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To: Leonardo Network<br>
From: Roger Malina<br>
<br>
As part of the Leonardo special project: Artists and Scientists in
Times of
War, we are pleased to bring to your attention:<br>
<br>
<span class="messagetxt">A debate on VICTIMS' SYMPTOM at the
MutaMorphosis
conference (celebrating 40 years of Leonardo), November 9, 2007 from
17:35 to
18:30 (GMT+1) in the debate room of the municipal library of Prague.</span><br>
<br>
<span class="messagetxt">The VICTIMS' SYMPTOM blog is at:</span><br>
<br>
<span class="messagetxt"><a
href="http://www.labforculture.org/en/community/blogs/8854"
target="_blank">http://www.labforculture.org/en/community/blogs/8854</a></span><br>
<br>
<span class="messagetxt">In celebration of 40 years of the MIT Press
journal
Leonardo, founded by scientist and artist Frank Malina, the conference
MutaMorphosis
will be held in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Prague</st1:City></st1:place>
from 7-11 November 2007.</span><br>
<br>
<span class="messagetxt"><a href="http://www.mutamorphosis.org">http://www.mutamorphosis.org</a></span><br>
<br>
<span class="messagetxt">Leonardo was founded by a generation of
artists and
scientists traumatized </span><span style=""> </span><span
class="messagetxt">by the Second World War and dedicated to connecting
the arts
and sciences as part of a strategy to build a saner world.</span><br>
<br>
<span class="messagetxt">At this time of new insanities and traumas,
the Leonardo
Network asks again</span> <span class="messagetxt">what the role of
artists and
scientists can be in a world of endemic wars and enduring social
inequities.</span><br>
<br>
<span class="messagetxt">One of the topics of debate that will be
showcased at
MutaMorphosis is the</span> <span class="messagetxt">project Victims'
Symptom,
curated by Ana Peraica and commissioned by LabforCulture.org for its
first
birthday, as was announced in its first press-release. The panel will
discuss
the notion of "extreme" as a physical consequence of high levels of
adrenaline, popularly named "the strongest drug".</span><br>
<br>
<span class="messagetxt">In the context of war</span> <span
class="messagetxt">psychology,
high adrenaline levels in the blood during pregnancy is known to
produce
problems in the unborn baby (including extreme cases where stress is</span>
<span class="messagetxt">produced intentionally, such as by rape in
war, for example in
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Bosnia</st1:country-region></st1:place>).</span><br>
<br>
<span class="messagetxt">Namely, a generation of babies who were in
their
mother's uterus during periods</span> <span class="messagetxt">of
extreme conditions
feel "safe" only in situations of extreme risk. Compared to
"normal" (socially acceptable) behavior, their behavior is similar to
that of "psychopaths". They behave in a similar way to automatons
(wish equals fulfillment that has a parallel in automatons' behavior
"command
– control"), with no emotional or moral compass. Some examples from
major civilizations
include first generations of babies on the new continents, usually
producing a number
of aggressive leaders, similar to characters we know from cowboy movies.</span>
<span class="messagetxt">The adaptability of babies to new environments
(extreme
environments with high adrenaline but no information) would be taken as
the
paradigm of "survivability" and compared to the external circumstances
of adapting. Babies respond to the non-decoded information, which
produces a "feeling,"
and they do not know</span> <span class="messagetxt">what induces the
adrenaline.</span><br>
<br>
<span class="messagetxt">The mediated experience, becoming more and
more real, is
also taken into</span> <span class="messagetxt">account. How much can
media
representations of violence and adrenaline rising in the mediated
experience
produce similar symptoms? Are we already dealing</span> <span
class="messagetxt">with
the collateral media victims of wars, even with computer games or
reports that
are beyond our understanding?</span><br style="">
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<span class="messagetxt">The Victims' Symptom project, based
on Ana Peraica's text “War Profiteers in Art,”</span> <span
class="messagetxt">started
as a critique of the commodification of images of victims; originally
stemming
from Robert Storr's concepts at the Venice Biennale this year, which
produced
discussions on two large email lists (Nettime and YASMIN).</span><br>
<br>
<span class="messagetxt">A debate moderated by Ana Peraica and inviting
presenters like sound artist Peter</span> <span class="messagetxt">Cusack
and
prof. Susan Elisabeth Ryan from the Louisiana State University, will be
held on
November 9, 2007 from 17:35 to 18:30 (GMT+1) in the debate room of the
municipal library of Prague.</span> <span class="messagetxt">Everyone
is invited
to follow the debate and join in the discussion in a blog at: <a
href="http://www.labforculture.org/en/community/blogs/8854"
target="_blank">http://www.labforculture.org/en/community/blogs/8854</a></span><br
style="">
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Leonardo/ISAST is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Donations are
tax-deductible in the U.S. To learn more about Leonardo/ISAST's
projects, programs and activities, visit <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://leonardo.info">http://leonardo.info</a><br>
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