A Multi-format Symposium.
Co-organized by CUE Art Foundation and Taney Roniger.
November 4 – 15, 2017.
With the current groundswell of interest in interdisciplinary thinking sweeping the arts and academia, the intersection of art and science is becoming increasingly promising terrain for many artists. But with the two fields representing such distinct epistemological enterprises, prospects for a mutually beneficial partnership remain unclear. The objective of this symposium is to examine some of the underlying assumptions and motivations of this burgeoning movement, to clarify what its practitioners seek to accomplish, and to consider ways in which an art-science alliance might contribute to the larger cultural discourse of our fraught and complex century.
Co-organized by CUE Art Foundation and Taney Roniger, the conference features a panel of distinguished artists, scientists, writers, and curators in a ten-day online dialogue, initiated by opening presentations at the Foundation’s Chelsea gallery. Both components are free and open to the public, and readers of the online forum are encouraged to contribute through moderated comments. The symposium concludes with a social gathering at the gallery welcoming all participants and the public. As a follow-up to the conference, selected participant essays will be published in the December/January issue of The Brooklyn Rail which will be dedicated to the intersection of art and science.
Issues to be probed during the dialogue include the uneasy power dynamics between the two fields; how sci-art relates to the larger trajectory of postmodernism; and the conative nature of art’s engagement with science (i.e., does it seek to popularize, celebrate, “problematize,” or challenge?). Also explored will be the relationship between scientific imagery and scientific content, and whether the latter can survive being recontextualzied as art. Participants include art historian, James Elkins of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; Elaine Reynolds, associate professor of biology and neuroscience at Lafayette College; science writer, artist, and curator Margaret Wertheim; and artists Matthew Ritchie and Catherine Chalmers.
Download the PRESS RELEASE
SCHEDULE
In-Person Event
Opening Presentations:
James Elkins, Matthew Ritchie, and Elaine Reynolds
Saturday, November 4, 3-5.30PM
CUE Art Foundation, 137 W25th Street, New York, NY 10001
FREE: RSVP online here.
Online Symposium
Follow and participate online
www.strangeattractors.cueartfoundation.com
Sunday, November 5 – Tuesday, November 15.
In-Person Event
Strange Attractors Mixer
Friday, November 17, 5-7PM
CUE Art Foundation, 137 W25th Street, New York, NY 10001
FREE: RSVP online here.
The Brooklyn Rail Critics Page
Pickup the December/January issue at a location near you, or read online at www.brooklynrail.org
PARTICIPANTS
Suzanne Anker, Gianluca Bianchino, Jeanne Brasile, Catherine Chalmers, Evelina Domnitch and Dmitry Gelfand, James Elkins, Linda Francis, Lorrie Fredette, Daniel Hill, Ed Kerns, Eve Andree Laramee, Stephen Nowlin, Sinead Maharaj, Roger Malina, Matthew Ritchie, Alexis Rockman, Luis F. Schettino, Leonard Shapiro, Werner Sun, Jane Wang, Dan Weiskopf, Margaret Wertheim