Prosjektet Bodies in Translation er et kunstprosjekt som inngår som en del (arbeidspakke) av det planlagte prosjektet Bodies in Silico: Visualisation and Visibility in Science and Art.
Delprosjektet Bodies in Translation har til hensikt å bidra til vår forståelse av visualiseringsteknologiers funksjon og virkemåte gjennom bruk av alternative (kunstneriske) former for kunnskapsdannelse. Formålet er å utforske teknologiens muligheter i retninger som ikke følges i konvensjonell bruk av visualiseringsteknologier (innenfor medisin for eksempel). Arbeidspakken Bodies in Translation vil realiseres gjennom et samarbeid med Midgard Media Lab ved NTNU, Centre for Quantifiable Quality of Service in Communication Systems (Q2S) ved NTNU og Trondheim Elektroniske Kunstsenter (TEKS).
The main objective of the project is to deepen our understanding of the functions and workings of imaging and visualisation technologies as these are put to use for the purpose of knowledge formation on both sides of the art / science divide. The objective is, more precisely, to explore the intersections between science and art with the intention to frustrate the standard binary. These interdisciplinary efforts, we believe, will prove productive in both directions.
Goal: A project which aims to explore the intersections between science and art would be incomplete if it included only scholarly analysis of art projects without incorporating an actual art project. This work package will take the form of an art project which will deepen our understanding of the functioning of visualisation technologies through alternative (artistic) forms of knowledge production. The work package will set up experimental situations for exploring technology’s potential in directions not pursued by conventional visualisation practices. The work package will be undertaken as a collaborative effort, involving collaborators such as Midgard Media Lab, Trondheim Electronic Art Centre (TEKS), and Q2S. The project is to be conducted as an international art project involving three “sites” of artistic knowledge production (preferably Trondheim – Berlin – Chicago), leading up to a joint intercontinental concluding presentation, using high-definition (HD) streaming technologies.
Planned activities and publications:
• Workshop in Trondheim, with Midgard Media Lab, TEKS, and Q2S (November 2009)
• Preliminary presentation of art project at the Meta.morf festival in Trondheim (TEKS) (2012)
• Intercontinental presentation (Trondheim-Berlin-Chicago) of Bodies in Translation (art
project), with Midgard Media Lab, TEKS, and Q2S (November 2013)
• Postdoctoral dissertation, monograph by postdoctoral fellow (2013)
• Doctoral dissertation, monograph by Q2S fellow (doctoral fellow II) (2013)
Bodies in Translation, Visualisation and Visibility in Science and Art / Project Summary
The project Bodies in Silico: Visualisation and Visibility in Science and Art is an interdisciplinary project that aims to deepen our understanding of the workings and functions of imaging and visualisation technologies as put to use for knowledge formation in science and art. The leading impetus behind the project is a perceived mismatch between current practices of visualisation and received ideas of knowledge and scientificity. The explanatory framework that predominates in the practitioner’s field is cognitivist and representational in nature and tends to conceive perception and cognition in terms of brain states. The project questions this conceptual framework and brings humanities (i.e., phenomenological and aesthetic) perspectives to bear on epistemic imagery† in order to develop an alternative framework that emphasises the embodied and culturally embedded nature of cognition. The investigations to be undertaken focus on the human body (the patient body, the operating body, the simulated body) and take their point of departure in contemporary scientific and artistic practices. These investigations are organised into five integrated work packages, one conceptual, three empirical, and an art project. The project makes use of non-traditional media in its knowledge production (the art project) as well as in its dissemination of the results.
Collaborating Institutions and Projects
The institutions below have agreed to facilitate our research, by providing us with access to collaborators, technologies in use, and resources. Our collaborators have a stake in our research, and are willing to apply our research outcomes to their own work in developing technologies.
Oxford e-Research Centre (OeRC) is a multidisciplinary centre which conducts research into the design, development and implementation of innovative information and computational technologies for the purposes of scholarly research in the humanities, social sciences and physical and natural sciences. The OeRC incorporates the Oxford Supercomputing Centre, and also has a strong focus on imaging and visualisation with several researchers dedicated to this domain. A distinctive group within the OeRC is the Requirements and Foundations Group which is dedicated to studying the interface between human, social and institutional factors, and technology design.
Midgard Media Lab is a multidisciplinary project which aims to facilitate advanced new digital media research and find different ways to use new digital media. Midgard cooperates with the leading actors within telecommunication, technology, media industry and research in the world and in Norway. Midgard Media Lab is part of the
Centre for Quantifiable Quality of Service in Communication Systems (Q2S) is a centre of excellence (SFF) at NTNU. The Centre studies principles, derive mechanisms, methods and technical solutions and assess their properties and performances by means of experiments and models. Performances relate to perceived quality of streamed speech/music and video, delays and throughput of elastic traffic, reliability and availability of services, and information security with encryption and user authentication.
Medical Imaging Laboratory for Innovative Future Healthcare (MI Lab) is a Centre for Research-driven Innovation (SFI) at the Faculty of Medicine at NTNU. The overall goal of MI Lab is to facilitate cost efficient health care and improved patient outcome through innovation in medical imaging, and to exploit the innovations to create industrial enterprise in Norway.
Trondheim Electronic Art Centre (TEKS) is a resource and competence platform for electronic arts and new technology in Trondheim.
TEKS is also host for Trondheim Matchmaking, the annual international festival for electronic arts and new technology, since 2002. The festival is a meeting point for presenting innovative ideas and artistic projects, a place to share knowledge, make contacts, learn new skills and develop resources within new technology and electronic arts.
Workshop
Workshopen ble finansert av det historisk-filosofisk fakultet, NTNU og Centre for Quantifable Quality of Service in Communication Systems (Q2S) NTNU. TEKS stilte som vertskap.
Workshopen Bodies in Translation hadde til hensikt å initiere et forskningsprosjekt som ønsker å bidra til og bygge ned avstanden mellom humanistiske og kunstneriske disipliner på den ene siden og natur- og ingeniørvitenskapelige disipliner på den andre. Prosjektet har på sikt mål om å bidra til internasjonalisering så vel som til forskerrekruttering og publisering.
14. og 15. desember -09 gikk workshopen “Bodies in Translation” av stabelen i lokalene til Trondheim Elektroniske Kunstsenter (TEKS). Dag 1 var åpen for alle interesserte og bød på foredrag som omhandlet kunst og teknologi.
Dag 1 var åpen for alle interesserte og bød på foredrag som omhandlet kunst og teknologi.
– Førsteamanuensis og prosjektleder Aud Sissel Hoel ved Institutt for kunst- og medievitenskap, NTNU åpnet dagen.
– Jan Gunnar Skogås ved St. Olavs Hospital presenterte ny medisinsk teknologi i bruk ved Fremtidens Operasjonsrom (FOR).
– Espen Gangvik presenterte Trondheim Elektroniske Kunstsenters nettverk og prosjektportefølje.
– Dag Svanæs ved Institutt for datateknikk og informasjonsvitenskap, NTNU holdt foredrag om design av interaktive brukeropplevelser.
– Merete Lie ved Institutt for tverrfaglige kulturstudier orienterte om prosjektet ” Inside Out: New images and imaginations of the body”.
– Jordi Puig ved Centre for Quantifable Quality of Service in Communication Systems (Q2S) snakket om kunst og teknologi.
Dag 2 var en lukket workshop hvor prosjektdeltagerne og relevante fagpersoner deltok. Målet med dagen var å sette rammene for kunstarbeidspakken “Bodies in Translation”.
Deltagere dag 2:
Aud Sissel Hoel, NTNU – Espen Gangvik, TEKS – Arnfinn Killingtveit, TEKS – Andrew Perkis, Q2S / Midgard Media Lab, NTNU – Jordi Puig, Q2S, NTNU – Marlon Nielsen, Midgard Media Lab, NTNU – Kaja Vik, Midgard Media Lab, NTNU – Liv Hausken, UIO – Susanne Ø. Sæther, UIO – Anja Johansen, NTNU – Rita E. Nilsen, NTNU
Hoel åpnet dagen med en presentasjon der hun tydeliggjorde storprosjektet ”Bodies in Silico”, det faglige perspektivet bak og formålet med arbeidspakken ”Bodies in Translation”. Deretter ble deltagerne delt inn i to grupper som jobbet med konkrete problemstillinger tilknyttet kunstprosjektet.