In this issue: Bubble Shadows + Mycelium House + Memory-trained AI

22 December 2023 Leonardo Network Newsletter

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Animated gif of six rotating image sets. The first set is a series of 6 images in a row from Leonardo journal 56, number 6, starting left to right, © Eryk Salvaggio Yellowish-grey hairlike fibers layered in waves create pockets in which silvery barnacles nest—© Brian House Photo of the Brooklyn subway station. The viewer is looking at the corner of a tiled wall, and high in the corner is multiple megaphones of different colors and sizes creating a sound installation. The wall is striped with green and white tiles, and a red sign that says “do not enter or cross tracks”. On the far left of the image, a few feet from the red sign, you can see a subway car moving along the tracks.—© Brad Miller Leonardo journal cover with honeycomb-like art—© Paul Brown An old SONY computer monitor on a white table. The screen shows black and white pixels.—© Lowana-Skye Davies, Photo © Carl Warner A small glass greenhouse illuminated from within in the center of a dark indoor space. A single leafy plant sits towards the back on the floor. A large chunk of mushroom is suspended from the middle of the ceiling, and another fungus rests on a ledge halfway up the back wall.including a tan music sheet, an image of a woman standing next to a person in a Triceratops costume, the cover of the Leonardo Journal Volume 56, Number 5, an image of one adult holding another adult in their arms, and the last image is a group of 5 individuals working around a table. The second series of 5 images starts with gray and white cube on a black background depicting a pixelated head inside, a photo from the human's view looking down on their hand holding a butterfly and their foot can be seen in the bottom of the frame, the cover of the Leonardo journal Volume 56, Number 4, a photo of the molecular structure of PROTEIN 13 on display, and a photo of two acrylic planters connected to a carbon fiber anode and cathode growing green rice plants. The third set is a series of 5 images in a row with a circular plate of a woman and a swan, a blurred black and white photograph, the cover of Leonardo journal Volume 56, Number 3, a dancing body backlit by a bright white light, a rock with a face carving. The fourth set is a series of 5 images in a row starting with a grayscale photo of a hand with tattoos, a photo of a stage performance with a glowing blue background, the cover of Leonardo journal Volume 56, Number 2, a grayscale photo of a city and its accompanying body of water, and an image of an electrical device on a pink background with a hand pointing to a portion of it. The fifth set is a series of 5 images in a row with a photo of students in lab coats working around a table, a black and white image of abstract art depicting a doorway and checkered walls with striped flooring, the cover of Leonardo journal Volume 56, Number 1, an image of animated art that looks like a robot standing on an orange surface, and a dark photo of digital art depicting floating elements like asteroids in a virtual reality setting.

Leonardo Journal 56-6 cover: Honeycomb-like artwork of bubble shadows; gray, white, and black

Brad Miller, Bubble Shadows #20, photogram (2006). (© Brad Miller)
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Text that reads "GET YOUR COPY OF LEONARDO!" accompanied by a red button that reads "BUY FROM MIT PRESS" and around the text and button are two black brackets on the bottom-left and top-right to frame it all.

An old SONY computer monitor on a white table. The screen shows black and white pixels.

Paul Brown, Builder/Eater, 1978, real-time computational and generative artwork, dimensions variable. Original lost, recreated 2014 using a Raspberry Pi. (© Paul Brown)

From Thought-Forms to Art Concret

In this interview, computational and generative artist Paul Brown discusses his early work of the 1960s and 1970s. He also describes his influences along with observations about how this early work directed his later career. The interviewer, artist Tracey M. Benson, practices in the art, science, and technology field and is a longtime friend and mentee. The two share many similar interests that are revealed in their conversation.

Yellowish-grey hairlike fibers layered in waves create pockets in which silvery barnacles nest.

Infinite Barnacle, GAN-produced images, 2021. (© Eryk Salvaggio)

Memory-trained AI

Artist and researcher Eryk Salvaggio trains AI on a dataset of his own personal photos taken at Chesapeake Bay to generate distorted, reimagined memories.

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A small glass greenhouse illuminated from within in the center of a dark indoor space. A single leafy plant sits towards the back on the floor. A large chunk of mushroom is suspended from the middle of the ceiling, and another fungus rests on a ledge halfway up the back wall.

Lowana-Skye Davies, House of Mycelium (installation image), 2022, polycarbonate panels and aluminum greenhouse. (© Lowana-Skye Davies, Photo © Carl Warner)

Futuring as Methodology

Hira Sheikh et al. offer an alternative form of environmental governance to the traditional science-policy interface, examining creative practices that explore nonhuman possibilities in environmental futuring.

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Photo of the Brooklyn subway station. The viewer is looking at the corner of a tiled wall, and high in the corner is multiple megaphones of different colors and sizes creating a sound installation. The wall is striped with green and white tiles, and a red sign that says “do not enter or cross tracks”. On the far left of the image, a few feet from the red sign, you can see a subway car moving along the tracks.

Urban Intonation installed in a Brooklyn subway station. (© Brian House)

Reconsidering Rats

Artist Brian House shares his process for the sound installation Urban Intonation wherein he recorded, resampled, and remixed the ultrasonic communication of New York City as an exploration of our complex sonic relationship with the nonhuman world.

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This issue includes additional articles spanning a range of art + science + technology topics curated for you. Read more now, Leonardo is available in print, online editions, and via download at a library near you.

360 Degree Reading Experience: Augmented articles with video clips, sound files, and additional images related to the articles in this issue. Find out more!

The Leonardo Reviews section of the issue provides critiques of recently published books and exhibitions spanning a range of art/science topics.

NOVEMBER 2023

Exploring Past Images in a Digital Age: Reinventing the Archive by Nezih Erdogan and Ebru Kayaalp, editors. Reviewed by Jan Baetens.

Photography and Artificial Intelligence Conference hosted by the Royal Photographic Society. Reviewed by Jacqui Knight.

Sentience: The Invention of Consciousness by Nicholas Humphrey. Reviewed by Cecilia Wong.

OCTOBER 2023

Curating the Moving Image by Mark Nash. Reviewed by Mike Leggett.

DOPOSTORIA by Christoph Keller. Reviewed by Jan Baetens.

Ruth Stone’s Vast Library of the Female Mind by Nora Jacobson, director. Reviewed by Mike Mosher.

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