[-empyre-] Aside: Planetary Consciousness and the Arts

Given recent discussions on empyre I thought this may be of interest
(from the olats list - details below):

Space: Planetary Consciousness and the Arts
9th Workshop and Symposium on Space and the Arts

May 19-21, 2005

Château d'Yverdon
Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland

First Announcement and Call for Papers

"Space: Planetary Consciousness and the Arts" is the theme of the 9th workshop and symposium on space and the arts which is being co-organized by the O.U.R.S. Foundation, Leonardo/Olats, Maison d'Ailleurs and the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) and its Commission VI. It is scheduled to be held at the Château and Museum of Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland from 19-21 May 2005.

The idea of 'Planetary Consciousness' is directly associated with the famous image of the 'Whole Earth' taken by the Apollo astronauts - our home planet as an island of life floating against the vast blackness of the cosmos. This image has since become a universally embraced symbol used equally by the environmental and globalization movements that dominate society today. On a fundamental level it directly reflects upon the interconnectedness and interdependence of all life on Earth and the Universe.

Scientists have focused their space technologies on the planet and have begun an extensive monitoring of the state of its well being. Not only are environmental and ecological changes and developments being scrutinized and analyzed on an ongoing basis but human affairs such as political and military developments are being monitored from space as well. Space technologies have also catalyzed a radical expansion of our species' abilities to communicate, exchange and access information and this is having an exponential impact on its collective knowledge base.

Looking outward, space science has discovered that the essential ingredients of life, as well as places that are potentially suitable for its development, are very widely distributed throughout the cosmos. As such, we are coming to the realization that the Earth - and all life that inhabits it - is part of a much larger cosmic environment and that life here is subject to changes and fluctuations that may occur many light years away.

Philosophy has raised the issue of the Earth as a whole "object" and our ability - or inability - to embrace and understand in its 'globalness' as something that is much bigger than our species. In today's philosophy, the work of Peter Sloterdijk reworks this fundamental issue and takes it in a new direction. Phenomenology, as seen in the work of Don Idhe, also reworks these notions under the new situation brought by communication and space technologies.

In the late 60's, theoreticians, like Marshall McLuhan and Buckminster Fuller have proposed visions of this "global unique earth", through the 'Global Village' for McLuhan and the 'Spaceship Earth' notion for Buckminster Fuller. In the 1970's James Lovelock introduced the 'Gaia' theory that speculates that the Earth behaves as if it were a "superorganism", made up from all the living things and from their material environment. These ideas are being much discussed today, revised and pushed further by a new generation of theoreticians and artists alike.

The artists have been the ones who shaped aesthetics perception and approach to the theories and ways of thinking that have been generated or enhanced by the new technological tools and scientific discoveries. They range from the "aesthetics of communication" (Roy Ascott, Fred Forest) to some of today's net and environmental art, from artists who "painted" the Earth (Verame) to space artists (Pierre Comte, Tom van Sant) and to today's locative media approach.

Thus, the exploration of the cosmos and the examination of our planet from the perspective of space that began in earnest some fifty years ago is leading humanity to a new understanding of its place and purpose in the evolution of life on and beyond the Earth.

The "Space: Planetary Consciousness and the Arts" workshop and symposium invites presentations from scientists, engineers, technologists, environmentalists, artists, writers, journalists, art critics, curators and philosophers to come together and exchange their views about how their research and their work addresses these topics.

Objectives
The Workshop & Symposium on "Space: Planetary Consciousness and the Arts" aims to:

- provide a platform where ideas relating to the interaction between space science, environmental science, philosophy and the arts can be discussed and debated

- provide an environment where people, especially artists and other "culture professionals" together with space and planetary scientists can exchange ideas and projects about planetary consciousness from the perspective of their unique backgrounds, education and experiences

- provide a meeting place where space, art and environmental projects can emerge and new teams and partnerships can be built

- nurture a domain of space activities that is becoming more recognized in both the space community and in the mainstream art world

-  disseminate the ideas and projects by publicizing the results of the event

Submission of Abstracts
Participation in the workshop will be limited to a maximum of 25 persons and participants will be selected upon review of abstracts of presentations proposed for the workshop.

Abstracts, limited to one A4 page should be submitted via the online form available on the Maison d'Ailleurs website (December 2004) or sent directly to: workshop2005@arsastronautica.com

The abstract should be in English and include:
- Workshop name
- Title of presentation
- Name and affiliation of authors
- Full contact details of presenting author, including postal and e-mail addresses, phone and fax
- A short (maximum two paragraphs) personal biographical text

The deadline for abstract submission is February 28, 2005.

Following acceptance a complete paper will be required and the author(s) will be invited to register for the event.

Timetable
28 February 2005 - Deadline for abstracts
31 March 2005 - Notification of acceptance
20 April 2005 - Preliminary programme
7 May 2005 - Deadline for papers
19-21 May 2005 - Workshop & Symposium

Workshop & Symposium Topics
Presentations can be about any aspect or issue related to "Space: Planetary Consciousness and the Arts". Since the scope of the Workshop is large, potential authors might like to consider submitting abstracts for papers addressing such topics as:

- the impact of space exploration on the arts and vice versa
- the impact of space science on the environmental consciousness
- the role of arts in expressing planetary consciousness
- the ethical aspects of space exploration and planetary responsibility
- the impact of space exploration on philosophy and vice versa
- synergies between the arts, environmental and space communities
- the interaction between space, arts and the public
- using the arts to explore and comprehend space

Authors need not, of course, limit themselves to these topics.

Programme Committee
Arthur Woods (OURS Foundation)
Annick Bureaud (Leonardo/Olats)
Roger Malina (International Academy of Astronautics)
David Raitt (ESA)
Patrick Gyger, (Maison d'Ailleurs)

Organization
The Workshop and Symposium will begin with a Welcome Event on Thursday evening 19 May 2005.

The two-day formal workshop and symposium will take place in the Château d'Yverdon on 20-21 May 2005 and will consist of oral presentations from both invited and contributing speakers. One half-day session will be open to the general public.

There will be no charge for participation in the workshop. Participation in the workshop will be limited to 25 persons. Only one author per presentation will be eligible to participate in the workshop unless special arrangements for joint presentations have been made in advance.

Travel and accommodation expenses are the responsibility of each participant.

Venue
The "Space: Planetary Consciousness and the Arts" Workshop & Symposium will be held in the picturesque city of Yverdon-les-Bains and conducted in the 13th-century castle in the heart of town (http://www.ylb.ch).

The event will take place the context of the "Science ET cité" festival http://www.festival05.ch/events/fr.aspx

This important festival is held every 4 years in several cities in Switzerland. Participants to the workshop will have the opportunity to attend many events (exhibitions, plays, panels) in Lausanne, Geneva, Neuchâtel and Yverdon-les Bains.

In Yverdon-les-Bains associated activities include, among others:
- an exhibition at Maison d'Ailleurs (http://www.ailleurs.ch)
- the European World Contest for autonomous Robot
(http://www.planete-sciences.org/robot/concours/eurobot/garde_en.html),
- a theatre play having humans and robots interact (http://actualites.epfl.ch/index.php?module=Presseinfo&func=view_com&id=194)


Hotel Accomodation
A list of reasonably priced hotels will be sent to all participants that are accepted.

Contact
Any questions concerning the "Space: Planetary Consciousness and the Arts" workshop and symposium should be sent to: workshop2005@arsastronautica.com

Background
Under the title "Rencontres du 13 avril" a series of small, one-day Workshops on Space and the Arts was co-organized by Leonardo/Olats, the OURS Foundation and the International Academy for Astronautics between the years 1997 and 2002.

Held in Boulogne-Billancourt, a suburb near Paris, these workshops attracted leading space scientists, engineers and artists on specific themes chosen to generate exchanges between artists and scientists concerning the cultural impact of space activities.

In 2004 the Workshop became nomadic and is taking places in an expanded form at different locations and venues.

The different topics of the past seven workshops have been:

1997 April 13  - "The Artists as Space Explorers"
1998 March 25  - "Space Art / Earth Art"
1999 March 21 - "Cultural Perspectives on Space"
2000 March 26 - "Life in Space"
2001 March 25 - "Outer Space - Cyber Space"
2002 March 17 -  "The Collaborative Process in Space Art"
2004 May 19-21 -"Space: Science, Technology and the Arts"

Coming Event
March 16-19, 2005 - "The Impact of Space on Society: Cultural Aspects" (Budapest)
http://www.impactofspace.hu/

The documentation about each past workshop is online on the Leonardo/Olats web site at http://www.olats.org

Links
http://www.ailleurs.ch	http://www.esa.int
http://www.olats.org	http://www.iaanet.org
http://www.ours.ch	http://www.swisscastles.ch/Vaud/yverdon/
http://www.arsastronautica.com	http://www.yverdon-les-bains.ch


--
***************
Annick Bureaud (annick@nunc.com)
tel/fax : 33/ (0)143 20 92 23
mobile : 33/ (0)6 86 77 65 76
*****************
Leonardo/Olats : http://www.olats.org
IDEA online : http://nunc.com



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