Dr Brigitta Zics, artist, media philosopher and interaction designer::
How to think about Art and Design in the Age of Consciousness

Thursday, 29 April, 18:00 – 19:00
University College London
Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT
Garwood Lecture Theatre, South Wing
(Details how to get there at the bottom of the page)

Abstract

This presentation provides an overview of the critical thinking in
some creative practices through the study of consciousness. It argues
that technology has brought such qualities and capacities to
aesthetical production and meaning creation which might only be
extractable through the understanding of the human factor in these
experiences. The presentation proceeds from the assumption that
philosophical accounts of consciousness and recent multidisciplinary
approaches to cognition have provided valuable perspectives in the
understanding of human aspects in the man-computer interrelationship
and will develop this position in order to understand consciousness
research as an aesthetic inquiry.

To illustrate this, the model of Transparent Act will be introduced as
a paradigm that detaches itself from previous aesthetic models and
argues for a novel philosophical conceptualisation of technology
mediated creation. A consequence of such an approach is to bring
design and artistic strategies to the same platform and, as it is will
be argued, introduces a radical approach to creative production. As a
practical example the presentation will introduce a discussion of the
large scale interactive installation of Mind Cupola which aims to
apply the approaches represent in Transparent Act and suggest new ways
of meaning production through biofeedback interface.

Biography

Brigitta Zics is an award winning artist, media philosopher and
interaction designer with particular interest in emerging technologies
and their impact on creative practices. She is Senior Lecturer in
Design and programme leader in the MA Design by Practice course at the
School of Art, Media and Design, University of Wales Newport. She is
also Visiting Fellow at the Trasntechnology Research, University of
Plymouth and regularly presents her research and artistic work on
international conferences and festivals. She is also panel member for
the Leonardo Reviews and working on post-doctoral methodologies,
supervising research students and developing a major creative project
entitled the Mind Cupola for international exhibitions.

She is focusing on emerging technologies of interaction and their
aesthetics capacities through the human cognition. In her recently
finished interdisciplinary thesis Transparency, Cognition and
Interactivity: Toward a New Aesthetic for Media Art (2008) she
introduced a new philosophical model of the Transparent Act which
proposes a radical re-evaluation of how interaction can be understand
in disciplines of art and design. Her latest art work the Mind Cupola
applies a modality of passive interaction which is an affective
environment in which the user's experience initiates a cognitive
feedback loop with a potential for spiritual-like states in their
consciousness. Besides this major focus her innovative interest is to
look at the potentialities of cognitive-based interface design for
enterprise and business applications. One of recent examination is how
the Mind Cupola might be implemented by ageing people as a tool for
improvement of well being.

Website:
http://www.zics.eu, http://www.trans-techresearch.net/?page_id=26

Getting to UCL:

The nearest Tube stations are Euston Square and Warren Street. For
full details, see
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/about-ucl/location/public-transport
How to find the Garwood Lecture Theatre:

Once you enter the main gate of UCL in Gower Street, you will face the
Portico in the UCL quadrangle courtyard. Please take the right hand
side diagonal and walk to the right corner of the building. You will
see the brass tablet indicating South Wing. Enter the second entrance
door at the South Wing, and you will find the Garwood Lecture Theatre
on the first floor. There will be signs from the entrance that will
help you to find the exact location easily.

You may also consult the UCL maps at:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/about-ucl/location/maps
Entrance is free, all welcome.