{"id":948,"date":"2019-01-28T11:46:15","date_gmt":"2019-01-28T11:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/?p=948"},"modified":"2020-10-12T15:53:39","modified_gmt":"2020-10-12T15:53:39","slug":"synanet-workshop-disrupt-encode-consolidate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/synanet-workshop-disrupt-encode-consolidate\/","title":{"rendered":"Synanet workshop: Disrupt Encode Consolidate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Notes for the collaborative Art &amp; Bio-science Workshop at&nbsp;<strong>Lancaster University, UK<\/strong>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<strong>Monday 17th to Wednesday 19th December 2018<\/strong><br><br>I had a very interesting 3 days at Lancaster University participating in the Synanet workshop. The idea was to bring together interdisciplinary practice across the sciences and arts, to explore ideas in neuroscience research and BioArt. The workshop <strong>\u201caimed to&nbsp;<em>DISRUPT<\/em>&nbsp;dogmatic thinking across these disciplines,&nbsp;<em>ENCODE<\/em>&nbsp;new approaches and insights through shared interactions and&nbsp;<em>CONSOLIDATE<\/em>&nbsp;these ideas through artistic expression\u201d <\/strong>https:\/\/cheapjack.github.io\/DisruptEncodeConsolidate\/ <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong>It consisted of scientific demonstrations and hands-on activity was to provide insight into the theory and practice of neuroscience research. <g class=\"gr_ gr_9 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"9\" data-gr-id=\"9\">FMRI<\/g> [functional brain imaging] behavioural analysis in mice and Fruit Fly\u2019s and Sand Fly\u2019s, And some presentations about the \u201cgut-micro-biome-brain interface\u201d. Most interestingly <strong>\u201c \u2026The workshop aimed to disrupt assumed narratives of artists as \u2018receptors\u2019 and scientists as \u2019transmitters\u2019 of knowledge in the context of Science and Art collaboration\u2026.\u201d<\/strong> There was much space for discussion around these issues, though I can\u2019t say if any conclusions were made. It was certainly interesting and thought-provoking. https:\/\/cheapjack.github.io\/DisruptEncodeConsolidate\/ . <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rod Dillon has been working with artists for many years as&nbsp;part of his practice as a scientist. He believes that fundamentally it\u2019s important to have e a creative approach as a scientist. An amusing example was his PhD project for which he had to devise a \u201c Carpomiter, or to be more precise specifically a &nbsp;\u2018Locust Crapomiter\u2019.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_4596-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-949\" srcset=\"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_4596-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_4596-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_4596-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_4596-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_4596-720x540.jpg 720w, https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_4596-560x420.jpg 560w, https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_4596.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Rod Dillon &#8211; Locust Crapomiter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Speculative and artistic explorations have remained important elements of his practice as a scientist. His research concerns the parasites of the Sandfly which can infect the human spleen, liver, and bone marrow \u2018Leishmaniasis\u2019 causes many deaths in the tropics, similar to Malaria, though is less widely known. His description of himself as a \u2018long arm generalist\u2019 reaching out across disciplines rather than a specialist being stuck in a hole, became a motif for the rest of the workshop. Something many of the artist practitioners could relate to. <a href=\"https:\/\/para-site-seeing.org\">https:\/\/para-site-seeing.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stuart Nolan [Mind readings: 19<sup>th<\/sup> Century mentalism\nand emerging nero-tech] &nbsp;has a background\nin science but later trained as a magician. Since then he has researched the\ntechnology of magic. He demonstrated some examples of how when we think our\nbodies can \u2018communicate\u2019 some of this thinking and how these can be used in a\nway to apparently \u2018read our minds\u2019. For example, if we think of the future, we\nmight lean just slightly forward, and thinking of the past lean slightly\nbackwards. Most fascinatingly we learnt to control the direction and rate of\nswing of a paperclip pendulum; Using only the power of our minds, just by\nthinking about which way we wanted it to swing. This was brilliant, the whole room\nwere controlling these pendula. He went on to explain that actually unperceivable\nmuscular vibrations are controlling the pendulum. We amplify the microscopic frequencies,\njust through focusing on the manifesting swing of the pendulum. This works with\nany similar pendulum like device. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This explained a [para-psychological] experiment I was\nfascinated by in which a man apparently controls rotating objects, balancing on\npins. I thought the obviously there was some concealed technology here, but this\nis done simply though microscopic table wobbling, hitting a resonate frequency for\neach pendulum. However, much training is needed to achieve this. Similar\nprinciples are behind Ouija boards and more advanced forms of \u2018body reading\u2019. This\nidea of embodied thought subliminally being transmitted subconsciously through\nour physical posture fits well with techniques of body scanning used in mediation\nand the Feldenkrais methodologies. It literally resonated with my ideas for proprioception\/perception\ntraining and bodily awareness. &nbsp;http:\/\/stuartnolan.com\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u017darko Aleksi\u0107 is interested in the field of cognitive\nneuro-science and its potential for articulating new artistic ideas and\nconcepts. His projects require active participation or experience, in order for\nthe work to exist. Art which exists only in the mind, when the eyes are shut or\nwhen you are not in the room. &nbsp;\u2018Retinal star\u2019 is a retinal\nimaging device conceived by the artist, imposing an afterimage directly on to\nthe retina. The art exists only when your eyes are shut. \u2018Swimming\nagainst the stream of consciousness\u2019 sees the artist attempt to write poetry while\nhis brain is influenced, perhaps reducing cognitive function, by direct Trans Cranial\nMagnetic Stimulation [TMS] while in \u201cBrain pictures\u201d the artist has conceived \u2018images\u2019\nwhich are generated within the brain through TMS to a different part of the\nbrain. Apparently, these seem like flashes of light, except they are not \u2018seen\u2019\nwith the eye, and involve no light. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.zarkoaleksic.com\/home\/content\/25\/SWIMMING-AGAINST-THE-STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUSNESS\">http:\/\/www.zarkoaleksic.com\/home\/content\/25\/SWIMMING-AGAINST-THE-STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUSNESS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Topic Bird<\/strong> [Experiments and Experiences that Question the Virtual\nGaze]presented a series \u2018experiments\u2019 which took the form of research\nquestions, which generated artworks and performances. For example <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>If the way humans move is shaped by how they see or do\nnot see, will modifying the configuration of their vision change the way they\nmove?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>Is the default of stereoscopic vision so elemental to VR that an experiment embracing other styles of vision must be called something other than VR?<\/li><li>How do human testers react when their point of view, usually closely linked to their heads, becomes technologically multiplied and spread over their bodies?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/future-perspectives.net\/exp_08\/\">http:\/\/future-perspectives.net\/exp_08\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The performance consisted of using the device. Being able to see from multiple perspectives, or using limbs to see with, had a profound effect on the way in which the user could move. Technological restraints such as <g class=\"gr_ gr_16 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"16\" data-gr-id=\"16\">resolution<\/g> of the image and time delay in transmitting and processing the image also <g class=\"gr_ gr_19 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace\" id=\"19\" data-gr-id=\"19\">effected<\/g> the behaviours of the performer. They used webcams attached to Raspberry Pi, which the transmitted the image wirelessly to a network. The images were relayed to a smartphone HMD via a web browser. Which is a clever solution to making accessible open sources tools, as well as mobile interfaces which could be taken into the outside world. There were some interesting experiments using the onboard smartphone cameras to generate perceptual <g class=\"gr_ gr_85 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation multiReplace\" id=\"85\" data-gr-id=\"85\">filters.<\/g><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_4646-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-950\" srcset=\"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_4646-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_4646-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_4646-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_4646-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_4646-720x540.jpg 720w, https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_4646-560x420.jpg 560w, https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_4646.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Topic Bird [Isabel Paehr] Talking about spider vision<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>They mentioned how people became extremely tiered from\nthe experience, and how some people missed being able to see behind themselves.\nI would be interested to see more analysis of people\u2019s experiences of trying to\nadapt to these altered ways of seeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nHttp:\/\/future-perspectives.net\/\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Moriaty Manoli talked about his project .\u2018Symbiotic Synergies\u2019 his multimedia collaborations with dancers. He works from behind a laptop while the dancer could both control the sounds [through movement sensors] <g class=\"gr_ gr_64 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"64\" data-gr-id=\"64\">Moriaty<\/g> developed a system enabling the dancer to control the sounds, while he may also relinquish <g class=\"gr_ gr_38 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"38\" data-gr-id=\"38\">control,<\/g> if the dancer refuses to work within pre-defined sequences of movement. In this <g class=\"gr_ gr_37 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"37\" data-gr-id=\"37\">way<\/g> a process of feedback occurs within the performance. He is exploring a notion of &nbsp;\u201cmutual exploitation\u201d using the analogy of symbiosis and parasitism as a means to unfold the sometimes limited notion of \u2018collaboration\u2019.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Discussion\ufeff<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There was much discussion about sciart collaboration. What worked well, what did not. Some ideas that resonated with me: The importance of trust. Agreeing on expectorants up front. Most importantly the importance of friendship within a true collaboration.  Being equal upon a shared platform. However; there is an assumption the artist must be willing to gain knowledge in the area of science they are working in, in order to have a shared knowledge of processes and techniques [often manifesting in low tech and DIY approaches which can be sustainably achieved outside the lab] this will often result in an ongoing development beyond the lab. But can the same be said of artistic processes being embraced within the context of scientific practice? I would like to see this idea explored further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanks Rod Dillon <a href=\"mailto:r.dalziel@lancaster.ac.uk?subject=Disrupt,%20Encode,%20Consolidate%20Information%20Request\">Ross Dalziel<\/a> and&nbsp; Neil Dawson For organising this excellent workshop.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/cheapjack.github.io\/DisruptEncodeConsolidate\/\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>www.synanet2020.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Notes for the collaborative Art &amp; Bio-science Workshop at&nbsp;Lancaster University, UK&nbsp;on&nbsp;Monday 17th to Wednesday 19th December 2018 I had a very interesting 3 days at Lancaster University participating in the Synanet workshop. The idea was to bring together interdisciplinary practice across the sciences and arts, to explore ideas in neuroscience research and BioArt. The workshop&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[270,32,9],"tags":[36,135,87],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=948"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2411,"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948\/revisions\/2411"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antonyhall.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}