scholarly journals On mycohuman performances: fungi in current artistic research

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Regine Rapp

AbstractThis review reflects several artists and their artistic research in the field of hybrid art, bio art, or science art, working with Fungi as both subject matter and medium. The work of Saša Spačal, Tarsh Bates and Theresa Schubert is not representational in the manner of traditional fine art, but works rather through performative, multidisciplinary and research-based strategies to produce artwork through fungal material as such. My research results are based on the series “Nonhuman subjectivities” and “Nonhuman agents” that Christian de Lutz and I conceived and realized at Art Laboratory Berlin (2016–18) in various formats—exhibitions, workshops, lectures and a conference. The work of Saša Spačal and her colleagues involves creating interactive situations of symbiosis between the fungal and the human. An example of this is Myconnect, in which a biofeedback loop is related between the human participant and Oyster mushroom mycelia through a special encounter, which is mediated by non-linguistic forms of awareness and exchange—sonic, electronic and metabolic. Tarsh Bates’ work with Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis refers to a complex and intimate relation between the human and yeasts that form part of the human microbiome. Bates considers the relationship between humans and yeast as “CandidaHomo Ecologies” and sees both partners as equals. She explores this relationship through her work The Surface dynamics of adhesion, examines it from historical and metabolic levels through an installation that includes the live yeast growing on agar mixed with the artist’s own blood. Theresa Schubert’s installations and site-specific interventions treat living organisms, especially Fungi, as collaborators and co-creators. Her work Growing Geometries—Tattooing Mushrooms follows the morphological development of fungal fruiting bodies through the intervention of a tattoo. Her performative forest walks, especially the Forestal Psyche and also new actions for the “Mind the Fungi” project, engage the public in an intimate and multi sensory encounter with Fungi and their surrounding environment.

Author(s):  
N. Thyagaraju

The present seminar paper mainly highlight  the concept of  water pollution, causes of water pollution,  Its Effects, Elements of  pollutants, Methods  used to prevent the water pollution in environment  and the mandatory initiatives taken by the concerned authorities for prevention of  water pollution. Water   is essential for survival of all living organisms on the earth. Thus for human beings and plants to survive on land, water should be easily accessible. The term “Pollution” is generally refers to addition of any foreign body either living or non – living or deletion of anything that naturally exists. The basic Sources of Water pollution causes due to Culmination into lakes, rivers, ponds, seas, oceans etc. Domestic drainage and sanitary waste, Industrial drainage and sewage, Industrial waste from factories, Dumping of domestic garbage, Immersion of Idols made of plaster of Paris, Excess use of Insecticides , pesticides, fungicides, Chemical fertilizers, Soil erosion during heavy rains and floods, Natural disasters, tsunami etc. General pollutants  which are also caused for water pollution  which include Organic, Inorganic, and Biological entities, Insecticides, Pesticides, Disinfectants ,Detergents, Industrial solvents, Acids, Ammonia fertilizers, heavy metals, Harmful bacteria, Virus, Micro –Organisms and worms, Toxic chemicals. Agricultural lands become infertile and thereby production also drops, Spread of epidemic diseases like Cholera, Dysentery, Typhoid, Diarrhea, Hepatitis, Jaundice etc. The  basic responsibility of the Government, NGOs, National Pioneer scientific Research Institutions may conduct  research oriented programs on control of water pollution by create  awareness among the public through mass media and Environmental Education on recycling units,  and  water treatment plants must be established both at domestic levels and Industry levels, Every citizen must feel responsible to control water pollution. There have been many water pollution prevention acts that have been set up by the governments of the world. But these are not enough for permanent water pollution solutions. Each of us needs to take up the responsibility and do something at an everyday at individual level. Otherwise we can’t survive in a society forever in a future. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 417
Author(s):  
Sherli Koshy-Chenthittayil ◽  
Linda Archambault ◽  
Dhananjai Senthilkumar ◽  
Reinhard Laubenbacher ◽  
Pedro Mendes ◽  
...  

The human microbiome has been a focus of intense study in recent years. Most of the living organisms comprising the microbiome exist in the form of biofilms on mucosal surfaces lining our digestive, respiratory, and genito-urinary tracts. While health-associated microbiota contribute to digestion, provide essential nutrients, and protect us from pathogens, disturbances due to illness or medical interventions contribute to infections, some that can be fatal. Myriad biological processes influence the make-up of the microbiota, for example: growth, division, death, and production of extracellular polymers (EPS), and metabolites. Inter-species interactions include competition, inhibition, and symbiosis. Computational models are becoming widely used to better understand these interactions. Agent-based modeling is a particularly useful computational approach to implement the various complex interactions in microbial communities when appropriately combined with an experimental approach. In these models, each cell is represented as an autonomous agent with its own set of rules, with different rules for each species. In this review, we will discuss innovations in agent-based modeling of biofilms and the microbiota in the past five years from the biological and mathematical perspectives and discuss how agent-based models can be further utilized to enhance our comprehension of the complex world of polymicrobial biofilms and the microbiome.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael McDevitt

Abstract Intellect in social theory is often presented as an ideal type—the critical, iconoclastic side of the mind—but it must anticipate an audience in mediated contexts, unlike in the Kantian realm of transcendent reason. The terrain in which academia and media meet, consequently, is ripe for exploration into the fate of intellect when transgressive. This article explicates four features of the academic–media nexus that contribute to social control of intellect: instrumental rationalism of faculty, strategic management of university communication, journalistic appropriation of the “public intellectual” role, and surveillance of academic discourse. The article situates the features in a framework to recognize whether they originate primarily in academia or media, and whether the controlling process occurs through internalized norms or calculated practice. While social control is understood as recursive and reinforcing, reflexivity induced in an inter-field dynamic implies the possibility of reconciling intellect with news work.


Author(s):  
Souvik Das

Abstract: The word ‘life’ is a mysterious word with a chart of attributes that have neither been completed nor has been agreed upon by the race of humans. Probably the proper definition of life is impossible to identify for humans (the proof for this claim is given later) but the handbook to the secret shall be updated till the end, thanks to the inquisitive attitude of humans. For this piece, we shall adopt the description from the professional medical community of today. Though this topic falls midway between science and philosophy, this project is strictly technical. To quote dictionary.com, Life is the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction and the power of adaptation to environment- through changes originating internally; cambridge.com teaches Life is the period between birth and death, or the experience or state of being alive; medicaldictionary.thefreedictionary.com states Life is the property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction and response to stimuli or adaptation to the environment originating from within the organisms. There are several other definitions but to summarize, we can safely state that though the concept is somewhat vague, we could indeed point out some common principles. We shall, in this project, try to replicate the characteristics so as to attain life in medical terms. (The order does not base upon importance of the listed character since the characters, all of them are absolute essentials and cannot possibly be categorized as more or less important). 1) Metabolism 2) Growth 3) Adaptability 4) Birth 5) Death 6) Self-stimulated response to environment 7) Reproduction 8) Can sustain self without foreign intervention Keywords: artificial, life, intelligence, computer, programming, algorithm This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.


1997 ◽  
Vol 179 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Ryan

If educational reform is to succeed, the twin goals of intellectual and moral development must be championed in every classroom in America. This paper calls not only for the restoration of character education in the public schools but also for the preparation of character educators—teachers ready to forge enduring habits of the heart and of the mind. It details the attributes of successful character educators and offers suggestions about ways in which teacher education programs can prepare teachers for their work as character educators.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 336-344
Author(s):  
Maria-Mihaela Antofie ◽  
Camelia Sand Sava

AbstractThe purpose of this article is to analyse political and regulatory frameworks for connecting education and environment authorities in order to reveal opportunities for introducing new activities based on living organisms into the biology curriculum. The article is also proposing a conceptual framework for capacity building based on the analysis of relevant results at the international level, regarding the experiential learning process. Based on the results of this analysis Romania has the capacity to implement new activities under the public curricula for biology in order to support the development of new skills for ensuring biodiversity conservation as a whole. Moreover, at least three native species, domesticated or wild, may become subjects for next activities development under the existing curricula.


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Abdelaziz Ghanemi ◽  
Besma Boubertakh

Pollution  represents  a  problem  common  to economy and  public  health. Indeed, the public health, because of the  divers’  type of pollutions, is facing divers challenges for which urgent solutions are required.The biology provides approaches not only to deal with the pollution, but also to  obtain  economic  benefits. Some living  organisms  have  particular metabolisms  that allow  them  to  assimilate  and  metabolite  the polluting agents  and thus reduce the  impact  they have on both environment  and public health.  On  the other  hand,  the  metabolic  properties  of  specific organisms make  the  polluting  elements raw materials to  synthesize  other elements that are benefits  for  economy  and  non-toxic  for  the  ecology and  the  biohealth. Yet, other options such as the regulations and laws are  required  to improve the efficiency of these approaches.


2018 ◽  
pp. 277-280
Author(s):  
Erika Lorraine Milam

This concluding chapter reflects on the lessons presented by this volume as a whole and considers the ongoing study into the origins of humanity in the post-1970s era. In the decades after, readers have not lost their passion for epic evolutionary dramas in which the entirety of human history unfolds before their eyes. Yet when students today respond to the question “What makes us human?” they are far more likely to invoke neurological facts than paleontological ones. The public battlefield over violence and cooperation has since shifted to new ground in the mind and brain sciences. Despite the apparent polarization of scientists writing about human nature into culture- and biology-oriented positions, the intellectual landscape defined by scientists working on the interaction between culture and biology has continued to flourish.


Author(s):  
Maija Demitere ◽  
◽  
Jan Georg Glöckner ◽  

In the paper “Two perspectives on ecological art”, we will compare two perspectives on sustainability and the practicality of an ecological artwork. One perspective is from Latvian media artist Maija Demitere, researching slow media art, deep sustainability, and food production. Demitere uses micro-gardening prototypes as an instrument to inform the public on the problems of food production (local food, biodiversity, pesticides, herbicides, pollution caused by agriculture). Demitere uses gardening in combination with DIY (Do it Yourself) technologies to talk about slow living, ecology of the mind, and mindfulness. The second perspective is offered by Jan Glöckner. Glöckner is a German artist and researcher. His research interests are collaborations between fungi and Hominidae. Glöckner reaches out with diplomatic gestures towards fungi to re-localise humans within the larger domain of living entities. He is working on an ethical framework that draws from deep ecology and Tibetian Buddhism to ensure the rights of microorganisms and macroorganisms in artistic, industrial, and research setups. The first part of the paper will focus on recycling, waste management, waste produced by households, and the artists’ perspective on the problem. The second part will focus on a specific case of the exhibition “Life” by Olafur Eliasson at the Foundation Beyeler in Riehen, Switzerland. The second part will also look at the idea of “artistic greenwashing”. The last part of the article will attempt to conclude what can be considered an actual sustainable artwork and propose possible key points that describe a (deep) ecological artwork. The paper uses such methods as case studies, literature analysis, and autoethnography.


Author(s):  
José Fernández-Cavia ◽  
Assumpció Huertas-Roig

City marketing tries to position cities in the mind of the public, although the process of creating and communicating city brands is still at an early stage of its development. One of the main tools for the communication of these brands is now the World Wide Web. This chapter describes the results of two combined studies (qualitative and quantitative) that analyzes a sample of official city Web sites. The results show that official Web sites of cities give much attention to ease of navigation, but interactivity is much less implemented, especially between users. Furthermore, some lack of attention to the communication aspects of city brands can also be found. Finally, the chapter submits a number of improvement proposals.


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