[-empyre-] (no subject)

Mon Jun 8 10:31:19 AEST 2015

Thanks for your comments.  Hi Graham, thanks for your questions.  In
response:

1) I am fascinated by the way participants interact with the plants and the
technology. I am present at most of my installations, so I get to dialogue
with people.

Some people ask me what species of plant this is, that sings! Some ask
about programming and the technology I use to connect the plants. Some
(mostly children or those young at heart) surprise me with the way they
engage with the plants - one child kept "headbutting" the plants making a
connection with their forehead, a group of students "scratched" with the
plants like DJs!

It is a great way to connect with others and engage in conversations about
nature, technology, sound and art.

2) Yes, I notice changes in the plants all the time. As I explained in
another thread, there are rituals that I practice before working with the
plants, during an installation, and after I remove the conductive thread.

They involve communicating intent, making offerings, asking permission, and
waiting for a response.  If you do not receive permission, you keep
waiting. If you receive permission, you give thanks and take on the
responsibility of working with a living being with a spirit of its own.
These are teaching I have learned from different indigeneous healers.

I also use "tacit knowledge" to decide how to proceed - a cultural value
based upon Filipino Psychology. Sometimes there is permission.  Sometimes
there is not.  In that case, I wrap the thread around the plant instead. In
fact, this is how I have proceeded with most of my installations over the
past five years.

When I remove the sensors, I engage in another ritual. Afterwards, the
plants live with my family and are nurtured in the company of other plants.

Thanks,
Jo

On Sun, Jun 7, 2015 at 12:21 PM, Murat Nemet-Nejat <muratnn at gmail.com>
wrote:

> ----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
> Hi Spela, thank you for your perceptive and wise (that is a word I haven't
> used for a line time) comments on our endeavors here, that the activity
> itself is a meditation, a clarification of purpose. The following sentence
> touched me most: "That said, I also believe that only when working
> with/growing/observing plants over a longer period of time does this alien
> group of living beings begin to authentically displaces our perception of
> them -- and, consequently, of ourselves."
>
> First, that we can never transcend or get rid of our humanity; but we can
> understand ourselves, our limitations (perhaps what is human) better. The
> passage reminded me also of Socrates, someone who was very important in my
> intellectual growth; but of whom I had not thought for many years. But just
> recently I watched Rosselini's Italian TV production *Socrates*.
>
> Also, I like a lot the way you pay attention to time, to the importance of
> duration (something we talked about a lot discussing boredom) in both
> observation--particularly of a radical other as plants--and
> understandin--that understanding the other is finally an understanding of
> oneself.
>
> Ciao,
> Murat
>
> On Sun, Jun 7, 2015 at 10:50 AM, nik gaffney <nik at fo.am> wrote:
>
>> ----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
>>
>>
>> On 07/06/15 02:09, Graham Teeple wrote:
>>
>>> My mind has been spiralling into the human, interspecies, and cyborg
>>> dimensions of these projects.
>>>
>>
>> "Interacting with entities whose logic and communication patterns are not
>> readily comprehensible to humans should be approached with care. As we move
>> beyond a world dominated by information technology into an era in which the
>> biological world is beginning to penetrate the 'technosphere', different
>> modes of interaction may be required. We propose that parallel to the field
>> of HCI - Human Computer Interaction, we should explore the field of HPI -
>> Human Plant Interaction. HPI explores the nature of surfaces and processes
>> required to facilitate reciprocal interaction between humans and plants.
>> Historically, interaction between humans and plants has ranged from
>> parasitic to collaborative. However, for HPI to become mutually beneficial,
>> a symbiotic relationship may be most appropriate. Before a Human-Plant
>> symbiosis becomes possible, we need to ask ourselves why, where and how can
>> this two-way interface be realised? What cognitive and social biases need
>> to be overcome? Can we develop a generalisable approach to interfacing with
>> the entire plant kingdom, or do we require localised interactions between
>> different species, ecotopes or alkaloids? How do we bridge the differences
>> of time and place on each side of human-plant interfaces? And by
>> rediscovering the value of humility, can humans learn how to become part of
>> systems more complex, older and stranger than themselves?"
>>
>> http://lib.fo.am/groworld_hpi_ii
>>
>> --
>>                                     [ f o a m ]  ->  http://fo.am
>>                                        grow your own worlds [借景]
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> empyre forum
>> empyre at lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au
>> http://empyre.library.cornell.edu
>>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> empyre forum
> empyre at lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au
> http://empyre.library.cornell.edu
>

-- 

Jo SiMalaya Alcampo

josimalaya.com

*UPCOMING:*

*Subtle Technologies Conference
<http://subtletechnologies.com/festival/festival-2015/>*

Sun May 31, 10AM-12PM, Panel Discussion at Artscape Youngplace

*LIFT OFF! Festival at Cahoots Theatre*

Fri June 19, 8 PM: free public reading of Hilot Means Healer

Sun Jun 21, 7 pm: Storytelling event, "Shaken Roots"

Asinabka Indigenous Arts Festival
<http://www.asinabkafestival.org/Home.html>

August 19 - 23, Exhibition at Gallery 101, Ottawa
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