art-science: reflections on the interface between arts and sciences

8/3/2019 art-science: reflections on the interface between arts and sciences

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Dave Murray-Rust

[email protected]

www.mo-seph.com

art-science: reflections on the interface

between arts and sciences
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


2/26

Musical AgentsModelling musical

communication withinteractive software agents

http://www.mo-seph.com/academic/agentbox


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InteracTablePlayful multitouch, multimodal

search aggregation

//www.mo-seph.com/projects/interactable


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ChaoDependantHarmonic motion, magnets, sensors, handblown

glass, interactive soundscape

http://www.mo-seph.com/projects/chaodependantwith Agelos Papadakis (http://www.agelospapadakis.com/) and

Owen Green (http://owengreen.net/)
http://www.mo-seph.com/projects/chaodependanthttp://www.mo-seph.com/projects/chaodependanthttp://www.mo-seph.com/projects/chaodependanthttp://www.mo-seph.com/projects/chaodependant


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Mobecule

s

Virtual, geolocated molecules

http://www.mobecules.org


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Why?

(for me) For the joy!

Bring out hidden

relationships andprocesses

People and technology

are fascinating Putting them together

helps understand both


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David Dunn acoustic ecology, The

Sound of Light in Trees

The first [genesis] was creative. For the pastseveral years, David Dunn has been developinginnovative, low-cost microphones encouragingan appreciation of the vast spectrum of sounds in

our world that are outside of our normal humanexperience

The second genesis [was] the use of acoustics inecology research his recordings were often able

to identify [bark beetle] population booms beforepheromone traps, the previously accepted bestmethod

http://www.acousticecology.org/dunn/solit.html


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Art, Science,

Technology


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Trajectories,

Dialogues


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Agent Based Modelling of Land Use

Social surveys to understandhuman behaviour

Stakeholder engagement

Integrate different models Models as knowledge

integration tools

Cant assume stationarity;

uncertain future Develop scenarios

Rounsevell, M. D. A. & Metzger, M. J. Developing qualitative scenario storylines for environmental change

assessment Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 2010


12/26

Thinking about the future

Modelling now, projecting current trends

Scenario analysis Narratives and models,

Kahn: the most likely future isnt

Foresight, collaborative fiction/serious gaming

e.g. IFTF, World without Oil

Science Fiction e.g. Paolo Bacigalupi, calorie

economy; Charles Stross, AI and behaviour

modification


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Speculative Spectrum

Modeling the future

The future is already here its just not very evenly distributed William Gibson


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Latour: science and society

Science vs Research Science produces objectivity byescaping as much as possible from the shackles ofideology, passions, and emotions; research feeds on allof those to render objects of inquiry familiar.

Collective experiment: French association for thetreatment of muscular dystrophy (AFM) They tookover. They tailored a science policy adjusted to whatthey perceived as their needs. Far from expectingcertainty from science, they accepted that they must

share risk in research. 3 floors: Patients | Scientists | Admin

Latour, B. (1998). From the world of science to the world of research? Science, 280(5361):208.


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Contextualising Science

Notovny et al Rethinking Science (2001)

Science needs to be contextualised for societyMode2 knowledge production

Which requires interdisciplinary practice: transcendsdisciplinary boundaries

Connects scientific institutions with publics

Soften distinction between making knowledge and

using knowledge Allows for tak[ing] subjective experience seriously

displacement of a culture of autonomy of science by aculture of accountability


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Born and Barry: Logics of

Interdisciplinarity

Interdisciplinarity is not novel!

And interdisciplines become disciplines

But currently in focus demand formore integration with science

Look at contemporary rationales about

the purposes of interdisciplinarity

Born and Barry, 2010, ART-SCIENCE: from public understanding to public experiment, J. Cultural Econ


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Born and Barry: Logics of

Interdisciplinarity - Accountability

Making science understandable and

hence accountable to society

Public engagement, aestheticization

Research is a given, public assembled in

response to it



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Logics of Interdisciplinarity -

Innovation

Science is expected to contribute to

industrial innovation and economic

growth

Social science fosters links between

scientific and technical progress and the

market

Barry, A.; Born, G. & Weszkalnys, G. Logics of interdisciplinarity Economy and Society, Taylor & Francis, 2008


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Logics of Interdisciplinarity:

Ontological

Effecting change in relations between

artists and scientists, their objects and

publics

Public becomes part of the experiment,

and can self-select



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Crowdsourcing vs Citizen Science

Crowdsourcing: Large group of public participants Social rewards for participation

Generally carrying out a specific, welldefined task, or being an experimentalsubject

Mostly used to provide data points

Citizen Science: Participants more active

Less didactic can drive the researchmore

We prefer to call this [Galaxy Zoo] citizen sciencebecause its a better description of what youredoing; youre a regular citizen but youre doingscience. Crowd sourcing sounds a bit like, well,youre just a member of the crowd and youre not;youre our collaborator. Youre pro-activelyinvolved in the process of science by

participating. (Kevin Schawinski)
http://www.galaxyzoo.org/http://www.astro.yale.edu/ks57/home.htmlhttp://www.astro.yale.edu/ks57/home.htmlhttp://www.galaxyzoo.org/


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Global Change: Big Data, Big Models

How to visualise interactions

between a billion agents?How to make sense of globaldatasets

What does it take to makemodels and their outputsunderstandable to the public?Interaction? Interfaces?Participatory Simulation?

How to convey provenance,

linkages, uncertainty Going beyond the visual:

tangible and ambientinterfaces


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Important Things - Process

Clarity, and truthfulness to the science, and theprocess behind it

Not subjugating artists or scientists to each other Reflect on the science and not taking it as a fixed

point for creation of pieces, but starting adialogue

Transformative: alter the relations between artistand scientist, and with the public

Embracing change


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Important Things - Output

Encourage questions fluid hypothesis

generation and testing

Collective experiments, shared spaces,

interaction

Playfulness

Multilayered, but not complexified


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Challenges

Assessment, criteria: novel forms of qualitycontrol which undermine disciplinary forms ofevaluation

Subjectivity: how to engage with personalexperience

Understanding the rigor of different

perspectives Communication

Staying relevant


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Final Thoughts

Ensuring a dialogue between science and art

Public experimentation over publicengagement; broadening science rather than

communicating it


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Thanks for Listening

Dave [email protected]

www mo-seph com
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

art-science: reflections on the interface between arts and sciences

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