PhD Research Week 8 Y2

Talk:  "Original or Authentic? The Emergence, Formulation and Realisation of Ideas"Interdisciplinary presentation with Jerry Brotton, Bruno Latour, Adam Lowe and Simon Schaffer.

"Over the past 20 years they have worked closely together on a number of projects that blur the boundaries between disciplines and challenge the distinctions between the arts and the sciences. Their diverse intellectual curiosity, love of material evidence and celebration of the complexity of things has often produced surprising results and innovative ideas. They will discuss some new projects that are currently being developed - including a major new investigation into the aesthetics of the Anthropocene; Terra-Forming, Engineering the Sublime."

Another Bruno Latour talk here

The key notes from the talk that i took, mainly relate to my own research. The question of authenticity and originality in communication on sustainability is very relevant.  Latour and co, explore the natural world in search for meaning, which can be considered art and physics - "Cultivating an intimacy with the nature of the natural world".  Can communication design for sustainability also cultivate an intimate relationship with the natural world?

Original = idea of value in time Authentic = value of the producer

The ways in which engagement is secured makes meaning out of objects (meteorites)

Hard matter vs soft matters - what if soft matter provide stories that should be pursued?

Darwin on honeycomb (how do bees make perfect hexagons?)  Bees have instincts they are trained to manipulate soft water to max volume / decrease energy.

Art + science = interaction of both - the l was of physical order + harmony aesthetics live together.  The boundary between order and disorder - order and flow (outdoor sciences was the name given to the sciences that study the natural world).  The relation of art + science could be different than from commercial means (make different kind of history + future for what is at stake in our culture now)

Do we need to be the bird over viewing the world ? Or should we show the intricate delicate ways in which we are connected to the earth?  This is the ultimate answer to globalization towards fixing the anthropocentric age.