Interdisciplinary
Conference
Nonhuman Agents in Art, Culture and Theory
24-26 November, 2017
Art Laboratory Berlin Prinzenallee
58, 13359 Berlin-Wedding (Across
the street from the Art Laboratory Berlin exhibition space)
*image
credits below
Nonhuman Agents takes into account recent philosophical approaches
which question anthropocentrism. These discourses emphasise nonhuman
perspectives through object-oriented ontology (Harman and Meillasoux);
discuss nonhuman / human encounters (Haraway); postulate a posthumanism
(Braidotti); and examine various posthuman performative strategies
such as intra-acting (Barad). A new 'de-centring' lets us draw our
attention to a reality that can no longer be described in purely
anthropocentric parameters.
As
a theoretical addition to our ongoing series Nonhuman Agents
(June - December 2017) Art Laboratory Berlin - along with our partners,
The Institute for Arts and Media, University of Potsdam - has brought
together international artists, scholars, and scientists from different
disciplines to discuss artistic, philosophical, ethical and scientific
approaches to nonhuman agency. Previous positions from our Nonhuman
Subjectivities series (2016-17) were also be included.
The conferencestarted with a reflection on post-anthropocentrism
by redefining intelligence (human, animal and plant intelligence),
agency and sentience. An in-depth consideration included the role
of fungi: mycelium, the Internet of trees and yeasts. Microbial
agency was explored via the phenomenon of quorum sensing and biofilms,
proposing a micro-subjectivity. There were contributions on the
microbiome and holobiome, taking into consideration the human as
nonhuman. We sought to open up a discussion to endosymbiosis and
sympoiesis, reflecting symbiotic relationships, horizontal gene
transfer and the role of Lynn Margulis in 21st century Biology and
Science and Technology Studies. Finally, the conference discussed
nonhuman perspectives under threat and proposed an ethology for
the techno-scientific era.
10:00
Regine Rapp, Christian de Lutz (Art Laboratory Berlin)
Welcome and Introduction
10:30 Other Subjectivities. Redefining Intelligence, Agency and Sentience
#post anthropocentrism #animal intelligence #definition of sentience
Moderator: Regine Rapp
Rahma Khazam (Philosophy, Art Theory, Paris) When the sardine can looks back...
Desiree Förster (Media Ecology, Institute for Arts and Media,
University of Potsdam) Environments of Shared Concern
Maja Smrekar (Artist, Ljubljana) The Wolf-human-dog Continuum
12:30 Lunch break
13:30 Fungal Perspectives. From the Viewpoint of a Mushroom
#mycelium #Internet of trees # wood wide web #yeasts
Moderator: Eliot Morrison
Saša Spačal (Artist, Ljubljana) Mycohuman Relationships. Fungi as Interspecies Connectors, Companion
Species and Human Symbionts
Mirjan Švagelj (Microbiologist, Aceis Bio, Ljubljana) Mushrooms as Teachers. Mushrooms in Human Societies
Vera Meyer (Applied and Molecular Microbiology, Institute of Biotechnology,
Technical University Berlin) Fungal Biotechnology – What We Do with Fungi (and What Fungi
Do With Us)
Špela Petrič (Scientist & artist, Amsterdam/ Ljubljana) The Vegetal, Intimately
Joana Bergmann (Institute of Biology, Free University Berlin) Hand in Hand. Root Morphological Traits and Their Mediation by
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi
Monika Bakke (Institute of Philosophy, Adam Mickiewicz University
Poznan) The Force of Radical Openness: Multispecies Alliances Beyond
the Biological
Moderator: Christian de Lutz
19:30
Reception at Art Laboratory Berlin, on view is the current exhibition Nonhuman
Networks (More
information)
Saturday, 25 November, 2017
10:30 Microbial Agency. Proposing Micro-Subjectivity
#bacteria #quorum sensing #microbiology and philosophy
Moderator: Pablo Rojas
Ingeborg Reichle (Media Theory, University of Applied Arts Vienna)
Biome and Biomatter
Regine Hengge (Institute of Biology, Dep. of Microbiology, Humboldt
University Berlin) Biofilms - invisible cities of microbes from the Petri dish to
the human body
Anna Dumitriu (Artist, Brighton) Make Do and Mend
12:30 Lunch break
13:30 Human as Nonhuman. Microbiome and holobiome
#human microbiome #holobiont #redefining ourselves
Moderator: Marta de Menezes
François-Joseph Lapointe (Artist and microbiologist, Department
of Biological Sciences, University of Montreal) Performative Microbiome Experiments
Tarsh Bates (Artist, SymbioticA, University of Western Australia,
Perth) On Being a Microbioartist: Making Art in a Microbiology Lab
Regine Rapp (Art Theory, Curatorial Research, Art Laboratory Berlin) Nonhuman Subjectivities. Artistic Strategies towards a Multispecies
Performativity
15:30 Break
16:00 Endosymbiosis and Sympoiesis #Lynn Margulis #symbiotic relationships #horizontal gene transfer
#autopoiesis and sympoiesis
Moderator: Desiree Förster
Rachel Mayeri (Artist, Media Studies, Harvey Mudd College, Los Angeles) Orfeo Nel Canale Alimentare
Heather Barnett (Artist, Researcher, Central St. Martins, London) Many-Headed: Co-creation across Scales and Species
Daniel Renato Lammel (Institute of Biology, Free University Berlin) Endosymbiosis and "Love Stories" between Plants and
Microorganisms
Laura Benítez Valero (Institute of Philosophy, Autonomous
University of Barcelona) Biosophy and Mutagenesis. Towards an Alien Sym_poiesis
18:15 Break
18:30-19:45 Nonhuman Agents. A report
Alanna Lynch, Margherita Pevere, Theresa Schubert, Sarah Hermanutz,
Heather Barnett and plan b (Sophia New & Daniel Belasco Rogers)
Moderator: Florence Razoux
Sunday, 26 November, 2017
11:00 Nonhuman Perspectives Under Threat
#6th species extinction #human destruction of environment #anthropocene
Moderator: Pablo Rojas
Mary Maggic (Artist, Vienna) From Molecular Colonization to Molecular Collaborations
David Sepkoski (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science,
Berlin) Are We Experiencing a 'Sixth Extinction' and Does it Matter?
12.30 Break
13.00 Beyond the Animal as Machine. Ethology in the Age of Technoscience
#animal-machine interfaces #ethology #Uexküll
Moderator:
Christian de Lutz
Birgit Schneider (Media Ecology, Institute for Arts and Media, University
of Potsdam) Through the Eye of an Animal. Uexküll’s Perceptual
Worlds in 360°?
Robertina Šebjanič (Artist, Ljubljana) Sounds of Troubled Worlds = Songs for Serenity
Vivian Xu (Artist, Designer, Shanghai) The Silkworm Project
15:00 Final Discussion - END
With
the generous support of:
Media
partner:
Cooperation
partners:
Institute for Arts and Media, University of Potsdam
PA 58
* Image
credits: left: Theresa Schubert, still from the workshop The
forestal psyche, August 2017, photo:Tim Deussen/Studio Deussen;
center: Robertina Šebjanic: Aurelia 1+Hz / proto viva generator,
Installation with living system, 2014, photo: Hana Jošic; right
Saša Spacal with Mirjan Švagelj and Anil Podgornik, Mycophone_unison,
Responsive installation: electronics, sound, and biological material,
2013; Petri dish, detail of installation. Photo: Tim Deussen/Studio
Deussen;
Institute for Arts and Media, University of Potsdam