Na-no(n)sense: Art, design and topology in the space of the infinitesimal
The spatial qualities of the nano-scale are as rich and varied as traditional anthropomorphic space, and encompass familiar architectural/art/design raw materials such as texture, memory, history, gravity and enclosure. In nanotechnology great changes can be brought by small manipulations of material. Nano-spaces are ripe for instantiation and appropriation by design and the visual arts, as they could change our ontological relationship with our surroundings. Within a topological relationship to bodies, nanotechnology poses questions of social politics, and manifests in public practices such as visual art practices, architecture, design, urbanism. We are faced with pragmatic practice where experiments with conditions – whether literary, biological, electronic, social or political – are a ‘utopia’ that cannot be pre-reflected, in order to see (or even imagine) what emerges. Nanotechnology is one field where the two cultures of science and the humanities are necessarily brought into conjunction.
A mini conference hosted by VADRG will commence exploration of what we
believe will be an area of intense philosophical and political interest
in the near future. The conference will draw relations between the
physical/organic sciences and the humanities in the area of
nanotechnology.
Research Assistant: Ana Sala - Oveido . Contact Ana for more information about this project.
Links:
Horizon
Zero, Issue #14 dream: speculating the nanotech home of the future