The floraborgs are on the cover of Technoetic Arts: A Journal of Speculative Research. I couldn’t be more thrilled. The floraborgs appear in an article by Patricia Olynyk titled Synthesizing fields: Art, Complexism and the Space Beyond Now. In the article Olynnyk does a superb job of tackling the rapidly expanding territory of art/sci production in relation to world-view of Philip Galanter’s Complexism which “…constitute a rich array that spans complexity theory, biological systems, cybernetics, computation and the phenomenology of affect. An ever-growing movement of transdisciplinary artists who engage and synthesize the unique combination of fields, theories and practices associated with Complexism suggests that this model – particularly its embrace of complexity theory – holds promise in the problem space of art and science.
The article then goes on to examine the work of contemporary art/sci artists and their collaborative teams, this kind of collaborative practice being almost the norm in this field. These works include Dark Skies, by the author herself in collaboration with Sung Ho Kim, Axi:Ome and Christopher Ottinger, Stealing Attention, by Ellen K. Levy in collaboration with Michael E. Goldberg , The Chatting Room by Vita Eruhimovitz and the IndaPlant Project. In this overview Olynyk does a striking job of identifying the hallmarks of these works and unifying them under the umbrella of Complexism. She points out that all of these works are deeply engaged in cultural discourse and states that these artworks “…arguably contribute to a higher synthesis of modernism and postmodernism and the coalescence of art and science through the progression of ideas that emerge from this union in direct correspondence to the larger culture.” She continues by pointing out that all of these works come into being through a performative function either by evolutionary/generative processes, connectionist networks or participatory practices, or a varying combination of the above.
Olynyk ends on a high note, stating that “…the movement’s optimism might engender new discourse about contemporary life that generates a new holistic paradigm, moving us beyond the space of postmodernity.” I can only hope that this will be the case!
If you would like a copy of this article, or anything else in this issue of Technoetic Arts, you can contact he publisher. If you are in the US you should use the following address: http://ebiz.turpin-distribution.com
As this kind of art making is deeply engaged in cultural dicourse
Dark Skies, prompts a heightened awareness of the inter- relationships between biological systems, affective behaviour, and embodi- ment. This multisensory installation is a collaboration between Patricia Olynyk Studio, Sung Ho Kim and his design/architecture team: Axi:Ome, and sound designer Christopher Ottinger.
