October Launch: Guest Editors Marie-Pier Boucher and Patrick Harrop: According to Simondon, technical and religious thought results from the unfolding of magical thought. Whereas an aesthetic engagement holds the potential for reticulating the magical state of primitive unity. In this perspective, aesthetics does not unfold. Rather, it operates horizontally, and maintains the function of totality in a field of reality that tends to diverge as it gets specialized. Aesthetics is therefore never determined; it is a tendency that holds the power of reticulation.

The issue concentrates on aesthetics in action. We are seeking rigorous and thoughtful philosophical contributions that, in addition to enlightening some key concepts and strategies introduced by Simondon’s work, make operative the reticulation process(es) effected by aesthetics. Given that, we are interested in contributions that explore the relationships between technical concretization and operative aesthetics. Specifically, we are looking for contributions that focus on contemporary techniques that explore the potential for philosophy, here considered as a creative practice, that generates, propels and expands the “already begun” artistic act. We especially encourage work that evolves through cross-disciplinary collaborations between art, science and technology. In that regard, the intertwining between philosophical and artistic practices hold the potential to effect a social and/or political difference. We are also keen to receive contributions that enlighten the potential for aesthetics to operate a reconfiguration and/or to generate a difference in science practices.

Metastatic Envelope is a research / creation protocol interested in the expansion, magnification
and amplification of sonic and visual events outside of our immediate experience yet
ubiquitously present within our everyday environment. Architecture is the muse for this
project: the project seeks to explore the most minute of events within the building interface.
Using microscopic camera assemblies, high resolution microphones and digital video and
sound processing, Metastatic Envelope probes existing structures for resonant behaviors of
vibrant materials agitated by the latent behavior of seemingly inert material assemblies.
In its most common model, an architectural membrane is conceived and designed as a
boundary condition between mediums. It is a built ecological condition: understood as a
delicate stasis of competing and unstable milieus. The membrane is a negotiation between
continuous conditions. In its broadest reaches, it is a system that is, in fact, difficult to trace: a
careful reconciliation of a disparation of interruptions to the continuity of a variety of dynamic
milieus: the interruption of gravity, the interruption of heat, the interruption of air, water etc.
Rather than a spatial boundary, architecture is a momentary reification of a modulated
interplay of the perturbed weaves of milieus. Although we tend to privilege the non-human,
milieus as modulated by a building skin interface the multiplicities of social, cultural and
material systems: a complex, somewhat quasi-biological edification of an ever-concretizing co
structured event, performance and matter.

http://metastatic-envelope.ocular-witness.com/

Workshop: The Inductive City. Concurrent with the Atmosphere Symposium, Inductive City is an electronic / sound workshop to be held at the CAST research unit http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/architecture/cast/ on the 4th and 5th of February. This workshop will be based on the work of two sound / interactive artists: Shintaro Miyazaki of Detektors, Based in Berlin: http://detektors.org/ and Emmanual Madan of “The User” Based in Montreal: http://www.undefine.ca/en/artists/the-user/ . We will be welcoming the participation of musicians, artists, academics and students. The workshop will be focused on the sonification of electromagnetic induction that is found in the airwaves and atmosphere in our cities as well as through grounding effects found in materials.

We will be working with “detector” circuits designed for receiving electromagnetic signals generated from a multitude of sources including bluetooth, electrical transmissions and radio waves, invisible to the eye but made present by the detectors. Participants will use these amplifiers to conduct mapping and field recordings exercises across Winnipeg during the weekend. The results will be broadcast and posted to the Detektors website as well as presented at the final session of the conference. Detektors has had an impressive international reputation building in the sound art community through venues such as transmediale (Berlin), ISEA (International Symposium on Electronic Arts) and many internationally recognized sound art festivals.

As well, Emmanual Madan will be using this workshop to develop and refine a new sonic/interactive piece based on induction and grounding effect through amplified signals modulated by body contact with conductive materials. The User has had a remarkable presence in the interactive and sound art scene internationally and are best know for their pieces: Silophone, Symphony for Dot – Matrix Printer and more recently their installation coincidence engines which was nominated for last year’s transmediale prize. They have performed / installed at Ars Electronica (Linz), MUTEK (Montreal) as well as the ICA institute for contemporary art (London).

All materials will be provided for this workshop, however there will be a fee to cover the circuit costs.
Students: $20.00
Faculty, Professionals and Artists: $40.00
The formal sessions will be dovetailed with the conference schedule, while the workshop will be an open lab for the duration of the symposium.
Friday Feb 4:
10:00 am to 10:30 am : Workshop introduction
12:15 am to 2:00 pm: Introduction to Detektor circuits
5:30 pm to 7:00 pm: Formal working session.
Saturday Feb 5th.
9:00 am to 12:00 am: Recording and Compilation session (drop in)
2:00 pm round table and presentation @ 5469796 Architecture
The workshop will be limited to 20 participants and selection will be based on first come, first served.
RSVP either on this facebook event page or email harropp@cc.umanitoba.ca
Atmosphere Symposium:

http://umanitoba.ca/architecture/atmosphere/