We are so fortunate to be joined by artist Anna Dumitriu in Brighton, England for Episode 9 of Particles. Since Anna was a child, she has been thoroughly interested in the London Plague and subsequent infectious diseases - how they are carried and how myths and folklore develop around the unseen. Her work is now focused on these unseen characters, down to their DNA, and considers what roles and implications microorganisms carry in culture, science and economy.
This ArtSci Particle features Stephanie Rothenberg, joining us from Buffalo, New York. Stephanie begins with a potent discussion of her work which is then followed by a conversation with Victoria about the necessity of sentience during this time, asking, “what senses do we still have available that allow us to remain connected?” Stephanie engages this question with her students and with her practice, working with social justice organizations, city planners and stakeholders to make artwork that has potential to effect change and help drive public and social progress.
Clarissa Ribeiro sits down with Victoria Vesna to have an informal interview about her recent work, creating open-source face shields and masks so that everyone can have a means for protecting themselves. Clarissa distributes this work widely, but not through sharing materials – instead through sharing media so there is no contamination in the exchange. She also muses critically and philosophically about the separation humans create between us and other species, and even the language we use to further drive that separation.
Linda Weintraub formats this Particle episode as a commencement address to inspire an honest and positive response to this challenging moment. Through creative, critical analysis she reminds us that art can contribute to a beneficial outcome of the pandemic. Using the framework of the Minimalist movement of the 1960's, she illuminates that when things become stripped down and removed of context or knowing, we are left with essential facts and a real opportunity to look, feel, and respond with authenticity.
Victoria Vesna joins the Leonardo Post Pandemic Provocation Group to discuss, imagine and critically PROVOKE ideas for what our complex world might look like after the pandemic. Viewed from a multi-disciplinary vantage point, this conversation begins by taking a look at what's happening now then broadening out to how it's possible to grow out of this time as a more consciously interdependent species and world. This conversation is one in a series of Leonardo Post Pandemic Provocations.
"The thing about this moment is that
WE ARE ALL IN THE SAME FIGHT."
Iain discusses how he and his students at Montclair University are responding to the pandemic through community mobilization of medical resources, maintaining safe connections with individuals through foraging, and thinking critically about how we can use this time to reimagine and redevelop our social, economic and political systems.
Artist, Pat Badani joins Victoria Vesna for a philosophical and socially contextual conversation about bread and food in the time of pandemic. For Badani, who uses bread making in her work, the process is intimate, material, and deeply connected to time. She is interested in how during times of crises, humans are drawn to the essential, and how this is symbolized by the relationships between humans, yeast, water and wheat.
Dr. Aisen Caro Chacin and Dr. Chris Zahner work together at the University of Texas Medical Branch at the Maker HEALTH SPACE, a medical device prototyping Lab. Together they have made an innovative design for ventilators - creating them out of standard medical supplies and Arduinos, for simple and inexpensive use and distribution all over the world.
