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Authors: |
Diamond, Sara. A Panel/ | |
Title: |
(Un)Free Radicals Towards a Manifesto of Shared Risk Laboratory Proposal from Sara Diamond | |
| Keywords: | Materialism; biotechnology; radicals; intervention; piracy. | |
Abstract: |
(Un)Free Radicals unearths shared roots lodged in the ecstatic soil of radical intervention. A performance manifesto event, it will suggest that some fields of science and art occlude territories of dialogue across boundaries. It brings into play individuals whose preference is intervention, working from the philosophical base of materialism and science. Rather than celebrating a new millennium of rapprochement between technology, art and culture, this manifesto producing event calls for scientists, artists, technologists and theorists to mobilize in response to an accelerated climate of cruelty, irrationality and coldness shared by science and mass culture with an eye and ear towards transformation. The philosophical adventure of melding the fields of science and art at times takes on a neutral border culture of phenomenology, dematerialization, experimentation and pure subjectivity. Yet science and art practice can a consideration of conditions and resulting consciousness. The characteristics of materials and things and their possibilities plays an important role, for example in the ideas of Deleuze and Guattari. Investigation as ritual practice is deeply materialist in its origins. The goals of the participants will be collect a third position through declarative action and resulting responses from conference participants. The goals of social intervention is to provide and provoke pleasure and unleash possibility as well as to make living more bearable for humans and the world around. The performance manifesto will begin with two key issues of immediate relevance to the next decades. These are heightened biotechnology and bioengineering adventurism and the related identity and piracy practices in relation to collective and historically constituted subjects, such as Aboriginal people. How could play with the exchange of power to create a material culture of science and art, including use and exchange value? How can we put biotech to use? How do we project these practices and concepts into our imaginary of other worlds, both outside of the earth and at the microcosmic level? The event will be shaped over the next two months in networked collaboration with the presenters. The performance/panel is shaped by Sara Diamond. Over the days of the conference she will ask the group to create declarative statements through the presentation of a performance or dialogue at the beginning of the conference, collect responses throughout the event and hold a final summary manifesto creating event. They will work with Brazilian artists, scientists and theorists at the conference to relate these issues to local contexts. Humor, invention, play, as well as serious business will be the tone. Current suggestions for participants are Maris Bustamente, Mexico; Oliver Ressler, Austria; Jeannette Armstrong, En'nowichan Cultural Centre, British Columbia, Natalie Jeremijenko, USA/Australia. Maris Bustamente is a performance artist and theorist engaged in dialogue with science and technology in Mexico, specifically astrophysics and biotechnology_she is organizing a conference examining art, science and philosophy in Mexico City. Oliver Ressler is an artist/researcher who has created a series of interventions including "Opposing Gene Worlds: Oppositions to Genetic Engineering", "Letters to Nature" and other public events in Europe and North America. Jeannette Armstrong is a writer and activist who is at the center of Aboriginal organization on the international front around the ownership of native genetics. Natalie Jeremijenko is an engineer who has worked on biologically engineered installations and has been active in the human genome project. |
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| Who is Sara Diamond? sara_diamond@banffcentre.ab.ca Banff Centre, Canada Sara Diamond is currently the Artistic Director of Media and Visual Arts at The Banff Centre, Alberta Canada. She is responsible for the artistic and research directions in all visual and media arts programs, including digital media and television at The Centre. Since coming to Banff she developed The New Media Institute, a multi event environment that explores contemporary cultural, technical, scientific and economic practice in new media through think tanks and development seminars. Some recent events include Out of the Box, into the future of the interface; Avatar! Avatar! Wherefore Art Thou, Art, Science and Networked Identity; Flesh Eating Technologies, exploring culture and science on the brink. In addition, she develops collaborative themes for visual and media arts expression at Banff, including Trot, Trot, Mao Meow, The Long March, The New Materialism, a residency in the Fall of l998 and Surface in the Fall of l999 will explore skin, surface, biotechnology and body. Diamond has executive produced more than one hundred and fifty new media and television works since coming to The Banff Centre. She is a cultural and social historian, a writer, curator, performer and award winning video and installation artist. She is currently editing an edition of Semiotexte with Sylvere Lotringer and an edition of Zed Magazine on developing a critical discourse on gaming. She holds degrees in Communications and History. She works internationally, collaborating with arts, culture, learning and commercial environments in Latin America, Mexico, the U.K, Europe and the USA. She was on the organizing committee for SIGGRAPH l998.She taught at The Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, Canada and at the California Institute for the Arts, in Valencia, California. |
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