcoming conference in Istanbul, Turkey, which includes a nanotechnology speaker,

Lanfranco Aceti, the founder of OCR; Edward Colless Head of Critical and Theoretical Studies and Paul Thomas, Program Director of Fine Art at COFA, are the lead chairs and organizers of the conference Cloud & Molecular Aesthetics from June 26 to 28, 2014, at the Pera Museum.

We invite you to three stimulating days that explores new perspectives and evolutions in contemporary art were acclaimed professionals including curators,historians, creative arts practitioners, critics and theorists consider transdisciplinary imaging relating to the theme of cloud, dispersal, infinitesimally small and molecular aesthetics. The conference is free and open to all. The program is available here.

The conference keynotes are Professor Anne Balsamo, Dean of the School of Media Studies at The New School, Dr. Ljiljana Fruk co-author of Molecular Aesthetics, Dr. Jussi Parikka who authored Insect Media: An Archaeology of Animals and Technology; and Prof. Darren Tofts author of Alephbet: Essays on Ghost-writing, Nutshells & Infinite Space.

The notice doesn’t mention the most interesting aspect (for me, anyway) of Dr. Ljiljana Fruk’s work. Here’s more from her OCR Cloud and Molecular Aesthetics Keynote bio page,

Dr. Fruk is a scientist and lecturer at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany working on the development of photosensitive bio nano hybrid systems to be used in the design of new catalysts, artificial enzymes and biosensors for nanomedicinal applications. [emphases mine] She studied chemistry at University of Zagreb and continued to pursue her PhD at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, where she worked on the development of advanced tools for DNA detection. After award of Humboldt Fellowship and Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship she conducted a postdoctoral research on artificial enzyme catalysts at the University of Dortmund in Germany. Since 2009 she leads her own research group and is also active in exploring the interface of art and science, in particular the cultural and societal impact of new technologies such as nanotechnology and synthetic biology. Besides number of scientific activities, she was also a co-organizer of the first symposium on Molecular Aesthetics (2011), 3D interactive exhibition on Molecules that Changed the World, and together with artist Peter Weibel, a co-editor of Molecular Aesthetic book (2013).

The official title for the conference is this: ‘The Third International Conference on Transdisciplinary Imaging at the Intersections of Art, Science and Culture’ although the organizers seem to be using the theme, Cloud and Molecular Aesthetics, as an easy way to refer to it. You can still register for the conference here: http://ocradst.org/cloudandmolecularaesthetics/registration/

I last mentioned the OCR in a March 24, 2014 posting about a call for papers for a conference on sound curation.

Whose electric brain? Crowdfunder pitch

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Last I wrote (July 5, 2011) about my proposed presentation at the International Symposium on Electronic Arts in Istanbul (Sept. 14-21, 2011), I was looking for ideas on how I might fund my way there. Since then, I’ve decided to try crowdfunding. It’s like crowdsourcing, i. e., posting a question and getting ideas from a host of people but posting a pitch for money to follow through on a project.

There are a number of sites where you can upload a pitch and solicit funds: IndieGoGo, which has been around since 2008, Kickstarter, Funding 4 Learning, and Crowdfunder (the one I picked), amongst others.

Here’s a little bit About Crowdfunder,

Whether your project is big or small, hare-brained or thoughtful, serious or just for fun – we want to hear from you. Crowdfunder aims to fund all sorts of crazy, arty, funny, ingenious and jaw-dropping projects. So if you’re an artist, explorer, musician, writer, entrepreneur or thrill seeker get in touch and kick start your project with Crowdfunder today.

I chose this site partly because it has a go/no go policy. In other words, I have to reach my target (4000 GBP) to get the money. IndieGoGo for example, will let you keep whatever percentage of the funds you raise, which is not helpful to me since I either have enough money to get to Istanbul or not.

Here’s an excerpt from the Whose electric brain? pitch I’ve submitted,

You’ve heard of the ‘uncanny valley’, the point at which human beings become uncomfortable with robots because they look too much like humans?  Well, I’m taking it a step further with cognitive entanglement, a new concept I’m proposing and developing for a presentation and paper at the 17th International Symposium on Electronic Arts (ISEA). This conference presents cutting edge academic and artistic work internationally and in 2011, it is being held in Istanbul from Sept. 14 -21 concurrently with the 12th Istanbul Biennial, considered to be one of the world’s most prestigious art festivals.

Whose electric brain? my presentation about memristors (a nanoelectronics concept), cognitive entanglement, and artificial brains (accepted from a field of over 2000 submissions) is scheduled for Sept. 19, 2011 in a session titled, Biosynthetics and Body – Machine Presentation.My co-presenters include an engineering team from Brazil, the director of the SymbioticA Lab (University of Western Australia; they developed the Fish & Chips project), and an artist from Montréal, Québec. You can find the description here: http://isea2011.sabanciuniv.edu/content/biosynthetics-and-body-machine-relationships

My latest work on cognitive entanglement and memristors is the outcome of thousands of hours of research and thinking. The next logical step is to share it at a cutting edge conference where the ideas will be challenged and hopefully become part of the international discussion about what life biological and/or artificial in the 21st century. As a contributor you can be part of this journey with me to Istanbul.

Here’s an excerpt from how I describe my self in relation to this work,

As an independent  scholar, my current work centres on how nanotechnology is communicated and its social implications. Previous successes include, producing and writing a video on intercultural communication (Bridging the Cultural Gap) that was used as a teaching tool internationally. I also produced an event (WritingWise) which brought together songwriters, technical writers, comic book writers, games writers, new media writers, poets and others to discuss the impact that technology is having on the word in its various forms.

As for Whose electric brain?, I’ve gone just about as far as I can alone. Developing my current work further means that I need to present and discuss it with colleagues and there just aren’t that many people in the world who have the same interest. That’s why this conference is so important to me and, more importantly, the work, which pulls together concepts in electrical engineering, philosophy, physics, and literary theory, while introducing something new, cognitive entanglement.

Please pass the link on to anyone who might be interested in the topic and/or funding my presentation in Istanbul. (I hope to post a video about my paper and the symposium at the Crowdfunder website in the next few weeks and to update my pitch in other ways on a regular basis.)

Here’s the unadorned link, http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/investment/whose-electric-brain-298#entrepreneur_details

One final note: Crowdfunder is based in the UK, so all funds are in GBP.