IwouldliketobeginbysayinghowgratefulIamtobegiventheopportunitytospeaktoyoutoday,tohavethespaceand:metocommunallytestsomenewideas.ThetalksIamgivingattheTransimageconferenceareveryspecula:ve.Iamnotascien:st,nordoIclaimtobe.Iamanhistorianofmodernandcontemporaryartandarchitecture,researchingandwri:ngabouttheinterac:vi:esandoverlapsinhistoryandthepresentbetweenthefieldsofbiology,ontheonehand,andartandarchitecture,ontheother.Thefirstofmytwotalks,“LaPrisedutemps:TheCapturedTimeoftheBiocentricImage,”queriesthepoli:calvalue,symbolism,meaning,andpoten:alagencyofand/oremana:ngfromthebiocentricimage.Withinthisstatement,thereareprimarilytwoelementsoffocus:whatImeanbythe“poli:cal”and“biocentricimage.”Intheintroductoryslides,weseephotographsoftheeventsofMay1968inPariscomparedtoorjuxtaposedwithmicrographicimagestakenbytheHungarian-Americanlightar:standimpresarioGyörgyKepes.Thefirstslideisofapostershowingawomanthrowingabrick,apieceoftheParisianstreet,symbolizingamodeofdefianceagainstthegreaterpowersoftheFrenchstateandcapitalismandamicrographofacrosssec:onofatwig,fromStructuresinArtandinScience,ed.byGyörgyKepes(1965),themeaningsandvaluesofwhichIwouldliketounpackhere.Photomicrographyisthetechniqueforphotographingmicroscopicsubjects.

1

Thesecondslidesimilarlybringstogetheranimageofstudentsrio:ngandaphotomicrographofaCamel’stongue:10X,1951,borrowedformanunnamedscien:stbyKepesandplacedintheexhibi:onTheNewLandscape,towhichIreturnbelow.Indeed,riotsinthestreetsofParisandphotomicrographywithinanexhibi:onandbookseemprimafacietohavenothingincommon.

2

Thesecondslidesimilarlybringstogetheranimageofstudentsrio:ngandaphotomicrographofaCamel’stongue:10X,1951,borrowedformanunnamedscien:stbyKepesandplacedintheexhibi:onTheNewLandscape,towhichIreturnbelow.Indeed,riotsinthestreetsofParisandphotomicrographywithinanexhibi:onandbookseemprimafacietohavenothingincommon.

3

But,Ibringthemtogetherunderthephrase“prisedutemps,”whichisFrenchforthe“capturingof:me,”andwhichIborrowfromtheFrenchphilosopherMicheldeCerteau’sessayabouttheeventsofMay1968,“CapturingSpeech”[“Prisedeparole”],inorder,asIhavesaid,toquerythepossibilityofapoli:csatworkinbiocentricimagery.Beforege_ngintothis,thecruxofmytalk,letmequotedeCerteau.Hetellsus:“Thecaptureofspeechclearlyhastheformofarefusal.Itisaprotesta:on.Weshallseethatitsfragilityisduetoitsexpressionascontesta:on,toitstes:monyasnega:on.Therein,perhaps,liesitsgreatness.Butinreality,itconsistsinsta:ng,‘Iamnotathing.’Violenceisthegesturethatrejectsalliden:fica:on:‘Iexist’.”FordeCerteau,theuseoflanguageasamodeofresistanceinthestudentuprisingsofMay1968cons:tutedauniqueseizureofpower.deCerteau,Michel,CapturingSpeech&OtherPoliBcalEssays,trans.TomConley(Minneapolis,MN:UniversityofMinnesotaPress,1997)12.

4

Herewearelooking,onthelef/below,atas:llfromAdamZaretzky’s“DIYEmbryology”(2015)and,ontheright/above,DetailfromJillScom’sInterac:vetouchscreen,theSomabook(2013),whereweseeembryo-exposuretoalcohol.Intheseimages,Iamreferencingverygenerallythebiocentricimageryincontemporarybioart.InborrowinglaprisedutempsfromdeCerteau’slaprisedeparole,Iextractsolelytheideaofapoli:cs:thatthroughbiocentricimagery,andbiocentrism,wemightsimilarlysay,“wearenotthings–wearelivingandpartofimbricatedlivingsystems.”Thebiocentricimage,Iargue,isthecaptured:meofdynamiclifeinphotomicrography(andherebioart)andamamerof,moreliterally,“taking:me,”delibera:ngoverandthroughscien:ficknowledge.Inpar:cular,theFrenchphraselaprisedutempsreferstothedis:lla:onofthetemporalprocessofbiologicaldevelopmentins:llandmovingbiocentricimages.WhileIusetheword“biocentrism”torefertoscien:ficimagerydeployedinthecontextofmodernandcontemporaryart,thewordhasaveryspecificmeaningandlineage.

5

Itaketheterm“biocentrism”frommyresearchandnewbook,ArtasOrganism:BiologyandtheEvoluBonoftheDigitalImage,whichfocusesonthespreadofHungarianBauhauslerLászlóMoholy-Nagy’spedagogyandartprac:ce.HerewearelookingatMoholy-Nagy’sPainBng,Photography,Film[Malerei,Fotografie,Film]of1925,theeighthoffourteenvolumespublishedintheBauhausbücherserieslaunchedbyWalterGropiusin1919attheBauhausinWeimar,Germany.ThoughwrimensolelybyMoholy-Nagyandthusnotananthology,itcombinestextandscien:ficimagesinordertocreatenotsimplyavibrantcollageinbookformbuttheinchoateinscrip:onofthelightimage–photograph,photo-gram,x-rayimage,andsundryotherimagesofreflec:velight-displays/light-games[ReflektorischenLichtspiele]–aslivingimage.ThisideaiscentraltoMoholy-Nagy’sbiocentrism.

6

AccordingtoLászlóMoholy-NagyexpertOliverBotar,biocentrism[Biozentrik]isastrainofbiologis:cNeo-Roman:cism,whichmaterializedinGermanyinthemidnineteenthcenturyasaformofeduca:onbywayofnaturalformsandonenesswithnature.BiocentrisminMoholy-Nagy’sthinkingisdrivenbythemesofintui:on,idealism,holism,theunityofthemindandbody,andtheonenessoforganicandinorganicmamer.

7

Germanbiocentrismispartofthehistoryofecology,anddatesbacktothephilosophyandnaturalscienceofearlybiologistJohannWolfgangvonGoethe.Alaterinstanceinthe19thcenturyofthiskindofrela:onalandGestal:stthinkingisembodiedinthescien:ficworkofGermanbiologistErnstHaeckel.HerewearelookingatErnstHaeckel’sRadiolaria(1862)andAcBniae,plate49fromErnstHaeckel’sKunsUormenderNatur(1904).Whileweseewhirlsofcolorfullifeinbothimages,Haeckel’simageryofradiolariansbearsspecificinteresthereinthattheyare:nysingle-celledaqua:canimalsbarelyvisibletothenakedeye.Theyareearlyinstancesofmicrologicalimageryinscience.Haeckelrenderedtheseradiolariansinpartbasedonobserva:onandinpartonimagina:on.

8

Ge_ngbacktopoli:cs,weturntothescien:ficpresent,inpar:cularlifeinthepostgenomicera(aferthemappingofthegenomein2003).Fromwhencecomesagencythroughscience?Whatmightamorerela:onalandresponsivesenseof“agency”basedonEvelynFoxKeller’stakeonthegenome,forexample,bear?And,hereIquoteKeller:“Thebomomline:likeotherorganisms,humanbeingsarereac:vesystemsoneverylevelatwhichtheyarecapableofinterac:ng:cultural,interpersonal,cellular,andevengene:c.Thereconceptualiza:onofthegenome…(fromagen:ctoresponsive)allowsus–indeedobligesus–toabandonthedichotomiesbetweengene:csandenvironment,andbetweennatureandculture,thathavedrivensomuchfruitlessdebate,forsomanydecades.”Keller,EvelynFox,“ThePostgenomicGenome,”inSarahS.RichardsonandHalamStevens,eds.,Postgenomics:PerspecBvesonBiologyaVertheGenome(Durham,NC:DukeUniversityPress,2015)28-29.

9

Togettothecruxofmypaperinitsmostgeneralsense,whatisthepoli:calpowerofwhatDonnaHarawaycalls“art-scienceac:vism”?Howcantheknowledgeofbiofunc:onalismthatispartofthebiocentricimagebearapoli:csrootedinscien:ficknowledge:apoli:csbasedonfactsratherthansupers::ons?Haraway,Donna,“Anthropocene,Capitalocene,Chthulucene:StayingwiththeTrouble”,05/09/2014.hmps://vimeo.com/97663518.Accessed06/06/2016.

10

Takeforexample,“smartbacteria.”TheseimagesareofPaenibacillusdendri:formisgrowingintheagarofpetridishes.Theyareformallybeau:ful:colorfulimagesofdynamicpamerndevelopment.Func:onallyspeaking,theyshowtheself-engineeringskillsofbacteriainthatthespreadingpamernshelpthecolonyaccessmorefoodthatisinthemostefficientwayundergivencondi:ons.Scien:stshavedevelopedametrictodescribethissetofskillscalledthe"BacteriaSocial-IQScore.”Thescoremeasuresbacteria'shighlevelofsocialintelligence––howbacteriaworktogethertocommunicateandgrow.Thisleadstosignificantapplica:onsinmedicineandagriculture,butalsotouniqueideasofcollec:veinterac:onandintelligencerelatabletomammalsandplants.Ben-Jacob,Eshel,YoashShapira,andAlfredI.Tauber,“SmartBacteria,”inLynnMargulis,CelesteA.Asikainen,andWolfgangE.Krumbeineds.,ChimerasandConsciousness:EvoluBonandtheSensorySelf(Cambridge,MA:MITPress,2011)59.Anonymous,“Thegeniusofbacteria:Scien:stsdevelopIQtesttoassessandoutsmartbacteria’s‘socialintelligence’,”01/24/2011,phys.org/news/2011-01-genius-bacteria-scien:sts-iq-outsmart.html.Accessed06/06/2016,

11

Inthehistoryofart,imageslikethesewereintegratedintotherealmofart.In1951,GyörgyKepescuratedanexhibi:onofworklikethis–scien:ficimageryandphotographsofhisownlightart–attheMITHaydenGallery.Thiskindofworkwassimply,andImightaddincorrectly,understoodasformalism:beau:fulwhorlsandpamerns.

12

Inthehistoryofart,imageslikethesewereintegratedintotherealmofart.In1951,GyörgyKepescuratedanexhibi:onofworklikethis–scien:ficimageryandphotographsofhisownlightart–attheMITHaydenGallery.Thiskindofworkwassimply,andImightaddincorrectly,understoodasformalism:beau:fulwhorlsandpamerns.

13

Hereonceagainwearelookingatsmartbacteria.In1970,themedicaldoctor-cum-artcri:cBrianO’DohertywroteawonderfulprefacetoMicro-Art:ArtImagesinaHiddenWorld,acompendiumofphotomicrographicimagesandtextsbyLewisR.Wolberg,M.D.O’Dohertytakesapsychologicalapproachtothepenchanttoseetheinvisiblebywayoftechnologicalprosthe:cs.Hesays,“Themicroscopecanbeseenasaninstrumentofthis[the1957film,TheIncredibleShrinkingManandacertainensuing“scalelessness”]anxiety.Bydiminishingtheobserverandqueryinghisloca:oninspace,theselfislostinthegeneralinsurrec:onofobjectsthatfollows–makingthebodyamonstertoitself…”Iarguesomethingadjacenttothisidea:laprisedetempsofthebiocentricimage,suchasthese,triggersaprocessofaweandwonderwhichthenculminatesinthedriveforscien:ficliteracy:awilltounderstandthebiofunc:onalismoflivingcomplexsystems.O’Doherty,Brian,Preface,Micro-Art:ArtImagesinaHiddenWorld,byLewisR.Wolberg,M.D.(NewYork:HarryN.Abrams,1970)xv.

14

Herewearelookingatadiagramexplainingtheoriginofeukaryo:ccells,thatis,cellswithanucleussurroundedbyamembraneinwhichDNAisboundtogetherbyproteinsintochromosomes.Weareeukaryotes.Fromthischainofideascatalyzedbyknowingthebiologicallyfunc:onalsystemswelearn,forexample,thatsymbiogenesisplaysanessen:alroleinevolu:onandthediversifica:onofspecies.LifebegannotwiththeCambrianperiod541millionyearsago,butwithbacteriaintheArcheanEonsome4billionyearsago.Oureukaryo:ccellsarerootedin,evenmadeupof,thisbacteriallife.

15

Delibera:onoversci-arthybridimagescatalyzesadigressionofwonder,whichisthenfollowedbycon:nualspecula:on,recogni:onoftheorderunderlyingbeauty,andYügen.InthetermYügen,IinvoketheJapaneseconceptconno:ng“cloudyimpenetrability…excep:onaleleganceorgracefulness.”Theworddescribesanyshapeorformthatisintheprocessofchange,characterizing“movementins:llness”and“theembodimentofforminchangingsubstance.”Itisaprocess,Iwouldliketoargue,thatpromisesscien:ficliteracy.Gilbert,S.F.andM.Faber(1996),“LookingatEmbryos:TheVisualandConceptualAesthe:csofEmergingForm,”inAlfredI.Tauber(ed.)TheElusiveSynthesis:AestheBcsandScience,Dordrecht,NL:KluwerAcademicPublishers,133.Ibid.

16

Suchliteracyassurestodisplaceaworldorganizedforfartoolongaccordingtocertainhierarchies,suchasgene:csoverdevelopment,reduc:onismoverholism,linearityoversystems,andtheGreatChainofBeingoverrhizoma:cwonder.

17

18