2019 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Investigation on wetware art in the post-digital age
| Project/Area Number |
18K00203
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| Research Institution | Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences |
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Principal Investigator |
カストロ ホアン・マヌエル 情報科学芸術大学院大学, メディア表現研究科, 准教授 (60759794)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
久保田 晃弘 多摩美術大学, 美術学部, 教授 (70192565)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
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| Keywords | メディア芸術 / ウェットウェア / マテリアル・エージェンシー / マイクロパフォーマティビティ / 宇宙生物学 / 地球外有機物 / エイリアン生命 / ホルムアミド |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
The second phase of the investigation focused on two areas: 1) analyzing and categorizing wetware art and 2) disseminating knowledge about and reflection on the intersection of art, synthetic biology and astrobiology. Methods to develop these areas included elaborating educational material (publications, website) and educational events (an international symposium and a workshop) to make this investigation known to the general public; in particular, to art, design, and life sciences students at Japanese universities.
The outcomes generated during this phase include international research collaboration with media theorists Dr. Jens Hauser (University of Copenhagen) and Prof. Ingeborg Reichle (University of Applied Arts Vienna); an international symposium at Tama Art University; lectures on wetware art; a hands-on workshop on liquid robots; and a research paper on art and astrobiology.
In June, we organized an international symposium on art, philosophy, chemistry and astrobiology at Tama Art University entitled “Matter(s) in Motion”. In this meeting, we brought together leading figures from the fields of bio art, media theory, protocell research, space exploration and the origin of life in space. We discussed issues relevant to our investigation including the active behavior of matter, intermediate states between the living and the non-living, material agency and the likelihood of discovering active matter and alien life beyond the earth.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
During this phase of the investigation we were able to 1) establish collaborations with several researchers in the fields of bio art, media theory, chemistry and astrobiology; 2) develop an international symposium on art, chemistry and astrobiology; 3) discuss the theoretical and experimental findings of our investigation with international and local experts; and 4) create a new vocabulary to describe/analyze our findings and wetware art. For all the subjects above, there was constant exchange with Dr. Jens Hauser (University of Copenhagen); Professor Ingeborg Reichle (University of Applied Arts Vienna); Dr. Taro Toyota (The University of Tokyo); Prof. Yasuhito Sekine (the Earth-Life Science Institute of Tokyo Institute of Technology) and Akira Kouchi (Hokkaido University).
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
The main objectives of the final phase of this investigation are to develop an exhibition and to publish ours results (in lectures, online and in publications). We are planning to organize an exhibition in which we will bring together artists working with wetware, as well as the media theorists and science/technology scholars researching this artistic practice. The goals of the exhibition are 1) to actively disseminate knowledge on the intersection of art, synthetic biology and astrobiology within the public domain; 2) to present artwork that could give rise to new aesthetics and conceptual frameworks by challenging the paradigms of ‘creation’, ‘mimesis’ and ‘agency’; and 3) to demonstrate the future impact of wetware upon creative and design practices.
Practical methods to develop this area involve regular discussion on aesthetics, bio art, wetware and microperformativity with Dr. Jens Hauser Professor (University of Copenhagen); continuous collaboration with the Toyota Group at Tokyo University and frequent discussion on extraterrestrial organic matter (ETOM) with Akira Kouchi (Hokkaido University).
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| Causes of Carryover |
During the current fiscal year, we did not make use of this amount in order to cover all the expenses of the final phase; that is, the associated costs of the exhibition and publication of our results (through lectures, a website and publications).
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