Arcane knowledge: The Athanasius Kircher Society

The Athanasius Kircher Society was chartered to "perpetuate the sensibilities and pursuits of the seventeenth century polymath and visionary Athanasius Kircher, SJ". The interests of this commendable institution extend to "the wondrous, the singular, the esoteric, the obsessive, the arcane, and the sometimes hazy frontier between the plausible and the implausible". Link

Copenhagen performance tomorrow Thursday May 18

Tomorrow Thursday May 18 at 8pm in the old Physics Building in TCD acclaimed Dublin theatre company Rough Magic will carry out a staged reading of Michael Frayn's play Copenhagen. In the autumn of 1941, at a critical point in the second world war, German physicist Werner Heisenberg paid a strange visit to his Danish counterpart, Niels Bohr. To this day, speculation has raged over precisely what they discussed. For these two former friends were among a handful of scientists around the globe who could unlock the secret of nuclear warfare...
See more information about the original Rough Magic Production
For more information phone: +353 1 6081675 (Thanks,Iggy)

EcoSensor website launched

The EcoSensor Network launched earlier this week is an innovative project for young people involving real-time tracking of humidity, light and temperature in the glasshouses of the National Botanic Gardens carried out by the National Centre for Sensor Research at DCU Link (Thanks, Emma)

Inspiration and Discovery

Inspiration and Discovery is a project in Dundee "designed to bring together artists and scientists to mutually inspire and excite, to spark off ideas and radical new ways of thinking and to catalyse collaborations" led by artist David Mach who, according to the site, "acts as a totem in a series of visits meeting with artists and scientists formally and informally" Link

Peter O'Kennedy percussion performance at IMMA on Friday

On Friday May 12 at the Baroque Chapel in the Irish Museum of Modern Art, renowned Swedish percussionist Jonny Axelsson will perform “Akrodha”, written for him by celebrated composer Kevin Volans, as part of a unique and varied program. The concert has been arranged to facilitate a collaboration between artist and SEED member Peter O’Kennedy, Jonny Axelsson and Kevin Volans resulting in:
• A live performance.
• A video documentation of the performance.
• A new video artwork.

A miniature camera is mounted on an arm and attached to the percussionists head so that it points back at his face as he plays. The camera is locked on the x / y axis of his face, producing a visual feedback loop of the music created in real time by and through the player in the act of playing the piece.

Two additional cameras also record the live event, one recording the audiences’ view, the other recording a bird’s eye view of the percussionist’s performance. During the initial live performance, the footage being recorded by the miniature camera is shown on a large screen above the percussionist. The performance thus becomes a unique and documented event in itself, while also generating a separate artwork: The final new video work.

If you would like to book a place contact Peter O'Kennedy at peterokennedy@eircom.net

May SEED salon: A Clinically Useful Artwork? – The Open Window Project

Wednesday May 10, 7pm at the Odessa Club (above The Odessa Restaurant, at 13 Dame Court, Dublin 2). Voluntary contribution: 5 Euro.

The Open Window Project is a novel art intervention which is taking place in The National Stem Cell Transplant Unit, St.James Hospital Dublin. Patients who are being treated for leukaemia are given access to a selection of contemporary artworks which may help them to deal with having a life-threatening illness. The impact of the intervention and the art practice is being researched concurrently by Catherine McCabe of Trinitiy College Dublin and Denis Roche of NCAD.

Prof. SHAUN MCCANN is professor of Haematology in St.James Hospital/Trinity College and Director of the National Stem Cell Transplant Programme. DENIS ROCHE is an artist and composer. He is a member of the Artists Panel of IMMA and is currently conducting a masters by research in NCAD. His sound work has been exhibited in the Temple Bar ‘Diversions’ Festival and he has performed in the ‘Meet in Beijing’ Festival as part of the China Ireland Cultural Exchange 2004. CATHERINE MCCABE qualified as a nurse in 1988 and worked in surgical and emergency nursing for the following 5 years. In 2004, She was awarded a Research Fellowship and is currently a PhD Student at Trinity College, School of Nursing and Midwifery and researcher on the 'Open Window' Study. FRAN HEGARTY is a Senior Physicist in the Medical Physics & Bioengineering Department, St James’s Hospital. He has over twenty years experience supporting the application of technology at the point of care and has worked in a number of leading hospitals in Dublin and abroad. He is also an accomplished musician, music producer and composer of new music.

Artist residency: Genomics and Society, Edinburgh

The ESRC Genomics Forum in Edinburgh is seeking an artist to help connect research on the key aspects of the relationship between genomics and society in a critical, fresh and exciting way with public policy debates and decision making. The Residency is hosted in partnership with Talbot Rice Gallery, the public art gallery of the University of Edinburgh.
Link (Thanks, Yazz!)