When GPT Digested the Medium Hélène Smith
(2024)
author(s): Katerina Undo
published in: HUB - Journal of Research in Art, Design and Society
Exploring synergies between the study of the medium Hélène Smith at the turn of the 20th century and contemporary notions of subjectivity, artificiality and intelligence in the age of AI, the question of locating intelligence will not be a question with a binary answer in this paper. It will be shifted to multiple sites in an assimilative assemblage, exploring how identification might work from a rather metabolic side of the conversation. Weaving a thinking continuum on the evolving human-machine complexes beyond circular debates, Hélène Smith's ambiguous Martian writings are fed into GPT; an act intended as a metaphor and method for overcoming our binary contradiction of intelligence as either “natural” or “artificial”, ultimately generating new subjectivities, fluid variables or even contradictory insights. In this context, a meditation with speculative moments is attempted through human-machine inter-written texts, enacted through inter-twined speeches that reciprocally represent and interpret their own transitive nature.
Metabolic Drawings – Or: Drawing metabolic
(2024)
author(s): Teresa Mayr
published in: HUB - Journal of Research in Art, Design and Society
Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) is considered a pioneer of abstract painting. However, she herself hardly saw her artistic works as products or opus, but rather as a coherent system. Accordingly, the contribution presents and unfolds af Klint's paintings as an alternative version of modernism, an ecosystem or digestive system. This also takes up the mediumistic origin of the paintings: af Klint visualises transcendental messages. Looking forward and seeking out new possibilities (Bashkoff, 2018), she paints for a future that she perceives clairvoyantly.
In text and images, the piece "Metabolic Drawings – Or: Drawing metabolic" develops a speculative landscape that follows the images and convictions of Hilma af Klint: Historical facts are interwoven with pictorial descriptions and culminate in a utopian or dystopian future. Theoretical approaches from Queer Studies and Speculative Feminism are adopted to critically question the reception of af Klint's paintings and of herself. In a way, the essay can be seen as a digestion of digestion.
Breathing with Phytoplankton: Exploring Metabolic Connections with Oceanic Microbes
(2024)
author(s): Anthea Oestreicher
published in: HUB - Journal of Research in Art, Design and Society
This paper presents an exploration of the interconnectedness between vital metabolic processes of human respiration and phytoplankton photosynthesis. By weaving together ecological sciences with cultural anthropology, eco-feminism, environmental humanities, and artistic practices the paper delves into the intricate metabolic interplay between phytoplankton and humans.
Grounded in the notion of "breathing-with," it navigates through physiological, biological, and sensorial dimensions to elucidate the profound connections between respiration and photosynthesis as metabolic media, fostering alliances in multispecies encounters.
Drawing inspiration from the biological laboratory and the microscopic realm of chlorophyll-bearing organisms, the transformative power of photosynthesis in shaping the planetary atmosphere and sustaining life is highlighted. While underscoring the pivotal role of phytoplankton in oxygen production and carbon dioxide sequestration, it elucidates the challenges and synergistic impacts of oceanic oxygen depletion driven by anthropogenic activities.
Beyond a mere metabolic function, breath emerges as a metaphorical interface for collective action and co-conspiracy, transcending boundaries between human and non-human entities. As such it advocates for a deeper engagement with planetary ecologies and a reimagining of our relationality with the more-than-human world.
Through artistic inquiry and experimental methods, the paper invites readers to reflect on the profound implications of our interconnectedness with phytoplankton, urging a renewed commitment to symbiotic coexistence. In this sense, the act of breathing goes beyond its metabolic function, extending as a form of collective agency in confronting the challenges of an ever-changing world.
Picturing Clouds of Unknowing: Photography, Lostness, and Cognitive Decline
(2024)
author(s): Lucy Carolan
published in: Research Catalogue
The central premise of this doctoral project is that the progressive cognitive ambiguity that is dementia can be creatively apprehended by way of lostness. As defined by Rebecca Solnit, ‘lost’ holds “...two disparate meanings. Losing things is about the familiar falling away, getting lost is about the unfamiliar appearing.” The initial hypothesis of this research was that in certain neurodegenerative conditions the familiar and unfamiliar can confoundingly combine, and that it’s through the lens of this particular combination that some comprehension of dementia as lived experience may be approached. The disorienting misperceptions most commonly encountered in cognitive decline are visual in nature. Given, then, that dementia reveals the importance of vision to perception, how may the photographic, with lostness as optic, be used to illuminate cognitive decline? In what ways can creatively visualising aspects of neurodegeneration in dementia inform understandings of its existential ambiguities?
Deciphering Persian Music: A Systematic Approach Through Modal Classification and Synthesis
(2024)
author(s): Bamdad Khoshghadami Hosseini, Soroosh Ghahramanloo
published in: Research Catalogue
This research aims to develop a comprehensive notation system for Persian music that supports improvisation, composition, and analysis of its modal aspects. By drawing parallels to how chord symbols function in jazz, the study introduces a system to denote pitch classes (maqām) and melodic contours (māyeh). Utilizing historical methodologies from Safī al-Dīn al-Urmawī's "Kitāb-i Advār", the research presents an innovative framework to represent modal cycles and microtonal nuances. As a case study, the 'Radif' of persian music is decoded and presented using this new system, demonstrating its practical application. The outcome is a detailed, practical guide that enhances the understanding and performance of Persian music, illustrated through examples of Setar improvisation and comparative analysis of melodic figures.
Keywords: Persian Music, Modality, Radif, Dastgah, Maqam, Improvisation
Berio Sequenza VIII: The violin’s journey through the music
(2024)
author(s): Sara Molina Castellote
published in: Codarts
The path that a musician traverses when starting and playing a new piece it’s a long process of discoveries and learning. In this case, this process is settled on a deep understanding and analysis of the Sequenza (that is based on Berio experts’ knowledge) and which supports the technical and musical decisions made for my approach to this piece. The steps are made by intervention cycles: the piece is divided in four big sections and each of them is addressed in one intervention cycle. The analysis of two important recordings of the piece was basic for this Research: Jean-Marie Conquer’s and Carlo Chiarappa’s (the latter one was the player that premiered the piece), and also the meetings that I had with some experts on this field: Joseph Puglia and Simone Fontanelli. I didn’t take the decision of starting to play this piece carelessly: it is a piece which requires a great deal of knowledge about violin technique and about contemporary music notation. The kind of work that I carried out was very helpful for me as a musician and as a violinist: I learnt about how to approach technically many problems that I can find, and how useful different sources can be which in other contexts I wouldn’t have considered as a learning source. This Research could be very useful for other musicians that are interested in Berio’s music, and of course for violin players who wonder how they can solve some of the problems that can be found on this or similar pieces.
