Category: Past Projects

Project Link

The Constellation Mapping Project is a proposed social network study wherein subjects are said to be connected if they have had communication regarding “abstract” ideas. In the context of this project, the term, “abstract”, refers to concepts that are apart from the basis of everyday report/request communication that could be thought of as the necessary background communication to live in society as it is. In other words, the aim of the project is to try to get a sense of the dynamics and structure at the boundary of the space of communicated human thought.

The thesis at the core of this project is that emergent ideas in society are the offspring of former ideas and that the social network of people that acts as the substrate upon which these ideas grow and compete, are symbiotically related. People communicate abstract concepts and thereby connect with other people based on a perceived shared interest that goes beyond the established transactional, social necessities of status quo existence. Similarly, these ideas become associated with one another based on how often they are jointly discussed.

For example, the subjects of “quantum mechanics” and “relativity” are often discussed together. Arguably, these subjects qualify as being on the boundary of human communication in terms of day-to-day living. They are edge cases in this way, but their co-discussion points to an active and emergent area of ideas relating to quantum gravity, which is based on a relation(the unification of physics) that obviously has deeper roots than the mere correlation of joint-discussion, but nevertheless serves as an illuminating example.

So, the goal of this project is to establish a trial framework for a network model and suite of useful metrics, with which, these dual networks of people and ideas can be analyzed.

Experimental Publishing and Curation (ExPuCu) is the initiative of ArtSciLab to promote the idea of easy and fast publication.

Project Link

This web site is the web companion of the Leonardo e-book Meta-Life: Biotechnologies, Synthetic Biology, ALife and the Arts (MIT Press, 2014). It aims at documenting and promoting the key works and concepts of the arts of artificial life. Each section has been conceived to provide the reader with a maximum resources about the topics discussed in the book. Feel free to propose new material and email Yvan Tina at yvantina@gmail.com.

With biotechnologies, synthetic biology and Artificial Life, artists have opened new avenues in the artworld, going from still to autonomous objects to living creatures, exploring the thin border between animate and inanimate, confronting the grown, the evolved, the born and the built, raising aesthetic but also social, political and ethical issues. In this ground breaking collection, the editors have commission new original essays by key figures in these fields and collected document the ideas and practice of artists involved in these areas as well as theoreticians and historians.

Chapters include: Between Bio, Silico and Synthetic: Of Life and Arts; Artificial Life and the Arts; Bioart; Bio-Fiction, Design, Architecture; DIY Biology-Biohacking (see below for full Table of Contents). An exo-life may not come from outer space hitting the Earth riding a meteorite but very well from the lab, designed by a scientist — unless it is an artist— weaving biology and computing in a petri dish or a bioreactor as a vessel.

Project Link

Sound can be used in innovative ways in data analytics and interpretation. Micro Lux Chants is a multi-disciplinary art-science project where we seek to understand the life cycle of bioluminescent bacterium – Aliivibrio Fischeri through the medium of sound. The bacterial life cycle consists of four phases, namely: lag phase, log phase, stationary phase and the death phase. The team at the ArtSciLab and the Gassensmith Lab, has conducted significant studies through time-lapse photography of these bacteria over two years, to understand the growth and decay of these bacteria through visualization. We now traverse into a new form of data interpretation called sonification. The ability to detect what phase the bacteria is in during its life cycle, by listening, instead of seeing the growth and decay of these bacteria.

To achieve this goal, principles of Frequency Modulation and multiple blob tracking have been used in PureData and Max/msp, an open source visual programming language for multimedia. The process of translating data to sound is termed sonification.

When there is a large number of batches of bioluminescent bacteria being grown, the researcher has to diagnose the stage of the life cycle of these bacteria through visual observation, which can be a time-consuming process as it requires constant supervision of these batches. This project proposes to solve this problem by using a software-based visual code to track the areas of growth in the bacterial colonies and obtain a sound output to detect which phase of the life cycle the bacteria is in.

The significance of these findings is twofold. Firstly, the biotechnological applications of bioluminescent bacteria extend to cell tracking in cancer research, gene control using quorum sensing and to test the effectiveness of antibiotics. Secondly, this research has applications in art-science communication, phenomenological studies of bioluminescence and data translation.

The project was presented as a poetic sound-art installation with a screen showing the process of making bioluminescent bacteria, two posters speaking about the concepts and phases of the project and a listening activity where people are invited to listen to bacteria singing or “Chanting”. I(Ritwik) treated each colony of bacteria as a poet of a different language and the bacteria recite poetry as they light up. As the bacteria populate inside the petri dishes, the poetry gets chaotic to listen to, due to the simultaneous confluence of languages. As the bacteria begin to decay, the voices and the poetry fade out and the human voice lingers in the end.

Griot Sayansi is a gateway for interdisciplinary, intercultural and interpersonal exchange using the Spoken Word Poetic expression.  

Its aims include:

• To bridge gaps, and explore  connections  between science, culture,art,and the human experience  .

• To provide a  creative outlet for the community to explore new and meaningful networks 

•  To promote collaborations  between peoples of different cultures, backgrounds and disciplines  

• emphasize the  value of life at the center of all  discussion.

The ArtSci Lab at the University of Texas at Dallas is conducting web based research: Integrating Domestic, Physical, and Virtual Spaces through Design (DPV.SI). This study examines the interaction between domestic architecture, technology, and human behavior.

How can we intentionally redesign physical spaces and online spaces to more seamlessly interact? These intentional design decisions redesign human culture and behaviors. This re-evaluation tackles design theory in relation to an increasingly digital world.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected human lives and behaviors and presents an interesting case study of the relationship between domestic spaces and technology. Government-issued shelter-in-place orders, self-quarantine, self-isolation, and social-distancing measures force individuals and institutions to move social and professional interactions online while remaining at home for extended periods.

As so much time is spent at home, domestic architectural design elements increasingly affect daily routines and social interactions, at home and online. The method of this study is to survey a variety of subjects from different backgrounds. Analyzing their daily experiences and knowledge can provide insight into better design.

Data gathered from how architectural and design decisions influence human behaviors can reveal methods to more effectively design future physical and virtual spaces. The results of this study can additionally be applied to technological design to better facilitate communication, especially video/audio. Links to a Podcast and Questionnaire coming soon.