Event 1: Understanding Arts Based Research - Symposium

On April 4th, I was able to attend Linda Weintraub’s keynote lecture at the Understanding Arts Based Research Symposium that focused on the relation between eco materialism and contemporary art. Previous to this lecture, I had not really known what it meant to be an eco materialist, so listening to Weintraub’s point of view was very interesting. Eco materialists are those who believe the human physical apparatus can actually conduct research without an extensive amount of technology. Weintraub introduced a new word, “muckro”, that is in between macro and micro to discuss the work of eco materialists. Because of this belief, eco materialists want full body excursions and explorations, looking at the bigger picture through our senses.

Linda Weintraub's book discussing eco materialism and contemporary art

One interesting topic Weintraub discussed was how we live in a culture that is very visually oriented, which although I had not thought about before, I find to be extremely relevant. However, not all cultures have vision at the top of the hierarchy of senses; for example, sound is the most important sense among communities living in rainforests. Visual dominance gives individuals little opportunity to interact with things that have original connection to the ecosystem, narrowing our view of what a product is. Weintraub mentioned the anthropocentric tendencies of society, alienated from the systems around us. In her book “WHAT’s NEXT? Eco Materialism and Contemporary Art”, Weintraub discusses how we can focus on becoming ecocentric rather than anthropocentric, which I thought was a very important concept.

Packets from the symposium discussing the importance of art in research

I think this was a very beneficial lecture, as Weintraub brought up some very interesting questions, such as what society would look like if humans redefined our lives so that we are integral to our surrounding ecosystems? Being integral to the cycle allows artists to conduct research relating to these topics. Through her talk, I saw the connection to our discussion of the distinction between the two cultures, and how art and science are truly connected in a variety of ways. The lecture brought me to think about how I can use all my senses, rather than just vision, to interact with things in my surroundings, as well as becoming aware of the world I live in.

Selfie from the symposium