Kia ora ADA-ers You are warmly invited participation in an online forum discussion on the topic: "Can Art be a ‘mediator’ between climate science and society?"
Invited particpants for the online discussion will include scientists, curators and artists from the exhibitions; Ecomedia, (Oldenburg, 2007) Weather Report: Art and Climate Change (Boulder, Colorado, 2007), and The Trouble with the Weather (Sydney, 2007), Geomatics and Ecomatics (Shanghai, 2007). The discussion is be hosted on the YASMIN list (the Mediterranean Arts-Science Network) as well as our ADA list. The concept for an online discussion was initiated by the Leonardo magazine "Lovely Weather Art and Climate Project", currently calling for written content. The "Lovely Weather" Editorial committee includes Roger Malina, Annick Bureaud, Ramon Guardans, Drew Hemment, Jacques Mandelbrojt, Andrea Polli, John Cunningham, Janine Randerson. http://www.leonardo.info/isast/journal/calls/lovelyweather-call_2007.html. I will make posts once a week to ADA for November with a compliation of responses and it would be great to get some ADA responses as well. Below is the initial discussion topic statement: **************************************************** Can Art be a ‘mediator’ between climate science and society? The November YASMIN-ADA discussion focuses on the relationship between of art and climate science, within the broader framework of science-art discourse. Art is often framed positively as a ‘mediator’ between science and society. However, negative readings of the relationship between climate science and art have positioned artists as ‘appropriators’ of techno-science, who simply ‘aestheticize’, or relate to science in a ‘shallow’ way or, still worse, ‘misread’ climate science. In recent years, Art has been widely considered elitist, anthropocentric and unreceptive to social requirements. Science also has a public relations problem. In the book Making Climate Forecasts Matter the scientists Stern and Easterling admit, “…research addressed to questions framed by climate science is not necessarily useful to those whom climate affects.” (Easterling, 1999: 3). Results from a UK poll published through The Guardian (July 2007) found that the public are highly informed about climate change, yet they are still skeptical about the seriousness of the threat. The majority surveyed believed that scientists and politicians are overstating the anthropogenic effect on the weather. We have reached an impasse where there is a high level of public awareness about climate change, indeed an over saturation, yet there is no corresponding mass action or direction. So how can art, science and the public reception of these knowledge fields, overcome perceived failings and differences, and link together productively to face an uncertain future for sustainable life? This open provocation aims to generate perspectives from artists, scientists, curators and the public on the following questions: Is an emergent mode of “relational” art developing that is more receptive to public anxieties and concerns about climate and atmospheric pollution? Does climate science need art? Is the collaboration between artists and scientists useful for both parties and for society-at-large? Does the ambidextrous figure of the “artist-scientist” or “scientist-artist” become more relevant at a point of crisis like climate change? What expectations do curators and artist-participants have for the audiences of current group exhibitions such as Ecomedia, (Oldenburg, 2007) Weather Report (Boulder, 2007), and The Trouble with the Weather (Sydney, 2007)? Are new audiences expected? How do art projects and exhibitions function in relation to climate activism? Are aesthetic experience and political consciousness diametrically opposed? Can art influence public policy on climate change? Do we still believe in a social imperative for artists to act politically? (posted by Janine Randerson, Leonardo Lovely Weather Art and Climate Project, October 2007) _______________________________________________ Ada_list mailing list [email protected] http://aotearoadigitalarts.org.nz/
