BIO-8008 Communicating Science Module 3 - Visualizing your science - 1 stp
Science and photography workshop at the Kilpisjarvi biological station, Finland
19.3.-22.3.2013
Participating teachers
Riku Paavola - Director Oulanka Research Station
Juha Suonpää - Professor Lapland University, Head of Fine Art TAMK
Walter Bergmoser - Professor BTK Berliner Technische Kunsthochschule
Lawrence Hislop - Photographer, GRID-Arendal
Antti Tenetz - Visual artist, Chair of Finnish Bio Art Society
Felix Sattler - Lecturer Bauhaus-University Weimar & Independent Curator
Additional teachers
Elina Halttunen - course coordinator, High North Academy
Audun Hetland - video and research communication
General course plan
The Course offered by subzero network takes up the concept of creating an inspiring and fruitful dialogue between scientists, PHD students and fineart students during a 5 days multidisciplinary workshop. In order to enhance critical visual reading, visual literacy, photographic thinking and photographic skills within the scope of scientific research vs. artistic representations An estimated participation of 15 – 18 student will be further broken up into 4-5 smaller groups and each group will be paired up with an instructor. The overall course structure will be based on the following three formats.
1. During DISCUSSION sessions participants will have the possibllity to analyze visual literacy, ideas, theory and different project presentations. The idea is to analyze all the imagery and expectations we usually associate with different phenomena of scientific and/ or artistic research. Reflecting about the role of the research community in science communication, and understanding the power of visual communication to visualize research, and to adjust the message according to the intended audience will be also part of these sessions.
2. DEMO sessions will help students gain hands-on, practical knowledge about different technical aspects concerning photography and help address specific student needs for the course program. Topics to be covered include, lighting and framing techniques, working in arctic conditions, time-lapse and remote photography, photograph aurora borealis and how to do microscopy and repeat photography. This will include emphasis on the possibilities of current DSLR cameras for long time exposures and in lowlight conditions etc.
3. The aim of the EXPEDITION sessions is to apply knowledge gained in the previous steps into a real situation and to set up a photo shoot and perform given tasks. These tasks will also be evaluated during the discussion sessions. Methods and skills learned during the DEMO sessions will be put to a practical test in different shooting environments. The general outcome and practical aim of these three formats will be a poster(s) of every group were the group has to present the results of the given task. This presentation will be given feedback within the whole group on the last day of the workshop.
Through this combination of the three basic formats, the workshop shall encourage its participants to liberate their creative spirit and to combine their own artistic or scientific approaches. The students will also benefit from each others experience and critically investigate their own work in a peer level framework.
During the workshop, the instructors will form three different technical groups focussed on specific themes, and these will be taught based on the three previous formats above.
Each group will consist of 1 -2 lecturers and 3 - 6 students. Ideally the participants are split nearly equally between scientific and artistic fields. When a participant has chosen a certain group, he /she is expected to follow it over the whole duration of the workshop.
THREE GROUPS, SPECIALISTS AND PRELIMINARY THEMES TO WORK WITH
1. Riku Paavola and Antti Tenetz
- art and science thematics of scales and subjects inside visible lights wavelenght
- explore theory and praxis behind time-lapse and remote photography both in research, arts and science popularisation.
- how to do microscopy photography
If weather and light conditions allows we will explore:
- how to photograph aurora borealis
- how to do underwaterphotography
Talks about what art can do for science or what science can do for art
- Reflect and discuss about trajectory of contemporary science and art as technologically embodied or contemporary science and art as technologically formed. -How digital imaging beyond our biological sensorium in scale, time and sensitivity as microscopic and astral photography amplifies experiences and subjects at hand and does it also lead to reduction of other possibilities and transformation processeses.
- Photography as experience than artefact, object at hand.
2. Walter Bergmoser & Juha Suonpää - "Ambient light"
- shooting in the twilight zone
- dialogue between art and science
- artistic transformations of scientific approaches and vice versa
-divergent thinking stragecies versus linear thinking stragecies
- questions about aesthetics and contexts
3. Alexander Lembke, Lawrence Hislop and Felix Sattler - "Envisoning sience"
– Correlating/reallocating scientific findings with (photo)graphic / other visual evidence and vice-versa
– Processing data, facts and images from a vis-à-vis point-of-view or understanding.
– Understanding of how and why topics of interest to both artists and scientists do equally yield an aesthetic as well as epistemic value
– Simultaneously applying artistic and scientific methodology and knowledge in the field
– Contextualizing images and data as part of a contemporary curatorial practice of “science theatre” (theatrum naturae et artis)
DAY 1 / Monday 18.3.2013
8.00 - 16.00
- GeneralArrival at Kilpisjärvi Station
12.00 - 13.00
Lunch time
16.00 - 18.30
Introduction
- in general (Juha)
- to the station (Antti, Elina)
- overview of the week/ workshop program (Alex)
18.30
Dinner
19.30 - 21.00
Lecture
Antti Tenetz about art and science collaboration and projects that has been initiated or done in framework of Arsbioarctica, professional artistic and educational collaborations Kilpisjärvi station and Käsivarsi area and activities of Finish Bio Art Society during years 2008-2013.
21.00
breaking the ice & Sauna
DAY 2 / Tuesday 19.3.2013
9.00 - 12.00
Lecture
- General Agenda of the workshop (Riku)
- Introduction of workshop goals and objectives (Walter)
- Personal Introduction of lecturers and artists (6 teachers 10min each)
- Dr. Leena Valkeapää:locality and influence of scientific and artistic expeditons and research done in the area.
12.00 - 13.00
Lunch time
13.00 - 15.00
- presentations of students portfolios (15 to 20 students 5min each)
15.30 - 17.00
- formulating the workshop groups
- introduction to the workshop topics ( 3 groups 15 min each)
17.00 - 18.30
- working in groups
18.30 - 19.30
Diner
19.30 - 21.00
- working in groups / consultations given by teachers
21.00
- smelting the ice & Sauna
DAY 3 / Wednesday 20.3.2013
9.00 - 12.00
DISCUSSION Session
- working in groups / consultations given by teachers
12.00 - 13.00
Lunch time
13.00 - 18.00
DEMO Session
- group related
EXPEDITION Session
- working in groups / consultations given by teachers
18.30
Dinner
19.00 - 21.00
- additional lectures by teachers
- presentation of artist work
- possibility for individuell/ group consultations
21.00
- boiling the ice & sauna
DAY 4 / Thursday 21.3.2013
9.00 - 12.00
DISCUSSION Session
- middle critic
- working in groups / consultations given by teachers
12.00 - 13.00
Lunch time
13.00 - 18.00
DEMO Session
- poster
EXPEDITION Session
working in groups / consultations given by teachers
19.00 - 21.00 (optional)
- additional lectures by teachers
- presentation of artist work
- possibility for individuell/ group consultations
- working in groups / consultations given by teachers
21.00
- smelting the sauna
DAY 5 / Friday 22.3.2013
9.00 - 12.00
DEMO Session
- working in groups / consultations given by teachers
- preparation of the tasks for presentation
13.00 - 18.30
DISCUSSION Session
- presentations and evaluating results of tasks within the whole group
- general evaluation of expectations and the outcome of the workshop
- possible future collaborations
21.00
- burning the sauna
Saturday 23.03. 2013
Departures all day