CartUnderstanding Microclimates Instructor: Will ScarlettProgram: Transdisciplinary Studies, Intercentric Art & Curatorial PracticeCredit(s): 1Date: May 17, 24, 31 and June 7Time: 14:00-16:30 ET
DESCRIPTION: In this Seminar, we will be studying microclimates. Microclimates are regions of heightened atmospheric variability that generate divergent forms of life. In ecological terms, microclimates emerge from complex interactions among the physical conditions of a place, such as winds, water currents, temperature, humidity, and terrain. Yet, moving beyond a materialist paradigm, microclimates may also be composed of immaterial aspects like sensations, images, thoughts, and perhaps entities. This seminar asks, what becomes possible if we expand our understanding of microclimates to include the immaterial alongside the elemental? To approach this question, we will enter into several microclimates where thought, image, and sensation interfuse with and shape variations on the surrounding environment: The Antipodes of Unity, Eshraq, and Land of Birds. The Antipodes of Unity arises from a convalescing writer’s immersion in fields, forests, and visions of the night sky. Eshraq appears where computation and virtual worlds intersect with Persian philosophy and myth in a contemporary cityscape. And Land of Birds seeks to restore the land’s connection with indigenous memory and cosmology in a local park, through story and sound. By cultivating nascent microclimates through our own research and multimedia projects, we will explore potentials for inhabiting spaces where the elemental and immaterial converge – not in isolation, but amid the broader currents of a “world of many worlds.”
Session 1. The Antipodes of Unity
–Susan Buck-Morss, “Aesthetics and Anaesthetics”
–Blaise Cendrars, “At the Antipodes of Unity”
Session 2. Eshraq
–Samir Mahmoud, “‘Alam al-Mithal or Mundus Imaginalis”
–Ali Eslami, Eshraq
Session 3. Land of Birds
–Marisol de la Cadena and Mario Blaser, “Pluriverse”
–Djaara storytellers with Olivia Guntarik, Land of Birds
Session 4. Microclimates
–The final session is reserved for in-depth discussion of seminar participants’ work.
Group Assignment: For the second or third week, find an example of a microclimate and share it with us.
Final Assignment: For the final week, present your exploration of microclimates using the medium of your choice.
IMAGE: Pierre Huyghe, Camata, 2024.
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