Unfiguring: Experiments in the Practice of Science and Art
In contemporary science, the scientific paper is a dominating force. Composed of a succession of “figures” scaled to the page, the paper is a scientific genre that imposes a linear, impersonal, and two-dimensional logic to how scientists conceptualize and communicate their research. Artists, on the other hand, have a vast range of tools at their disposal to observe, document, and craft stories about the natural world.
Building on the entwined histories of science and art, Unfiguring will be an experimental space for those curious about the expansive realm of possibilities where the boundaries between the arts and sciences blur. What would it look like for scientific research to take its form as a performance, sculpture, film, immersive projection experience, or literary manuscript? How can scientific communities recognize and attribute credit for such works? Through exchange of ideas, practices, and experiences, this conference will allow scientists to envision how they could approach their work more expansively and all participants to gain a broader sense of possible futures for science. We will approach this step towards a deeper integration of the sciences and arts playfully and with humility.
The organizers would like to thank the Mahindra Humanities Center, the Department of the History of Science, and the Critical Media Practice program at Harvard University for their generous support of this conference.
The Mahindra Center invites all Harvard graduate students to submit proposals to coordinate an annual Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Conference.
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