David Jhave Johnston: Aesthetic Animism, Apistemes, Generative Adversarial Networks

David Jhave Johnston

Aesthetic Animism, Apistemes, Generative Adversarial Networks

This talk recombines 3 distinct diverse almost-unrelated modes of practice into a single rapid experimental eco-episteme. First section (Aesthetic Animism) reprises my phd thesis defence -- in all its multimedia glory -- with some minor reveals on how it became a book: a volatile yet staid process, normative yet risky. Second section (Apisteme) is an aside: a speculative quasi-prophetic vision of alternative future educational institutions. The third section (Generative Adversarial Networks) speaks to the current acceleration in machine learning, and the necessity for the arts to suggest ethical alternatives, radical radiant sense-making nonsense, and unequivocal ambiguous clarity as counterpoints and antidotes to the commodification of algorithmic awareness.