Lecture by Ellen Pearlman - Imagining the Unimaginable and Performing the Unthinkable
Lecture by Douglas Rushkoff - Artists in a Digital Society: Programmers or De-Programmers?
Is society predestined towards control and predictability? Will the use of ever-increasing Artificial Intelligence and algorithms bring humanity to new heights or plunge us to unimaginable lows? With this event Baltan Laboratories reflects on the role of art & tech in an increasingly polarizing landscape. Speakers Douglas Rushkoff and Ellen Pearlman contemplate on the role of (digital) art in our tech dominated society and how to make choices wisely.
Program outline
16:00 PM Introduction on Zoom
16:15 PM Lectures Rushkoff and Pearlman
17:15 PM Q&A on Zoom
Keynote lectures via Youtube and Facebook .
Q&A via Zoom .
Lecture by Ellen Pearlman - Imagining the Unimaginable and Performing the Unthinkable
As societies of control and systems of quantification become more ubiquitous, Ellen Pearlman frames her brain operas "Noor" performed in a 360 degree theater and "AIBO" an emotionally intelligent artificial intelligent brainwave opera, as inquiries into possible outcomes. She also presents "DANCEDEMIC", a biometric networked response to lockdown and isolation, as she advocates for artistic input and thinking into the use and development of increasingly complex and sophisticated technologies that affect our everyday lives.
Dr. Ellen Pearlman is the program director at ThoughtWorks Arts. She is a new media artist, critic, curator and writer who created Noor: A Brain Opera, the world’s first immersive interactive brain opera in a 360 degree theater and AIBO, an emotionally intelligent artificial intelligent brainwave opera. She is on the faculty of Parsons/New School University, and a Senior Researcher, Assistant Professor at RISEBA University in Riga, Latvia. Ellen is also President of Art-A-HackTM and Director and Curator of the New York Volumetric Society.
Lecture by Douglas Rushkoff - Artists in a Digital Society: Programmers or De-Programmers?
How to reprogram society to better serve humanity or society? In his keynote, Douglas Rushkoff reflects on the role of artists to ‘reprogram’ society. The question is, do we direct technology, or do we let ourselves be directed by it and those who have mastered it? “Choose the former, and you gain access to the control panel of civilization. Choose the latter, and it could be the last real choice you get to make.”
Prolific author, award-winning documentarian and teacher, Rushkoff’s work explores how different technological environments change our relationship to narrative, money, power, and one another. He coined such concepts as “viral media,” “screenagers,” and “social currency,” and has been a leading voice for applying digital media toward social and economic justice. He is also a columnist for Medium, technology and media commentator for CNN, a research fellow at the Institute for the Future, and a lecturer on media, technology, culture and economics around the world.
Join the event
On November 24th at 16:00 CET we will commence with an event introduction to the RegionArts project and the ICT meets the Arts event. This will be followed by the keynote lectures from Douglas Rushkoff and Ellen Pearlman which will premiere online on our Baltan Laboratories YouTube Channel and our Facebook page. The videos will remain accessible afterwards. In addition to watching the lectures, there is the opportunity to join the conversation in a live Q&A with Douglas Rushkoff and Ellen Pearlman. If you would like to join this conversation, please join the Zoom meeting. The room will be open at 15:45.
RegionArts
This event is part of the multi-year Interreg Europe RegionArts program that aims to promote collaboration between art and ICT. Within the program Baltan focusses on ways to support art/ICT projects on their way towards implementation in society.
Baltan Laboratories
Baltan initiates experimentation on the crossroads of art, design, science and technology. The lab functions as a collaborative mindset and network, connecting curious individuals and organisations. By placing art and design research at the core of its activities, Baltan explores the implications, promises and pitfalls of our technological society.
ICT meets the Arts: Douglas Rushkoff and Ellen Pearlman
The role of art in societies of control
