Event overview
We will be exploring how different practitioners from a range of different artistic practices have dealt with the uncanny phenomenon, these include; interactive sculpture, performance and photography as well as research undertaken by our panel.
In 1919 Freud described the uncanny as that “class of the terrifying which leads back to something long known to us, once very familiar.” This feeling of the familiar, yet foreign, where objects, artworks and surroundings produce uncomfortable feelings manifest itself in many ways; from stories in literature such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, to photographs of the dead and the notion of the double, to human-formed robots.
The Uncanny Valley is a ravine into which fall robots that are too close to human for comfort. The term comes from a theory coined by the roboticist Masahiro Mori, which effectively states that as a robot begins to appear more human, displaying both human appearances and characteristics our feelings towards its will in turn become more positive until suddenly turning to revulsion. When that point of revulsion is hit, the robot, or other nonhuman, goes tumbling into the Uncanny Valley.
The evening will be hosted by Rupert Griffiths a Ph.D candidate in Cultural Geography at Royal Holloway and last month co-organised Uncanny Landscapes, a week long conference, exhibition and workshop event. The panel will include Ruairi Glynn, an artist who builds interactive kinetic sculptures, his works draws upon the rich heritage of cybernetics, puppetry, dance and architecture. One of his most recent works Fearful Symmetry was part of the summer programming at the Tate Modern, The Tanks in 2012. Also joining us is artist Wendy Mcmurdo, who has used digital manipulation in her work since the 1990’s. Her films, The Loop and Olympia were both shown at the Tin Shed Gallery in March 2013. Our final attendee for the evening will be Dani Ploeger, a performer and cultural theorist. His artwork Feedback is looking at the digital double within his own digital performance. He has published in International Journals of Performance Arts and Digital Media and the Body.
Panel discussion is curated by Catherine M. Weir and Jonathan Munro.
http://www.tin-shed.org/uncanny-visions/
http://www.tin-shed.org/uncanny-visions/
Dates & times
Date | Time | Add to calendar |
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24 Apr 2013 | 6:00pm - 8:00pm |
Accessibility
If you are attending an event and need the College to help with any mobility requirements you may have, please contact the event organiser in advance to ensure we can accommodate your needs.