[-empyre-] December @ - empyre - : Art and Cognition

[marcus bastos <bastos.marcus@gmail.com>]

Dear members, moderators and guests of - empyre -,

December will be a special month at the list. Besides the usual
guests, who are presented below, we will have the contribuition of
Raquel Renno, who will act as a moderator for the month. Her opening
statement and the bio for our guest are below. I welcome everybody and
hope we have a great month. It would be nice if Raquel could elaborate
a bit further on the topic. After that, I invite all the guests to
post their opening statements, so that we get to know each other
better and have enoughe elements to go on with the discussion.

best,
Marcus

-------------------------
This month's topic will be art and cognition based on some premises
proposed by artist and researcher Louis Bec. Since the evolution of
cognitive sciences is progressively more marked by the use of
technological simulation, the similarities between art and cognition
are reinforced. According to Bec, the cognitive sciences cease to be
merely explicative and become a creative well-spring, a take off
point of imagination. The art/cognition interface is the source of an
entire range of new questions concerning the role of the living world, its
nature, its status and its future. These questions bear not only on
matters of redefinition, representation, behavioural modes and
perceptive, mental and imaginative functioning; not only on the
potential for learning, communication, expression, innovation and
creation; but also, and decisively, on modes of social and spatial
organization, on the management of the biosphere and of urban
energies and environments, on the creation of models of economic systems, on
the handling of the industries of knowledge, information and images.


+ Bios
——-> Raquel Rennó (<http://www.influenza.etc.br>;) is currently
developing a PhD thesis in Media and Urban Spaces for the
Communication and Semiotics programme at the Catholic University of
São Paulo (Brazil). Part of the research was presented in seminars at
Buenos Aires University, Plymouth University (Planetary Collegium) and
University of Sussex, among others. She's a member of the scientific
comitee of FILE Symposium and researcher at Medialab Madrid.
Together with Rafael Marchetti she develops projects at the digital art duo
Influenza. In 2005 some of Influenza's works were exhibited at Tohu
Bohu Gallery (individual exhibition at Marseille), Comafosca
(Influenza's retrospective exhibition at Barcelona), Nuevas Geografías
(Mexico), Soundtoys, Runme, FILE (São Paulo), Breal 2.3
 (Ljubljiana),404 (Rosario), VII Digital Art Salon in Havana, ARS Electronica
(Linz), among other places. Between 2004 and 2005 they've developed
 the installation Non_sensor at Cyprès institute directed by Louis
Bec in France sponsored by Unesco, Cyprès and the Ministry of Culture of
Brazil.


——-> Luigi Pagliarini (Italy) is an artist, psychologist, multimedia
and software designer, expert in robotics, AI and artificial
life. He is currently Associate Professor at Maersk Institute, University of
Southern Denmark, Professor of Machine Psychology at the Academy of
Fine Arts of Rome, Italy, Director of the Pescara Electronic Artists
Meeting, President of the Cultural Association "artificialia", Art
Director of Ecoteca Café, Member of the International Committee
RoboCup Junior, Board Committee of "Rivista diPsicologia dell'Arte"
(Journal of Psychology of Art), Member of EvoNet and Executive
Member of EvoMusArt , Partner Consultant of Entertainment Robotics, Partner
Consultant of the Visual Emotion - Video Productions. He has
published in different international books, journals, congresses and
conferences proceedings and has been rewarded with international
prizes more than once. His work has often been reported on many
international newspapers, magazines and television.


 ——-> David Cuartielles (Spain) is a engineer and PhD student in
Interaction Design at the School of Arts and Communication, Malmö
University, Sweden. He is a lecturer at the School of Arts and
Communication, Malmö University, researcher at the Creative
Environments Studio, and founder of the laboratory in
mechatronics at the same institution. He was a co-developer with
Massimo Banzi of
Arduino ( <http://arduino.berlios.de>; ), an open-source physical
computing platform for artists and designers that after three months
of its creation was adopted by RCA in London, ITP in New York,
IDI-Domus in Milan and K3 in Malmö among other schools as a learning
tool. He's also a member of the Critical Design Collective aeswad
and the artistic group desearch and revelopment, curator of ExArTe and
member of E.A.T.


 ——-> Andy Gracie (UK) is an artist making multi-disciplinary artwork
exploring relationships between technological and natural
systems, expressing a special interest in what takes place at the
point where the two are mediated through each other and what bridges
can be revealed or constructed. Current investigations involve the
use of Artificial Intelligence to allow spontaneous communications
between 'machine' and 'animal', the devlopment of new language spaces and
emergent behaviours, and to create an epistemological landscape for
reflection, contemplation and discussion of the complex issues
around our changing relationships with the organic. He has shown work
 internationally over the last few years and is currently
developing a new commission for AV06 to be shown in Sunderland, UK in
March 2006.
http://.www.hostprods.net>;


----> Raquel Paricio Garcia (Spain) graduate in Fine Arts and
currently a PhD candidate at the Technical University of Catalunya
(UPC) about Art, Science and Consciousness. Her research interests
include body consciousness and expression and multi-sensory
environments and interfaces. Apperception and new qualia.

She is currently granted by the Catalunya Goverment to develop her
work. He has been teaching in different University schools of
Barcelona (ESDI, ELISAVA,UB). She has participated in exhibitions held
in Mendel Art Gallery Saskatoon, Fundacio Tapies, Media Festival
Canarias, Digital Culture Festival, Festival at the Museum of
Contemporary Art Chicago, Eliterature Festival, Primavera Sound,
Barcelona, Agora Möbius and University of Valencia. She has
participated in several Conferences and publications like Planetary
Collegium,  ACM multimedia, Institute for Interchange Fondation
(Torino), Leonardo (MIT Press).