[-empyre-] Welcome to our June topic on -empyre: Plant Art and New Media

Fri Jun 5 21:12:15 AEST 2015

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Thanks Patrick, Natasha, and Selmin for such thoughtful questions to
introduce this fascinating new field!

Murat - you were reading my mind! I agree that it's curious that the
discussion is revolving around the idea of human perception as a reference
point for defining and categorizing nature and our recent project "The
Language of Plants" (LoP) actually began as a critique to this very point!
Jasmeen and I are both formally trained as landscape architects, though we
very much disagree with the direction that the field of landscape (and
design in general) has moved in the last 30~ years. "Sustainable design"
exists as a small and highly specialized niche, but overall the focus has
been on form, aesthetics, and the commoditization of "nature" as an idea of
place and refuge and individual plant species as tools or props. Our
objective was to shift this focus back onto the intrinsic ecological
functions and relationships of an ecosystem as a whole and reconcile this
reductionist view by engaging in a discussion that emphasized holism,
complexity, and nuance.

Though imperceptible to the human ear, plants are constantly emitting
sounds due to the processes of transpiration and growth (Patrick - you were
right in your guess!) From an anthropogenic perspective these sounds exist
at the "ultrasonic" range, too quiet and too high a frequency for the human
ear. To the plant, these are just the sounds of their ongoing biological
process, so it's natural that these sounds differ based on species type,
habitat preference, time of day, environmental conditions, and even whether
the plant is growing in isolation or within a healthy vegetative community.
In truth, though it was our art direction, we became mere translators over
the course of our explorations, as we were able to unlock an entirely
new biological language that had never been accessible, relatable, or even
considered within our narrow anthropogenic terms of understanding and
seeing the world. Our objective was ultimately successful too, as visitors
to our exhibit were shocked to learn of this new reality and, in
large, left with a new reverence for these intrinsic though
unseen qualities and processes of plants.

I think sound is an especially powerful medium to engage people with
because it is so inherently tied to memory, identity, and agency. It's
human instinct to anthropomorphize things when we are first connecting to
them, however these views are a necessary launching point for developing a
more nuanced relationship to plants and to the world around us.

Yi

On Thu, Jun 4, 2015 at 8:01 PM, Murat Nemet-Nejat <muratnn at gmail.com
<javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','muratnn at gmail.com');>> wrote:

> ----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
> "I am interested in the sound connection too. I wonder if there is a
> discourse of sensitivity in the attempts to make us more perceptive to the
> vitality of plants through sound, vibration, and movement. In films like *Upstream
> Colour*, a parasite transmitted from orchids to pigs and then to humans
> makes those who carry it sensitive/responsive to infrasound. That becomes a
> connection between the human and nonhuman, and forces the human characters
> to rethink their forms of sociality..."
>
> Hi Selmin, hi Patrick, what is the exact purpose of our discussions along
> this thread? Do we want to comprehend the animal, the vegetal, the mineral,
> etc. in our terms (basically expanding our technical, or otherwise,
> language capabilities) or do we want to extend our concepts of language to
> such a degree that our ideas about perception itself gets altered? From the
> comments up to now, I think we are doing the former, trying to see the
> other (plant, animal or othrrwise) in our ideological terms.
>
> Ciao,
> Murat
>
> On Thu, Jun 4, 2015 at 6:31 PM, Selmin Kara <selminkara at gmail.com
> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','selminkara at gmail.com');>> wrote:
>
>> ----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
>> Thanks Natasha and Patrick:
>>
>> I am interested in the sound connection too. I wonder if there is a
>> discourse of sensitivity in the attempts to make us more perceptive to the
>> vitality of plants through sound, vibration, and movement. In films like *Upstream
>> Colour*, a parasite transmitted from orchids to pigs and then to humans
>> makes those who carry it sensitive/responsive to infrasound. That becomes a
>> connection between the human and nonhuman, and forces the human characters
>> to rethink their forms of sociality. Infrasound is also said to be the
>> frequency of the Anthropocene. The bandwidth of machinery and technology
>> that often eludes us have a significant impact on ecology, often to the
>> detriment of species that communicate through similar bandwiths. So what
>> does it mean to access that below-the-human-threshold world of plants (that
>> are themselves at times going extinct due to those altered ecologies, as in
>> Jasmeen and Yi's project) and machines via sound? Is there a call for an
>> ecological sensitivity/sensibility in that threshold breach (I am using the
>> word breach, with short films like *Merus Breach* in mind) or another
>> form anthropomorphizing that serves to give us an increased sense of
>> mastery over nature as Patrick asked?
>>
>> Selmin Kara
>> Assistant Professor of Film and New Media
>> OCAD University
>>
>> On Thu, Jun 4, 2015 at 10:09 AM, Patrick Keilty <p.keilty at utoronto.ca
>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','p.keilty at utoronto.ca');>> wrote:
>>
>>> ----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
>>> Thanks Natasha! These are great questions. Hope to hear from our
>>> featured discussants soon. I absolutely *love* both of these projects.
>>>
>>> One question these two projects brings to mind is whether the plants are
>>> trying to communicate, and to whom? And what does it say about us that we
>>> primarily understand communication in auditory terms? While Jo SiMalaya
>>> Alcampo's "Singing Plants Reconstruct Memory" is a combination of the
>>> auditory, kinaesthetic, and visual, sound is what make the installation so
>>> compelling. Why do we feel the need to enhance our auditory perception and
>>> the auditory system the plants produce? Are there other ways in which
>>> plants communicate? Do plants care if we hear them? If plants are not
>>> communicating to us per se, then perhaps our attempt to hear plants is a
>>> symptom of our own humanity. If that's the case, then we haven't
>>> de-centered the human. Instead, plants help us better understand ourselves
>>> and our relation to the "the world out there."
>>>
>>> I realize now that I'm just asking a series of questions. Give me some
>>> time to think about it. Maybe I'll have some answers in a future post. ;)
>>>
>>>
>>> Patrick Keilty
>>> Assistant Professor
>>> Faculty of Information
>>> Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies
>>> University of Toronto
>>> http://www.patrickkeilty.com/
>>>
>>> On Mon, Jun 1, 2015 at 3:18 PM, Natasha Myers <natasha.myers at gmail.com
>>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','natasha.myers at gmail.com');>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> ----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
>>>> Thanks Patrick for getting us started on this exciting topic!
>>>>
>>>> I am really thrilled that this week we have Jasmeen Bains, Yi Zhou and
>>>> Jo Simalaya Alcampo leading off the discussion. One of the great things
>>>> about this particular grouping is that Jasmeen and Yi's recent project "The
>>>> Language of Plants" resonates so well with Jo Simalaya's "Singing Plants
>>>> Reconstruct Memory."
>>>>
>>>> Both projects sonify plants through electro-acoustic assemblages. And
>>>> yet, these interactive installation/performance pieces approach plants in
>>>> very different ways, and their works produce very different meanings and
>>>> effects. One project begins from the premise that plants generate their own
>>>> sounds, just outside of human perception, while the other engages the
>>>> electro-conductivity of plants to draw human sounds out of plant bodies.
>>>>
>>>> Here are links to these different projects:
>>>>
>>>> http://studioforlandscapeculture.com/The-Language-of-Plants
>>>> http://www.josimalaya.com/singing-plants.html
>>>>
>>>> I wonder as a way of starting off the discussion, our artists might
>>>> reflect on the question of plant sonification. How do these works produce a
>>>> kind of plant vocality? Why bring sound and voice to plants? What does it
>>>> mean to bring plant soundings and responsivity into human perception? What
>>>> are some of the remarkable things you learned about plants both in making
>>>> these works and in sharing them with others?
>>>>
>>>> I'm sure these questions will generate many more! Looking forward to
>>>> following how this unfolds!
>>>>
>>>> best wishes,
>>>> Natasha
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Natasha Myers
>>>> Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology | Convenor, Politics of
>>>> Evidence Working Group | York University
>>>> 310 Bethune College, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario  M3J 1P3
>>>> Canada | Tel. (416) 736-2100 x 70660 | Fax (416) 736-5768 |
>>>> nmyers at yorku.ca <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','nmyers at yorku.ca');>
>>>> Website <http://www.yorku.ca/nmyers> | Plant Studies Collaboratory
>>>> <http://plantstudies.wordpress.com/> | Sensorium
>>>> <http://finearts.yorku.ca/sensorium> | The Technoscience Salon
>>>> <http://technosalon.wordpress.com/> | Politics of Evidence
>>>> <http://politicsofevidence.wordpress.com/> | The Write2Know Project
>>>> <http://write2know.ca/>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 2015-06-01, at 11:39 AM, Patrick Keilty wrote:
>>>>
>>>> ----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
>>>> Hi all,
>>>>
>>>> I just have some minor revisions to our schedule for guest
>>>> discussants, and I mistakenly left out a bio in my introduction. My
>>>> apologies. Below please find the corrected schedule and additional
>>>> bio. I'll of course introduce the discussants again at the beginning
>>>> of their weeks.
>>>>
>>>> June 1 - 7: Week 1: Jasmeen Bains, Yi Zhou, and Jo Simalaya Alcampo
>>>>
>>>> June 8 - 14: Week 2: Alana Bartol and Pei-Ying Lin (with Dimitrios
>>>> Stamatis, and Jasmina Weiss)
>>>>
>>>> June 15 - 21: Week 3:  Amanda White and Špela Petrič (with Dimitrios
>>>> Stamatis, and Jasmina Weiss)
>>>>
>>>> June 22 - 28: Week 4: Laura Cinti, Grégory Lasserre, and Anaïs met den
>>>> Ancxt
>>>>
>>>> Scenocosme is a collaboration between Gregory Lasserre & Anais met den
>>>> Ancxt. Gregory Lasserre and Anais met den Ancxt are two artists
>>>> working together as a duo under the name Scenocosme. They work and
>>>> live in France. They develop the concept of interactivity in their
>>>> artworks by using multiple kinds of expression. They mix art and
>>>> digital technology in order to find substances of dreams, poetries,
>>>> sensitivities and delicacies. Their works come from possible
>>>> hybridizations between the living world and technology which meeting
>>>> points incite them to invent sensitive and poetic languages. They also
>>>> explore invisible relationships with our environment : they can feel
>>>> energetic variations of living beings. They design interactive
>>>> artworks, and choreographic collective performances, in which
>>>> spectators share extraordinary sensory experiences. Plants of their
>>>> artwork Akousmaflore react to the human touch by different sounds.
>>>> They use also water (Fluides), stones (Kymapetra) and wood (Ecorces;
>>>> Matières sensibles) as elements capable to generate tactile, visual
>>>> and sound sensory interactivity. Their artworks were presented in
>>>> several contemporary art and digital art spaces. Since 2004, they have
>>>> exhibited their interactive installation artworks at ZKM Karlsruhe
>>>> Centre for Art and Media (Germany), at Museum Art Gallery of Nova
>>>> Scotia (Canada), at Contemporary Art Museum Raleigh (USA), at Daejeon
>>>> Museum of Art (Korea), at Bòlit / Centre d’Art Contemporani (Girona)
>>>> and in many international biennals and festivals.
>>>> http://www.scenocosme.com/
>>>> Patrick Keilty
>>>> Assistant Professor
>>>> Faculty of Information
>>>> Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies
>>>> University of Toronto
>>>> http://www.patrickkeilty.com/
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, Jun 1, 2015 at 10:34 AM, Renate Terese Ferro <
>>>> rferro at cornell.edu <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','rferro at cornell.edu');>>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> ----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
>>>>
>>>> Welcome Natasha Myers and thank you for joining our -empyre moderating
>>>>
>>>> team members Selmin Kara, and Patrick Keilty for the June discussion on
>>>>
>>>> -empyre soft-skinned space,"Plant Art and New Media².  This
>>>>
>>>> cross-disciplinary topic will bring together those interested in art,
>>>>
>>>> science, popular culture, philosophy and anthropology to examine the
>>>>
>>>> dynamics between culture and nature.  We look forward to a topic that
>>>>
>>>> tests the grounds for discussions between human and nonhuman, and
>>>> organic
>>>>
>>>> and machinic life. Natasha, Selmin and Patrick will be introducing this
>>>>
>>>> topic shortly as well as this month¹s guests but I did want to thank
>>>> them
>>>>
>>>> for organizing the monthly topic. We all look forward to it.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Happy June to all
>>>>
>>>> Renate
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Natasha Myers is Associate Professor of Anthropology at York University,
>>>>
>>>> the Director of the Plant Studies Collaboratory, Convenor of the
>>>> Politics
>>>>
>>>> of Evidence Working Group, and co-organizer of Toronto's Technoscience
>>>>
>>>> Salon. Her anthropological research examines forms of life in the arts
>>>> and
>>>>
>>>> biosciences. She is the author of Rendering Life Molecular: Models,
>>>>
>>>> Modelers and Excitable Matter (Duke, 2015), and has published articles
>>>> on
>>>>
>>>> modes of embodiment, the senses, and affects in the life sciences
>>>>
>>>> indifferences, Social Studies of Science, Science Studies, and edited
>>>>
>>>> volumes. Her recent research examines the arts and sciences of botanical
>>>>
>>>> experimentation, the contours of the vegetal sensorium, and the
>>>> affective
>>>>
>>>> ecologies of plant/insect relations. Her new work tracks the formation
>>>> and
>>>>
>>>> propagation of plant publics as artists and scientists stage
>>>> interventions
>>>>
>>>> in sites like botanical gardens. Links to her research,
>>>> research-creation
>>>>
>>>> projects, and publications can be
>>>>
>>>> found at http://natashamyers.org <http://natashamyers.org/>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Selmin Kara is Assistant Professor of Film and New Media at OCAD
>>>>
>>>> University. She has critical interests in digital aesthetics and tropes
>>>>
>>>> related to the anthropocene and extinction in cinema as well as the use
>>>> of
>>>>
>>>> sound and new technologies in contemporary documentary. Selmin¹s work
>>>> has
>>>>
>>>> appeared and is forthcoming in Studies in Documentary Film, Poiesis,
>>>>
>>>> the Oxford Handbook of Sound and Image in Digital Media, Music and Sound
>>>>
>>>> in Nonfiction Film, Post-Cinema, and The Philosophy of Documentary Film.
>>>>
>>>> She has recently co-edited a journal issue on documentary art activism
>>>> and
>>>>
>>>> is currently co-editing an anthology on emergent forms and genres in
>>>>
>>>> contemporary documentary, to be published by Routledge in Fall 2015.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Patrick Keilty is Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Information at
>>>> the
>>>>
>>>> University of Toronto and Instructor in the Bonham Centre for Sexual
>>>>
>>>> Diversity Studies there. Professor Keilty works at the intersection of
>>>>
>>>> media studies, technology studies, and information studies. His primary
>>>>
>>>> teaching and research field is digital culture, with a particular focus
>>>> on
>>>>
>>>> visual culture, new media art, metadata and database logic, database
>>>>
>>>> cinema, pornography, gender, sexuality, race, and critical theory. His
>>>>
>>>> monograph project, provisionally titled Database Desire, engages the
>>>>
>>>> question of how our embodied engagements with labyrinthine qualities of
>>>>
>>>> database design mediate aesthetic objects and structure sexual desire in
>>>>
>>>> ways that abound with expressive possibilities and new
>>>>
>>>> narrative and temporal structures. Recently, he has published and
>>>>
>>>> presented his SSHRC-funded research on a wide variety of topics,
>>>> including
>>>>
>>>> embodiment and technology, algorithmic
>>>>
>>>> display, the history of information retrieval, technology and
>>>>
>>>> transformations of gendered labor, women in computing, design
>>>>
>>>> and experience, compulsion and control, metadata and the creation of
>>>>
>>>> fetishistic networks, and feminist and queer new media and technoscience
>>>>
>>>> issues generally. More at http://www.patrickkeilty.com/.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Renate Ferro
>>>>
>>>> Visiting Assistant Professor of Art,Cornell University
>>>>
>>>> Department of Art, Tjaden Hall Office:  306
>>>>
>>>> Ithaca, NY  14853
>>>>
>>>> Email:   <rferro at cornell.edu
>>>> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','rferro at cornell.edu');> <mailto:
>>>> rtf9 at cornell.edu <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','rtf9 at cornell.edu');>>>
>>>>
>>>> URL:  http://www.renateferro.net <http://www.renateferro.net/>
>>>>
>>>>      http://www.privatesecretspubliclies.net
>>>>
>>>> <http://www.privatesecretspubliclies.net/>
>>>>
>>>> Lab:  http://www.tinkerfactory.net <http://www.tinkerfactory.net/>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Managing Co-moderator of -empyre- soft skinned space
>>>>
>>>> http://empyre.library.cornell.edu/
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>
>>>> empyre forum
>>>>
>>>> empyre at lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au
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>>>>
>>>> http://empyre.library.cornell.edu
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> empyre forum
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>>>> http://empyre.library.cornell.edu
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> empyre forum
>>>> empyre at lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au
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>>>> http://empyre.library.cornell.edu
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> empyre forum
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>>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> http://empyre.library.cornell.edu
>>
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