Do it! Do it for design futures! Go! Go! Go!
Hello, friends! One of my current projects involves the future of human longevity. I’d be so grateful if you can please answer this survey on Google Forms. Thank you!
The Longevity Survey
Cybernetic Memories at the Manila Boat Club
I was dressed for sailing. At least, that’s what I thought I was going to do when I jumped in the car with some friends early this Sunday morning on the way to the Manila Boat Club in Sta. Ana, Manila. “Boat” has a lot of variations, similar to “house” or “garden”. But it turns out we were going to be rowing. With oars. As a team. Oh dear.
It was a fascinating history lesson as I walked up to the second floor of the old building that served as the club’s headquarters. The organization started in 1895 and is the oldest club in Manila.
Manila Boat Club
Though I was not dressed for the occasion, we only live once and so I got in. With my feet strapped to the boat, I held oars for the first time. In front of me was the president of the club, James, who regularly came to row. I had to follow his rhythm, which was a challenge since I barely knew what I was doing. It was quite mortifying to be clumsy at my first strokes, and I kept bumping my oars with his and my friend’s behind me.
The dock
With the coxswain (This is the first time I’ve ever had to use this word!) expertly and patiently guiding us, we rowed along the newly rehabilitated Pasig River, which is now a far cry from the toxic dump it used to be. As I learned how to row, I couldn’t help but remember my cybernetics studies in grad school, whose root word means “to steer”. One wrong move from anyone and the boat changed its intended course or we slowed down. The coxswain gave us corrections to set us back on the path. This is such a great metaphor for every project and exhibition I have ever been on.
It was a beautiful Sunday morning.
The boat didn’t capsize. All in all, it was a win of a Sunday morning.
Thanks, Manila Boat Club! Check out their site here.
Stage the Future 2: The Second International Conference on Science Fiction Theatre
It was fun talking about The Apocalypse Project, specifically Climate Change Couture, at Stage the Future 2: The 2nd International Conference on Science Fiction Theater. I couldn’t physically be there (boo), but I Skyped from Manila, waking up at 5 in the morning. It was a miracle I woke up at all, and even more miraculous that my wifi connection held up.
My view from a few thousand miles
Many thanks, Chris Callow, Boyd Branch, Erika Hughes, and the rest of the conference organizers! Check out the conference site and their Twitter feed—I think it’s really great to have cool gatherings like this!
Ok, now I’m going back to bed.
Holiday Origami 2014: The SantaRaptor
This week, I got my holiday presents done. Since most of my friends are scattered worldwide, I decided that origami was the way to go—I can ship them flat. This year’s creation: Santa on a Velociraptor:
My fleet of Santas and velociraptors is complete.
Ho, ho, ho…RAHR!
Ho, ho, ho… RAHR!
I also folded a lot of butterflies for those who might not get my sense of humor.
And more traditional butterflies for a safer choice.
And finally, black belt Santas for my taekwondo brethren.
TAEKWONSANTAS. yeah!
Happy holidays!
New project: Field Notes from Planet Earth
Hey everyone! I’m happy to announce my latest writing project, Field Notes from Planet Earth. It’s a site that collects my long form essays about the environment and its intersections with science and culture. You might see some topics similar to what I’ve blogged about here in The Perceptionalist, which has been my creative sketchbook of a kind since grad school. FNFPE will house longer essays with a more environmental theme, mostly collected from my travels. New essays published every Monday.
Why another blog? As a creative person, I feel like I need multiple channels to express my ideas. Also, this blog has been a hodgepodge of exhibition announcements, notes from my talks, and random taekwondo photos that I feel like I need one more focused outlet for my longer thoughts. Plus I’ve always wanted an excuse to use the name and the sexy Intergalactic theme from WordPress. I’ll still be keeping this blog for everything else.
You might remember the subject of the first post: the day I went to Jindo for the Miracle Sea Road Festival, which celebrates a legend that emerged due to tidal harmonics. I heart science, don’t you?
Follow the site here.
—Catherine
The Second Kukkiwon Pilgrimage
On my last day in Korea, I took my second pilgrimage to Kukkiwon, World Taekwondo Headquarters. I’m kidding about the pilgrimage; I wanted to go shopping in the taekwondo stores on the way. At Kukkiwon, it was amazing to see a class in progress. Look: adults! People my height, if not taller!
A class in Kukkiwon
Round the corner from the gym and above the cafeteria, I walked up to the Kukkiwon Museum, which was closed the last time I was there. It was fascinating to see all this memorabilia from competitions around the world.
Check out this championship cup from Nepal:
An early championship cup.
It was interesting to brush up on taekwondo graphic design:
Old posters
And look at this old hogu made of bamboo:
An old hogu made of bamboo
There were some posters from championships in Manila:
More graphic design from Manila
I’m remembering my first pilgrimage here.
Walking through Gyeongbokgung in the Fall
When I returned to Korea, among the things I was happy to do again was to take a walk through Gyeongbokgung, the largest of the palaces in Seoul. I loved seeing Bukhansan, the mountain behind it, all in full color. It was Hangeul Day, a day when Koreans essentially celebrate the making of their alphabet, and families and friends were strolling about.
HeLLO Bukhansan!
One little step at a time.
Hanboks on the left, superheroes on the right.
Lovely Korean architecture
Great to see you again.
Check out my first memories of it here last year.
It was a lovely day.
The Apocalypse Project at Hybrid Highlights in Seoul
October 2014, Seoul—The Apocalypse Project’s Climate Change Couture is now on view at Seoul National University Museum of Art. My piece is on the second floor and features six garments from Climate Change Couture’s Singapore, Manila, and Seoul collections, as well as six photos from the Singapore collection.
Curated by Arthur Clay, founder and artistic director of Digital Art Weeks International, and Jeungmin Noe, senior curator at Seoul National University Museum of Art, the exhibition blurs the boundaries between art and science and enlarges the possibilities of interdisciplinary collaborations.
The exhibition runs until December.
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- Hybrid Highlights at Seoul National University Museum of Art
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- Seoul National University Museum of Art
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- The Trash Dress (Singapore) and The ClimaDobok (Seoul)
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- The Terrasuit (Manila/Seoul)
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- The Unpredictabilicoat (Manila)
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- The Aquatutu (Singapore/Seoul)
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- The Apocalypse Evacuation Suit (Singapore)
Many thanks to Digital Art Weeks and SNU MoA
Art, Science, and Planetary Futures: Convergence at Innovation Forum of Digital Art Weeks Seoul
11 October 2014, Seoul—I was part of a panel on Science Day at the Innovation Forum of Digital Art Weeks held at Seoul National University Museum of Art. Dr. Denisa Kera of Swiss Hacketeria and National University of Singapore gave the keynote speech. My fellow panelists included Dr. Tae-Sub Chung of Yonsei Medical School, Dr. Min Suk Chung of Ajou University School of Medicine, and Dr. Tai Hyun Park of the Advanced Institute of Convergence Technology of Seoul National University. The panel was moderated by Dr. Sunghoon Kim, Director of the Integrated Bioscience and Biotechnology Institute at Seoul National University.
The Innovation Forum is a three-day symposium spread out during Digital Art Weeks Seoul, which runs until December. Science Day explores common themes on the crossroads between Neuroscience and Aesthetics in the arts and Bioinformatics and Biohacking art movement, bringing in and raising questions about the creative process, scientific inquiry and realm of empirical aesthetics. The panel I was on, “Convergence in Arts and Sciences”, raised questions around convergence of science and art and how they have been inseparable.
I gave a talk on “Art, Science, and Planetary Futures”, chronicling my experiences in science and art through the different residencies and fellowships I’ve had in the world. I spoke about how art and science converged to give people new experiences, to empower audiences, and to break traditional formats. It was great to see familiar faces in the audience—from fellow alumni of the School of Visual Arts, the staff at the National Art Studio of Korea (now known as the MMCA Residency Changdong), and the Future Cities Laboratory. Even Denisa is a familiar face—she moderated our panel at ArtScience Museum in Marina Bay Sands last year. It was like going to a big family reunion. Thanks, guys!
Thanks to DAW International for the invitation, SNU MoA for the lovely venue and staff, and Kate Kirkpatrick for the photos.
The Ephemeral Marvels Perfume Store at IFTF x YBCA Open City / Art City: How It Rolled
Here are some photos from The Ephemeral Marvels Perfume Store’s exhibit at the Open City / Art City Festival last October 4, co-organized the Institute for the Future and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Many thanks and huge congratulations to my friend Zoe Bezpalko (who also modeled one of the Climate Change Couture garments last year and is shown in the above photo wearing an Apocalypse Suit), for handling this single-handedly.
I’m here in Seoul for the moment for some exhibitions and a panel, so I’m very grateful for my friends and collaborators from all over the world who can take over when I cannot physically be there.
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- The Ephemeral Marvels Perfume Store at Open City / Art City Festival by the Institute for the Future and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts San Francisco (2014)
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- The Ephemeral Marvels Perfume Store at IFTF x YCBA Open City / Art City
Photos courtesy of Zoe Bezpalko
Catherine Sarah Young 