In their short philosophical fable 'Vampyroteuthis Infernalis', Vilem Flusser and Louis Bec compare human existence to that of a deep-sea squid, the Vampyroteuthis Infernalis. In the process they raise questions about the relation of cognition, culture and sociality to corporeal anatomy and environment. Flusser and Bec's ruminations form the background context and connecting thread for this symposium, which brings together 10 papers to explore questions of materiality and otherness, specifically in relation to art and design and media. All presentations take a point of departure from Flusser and Bec’s text to discuss an artefact in relation to the symposium's themes.

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Panels:

1. Phenomenological Materialities

  • The Immateriality of Titian's Pesaro Altarpiece | Ken Wilder, Chelsea College of Arts
  • Circle or Oval?: Concepts, Non-identity and the Lifeworld | Johanna Bolton, Royal College of Art
  • Things that Happen Again: Roni Horn and the Phenomenology of the Other | Andrew Chesher, Chelsea College of Arts
  • Chair: Allan Parsons; Discussant: t.b.c.

2. My Body and the Body: The Other and the Alien

  • My Neighbour, That Thing | Werner Prall, Middlesex University
  • The Corporeal Witness in Katie Green’s Lighter than my Shadow | Dan Smith, Chelsea College of Arts
  • Fishing for Zebedee | Mark Ingham, London College of Communication
  • Chair: Amanda Windle; Discussant: t.b.c.

3. Digital Materialities

  • The Material Other in Fashion Making: The T-shirt | Douglas Atkinson, London College of Fashion
  • Emergent Materiality: The Self and the Other in Material Dialogues | Virna Koutla, Royal College of Art
  • Robotum Anthromorphum: of Virtual Assistants and their Networked Materialities | Michel Erler, London College of Communication
  • The Nonhumanity of Planetary Computing, Metis, or how to live with Digital Uncertainty | Betti Marenko, Central Saint Martins
  • Chair: Andrew Chesher; Discussant: Amanda Windle
  • 1. http://bit.ly/2bNPU0u