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nexCafé #9: Playing at Being Human

Swissnex in Japan presents "Playing at Being Human," a philosophical-artistic experiment that examines the crisis of anthropocentrism by reimagining the relationship between humans and non-humans, both living and technical. This project challenges conventional perspectives by shifting the focus of human identity towards AI, animal, and plant life.

Between AI, animal, and Plant Life: an Artistic and Philosophical Experiment

The event will feature two video artworks and a panel discussion with directors Sylvie Boisseau & Frank Westermeyer, artist and associate professor at HEAD—Genève, and David Zerbib, lecturer in Philosophy of Art at HEAD—Genève. It offers a unique opportunity to engage with innovative ideas at the crossroads of philosophy, art, and technology.

Speakers

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    Bio

    Sylvie Boisseau and Frank Westermeyer

    Artists

    Sylvie Boisseau and Frank Westermeyer are a French / German artist couple. Under the name Boisseau/Westermeyer, the artists collaborate on video installations and films (among other artistic works) . Boisseau Westermeyer’s work has been shown in international exhibitions and at numerous festivals, including the transmediale Berlin, the Kino der Kunst festival in Munich, art centres, museums and alternative spaces. Boisseau Westermeyer are developing their research through the medium of art, as in the project published under the title ‘Playing at Being Human” (together with David Zerbib), available from HEAD editions and Naima Unlimited. Their research has been invited to numerous conferences, most recently in Riga, Stockholm, Paris and Lucerne. In a current project, they are exploring how generative video based on artificial intelligence redefines the position and function of the body in relation to the image. Frank Westermeyer is associated professor at HEAD—Genève and responsible or the Information Fiction section. They live and work in Berlin and Geneva. Artistic website: www.filmerei.net

  • Bio

    David Zerbib

    Philosopher and Art Critic

    David Zerbib is a philosopher and an art critic. A lecturer in Philosophy of Art at the Haute École d’Art et de Design, Geneva (HEAD-HES SO), his research focuses on contemporary aesthetics and in particular on the questions of performance and performativity, as well as on the issue of formats. His publications include Performance Studies in Motion. International perspectives and practices (with A. Citron and S. Aronson-Lehavi, Bloomsbury, London, 2014), or In octavo. Des formats de l’art (Presses du réel – ESAAA, 2015). Together with artists Sylvie Boisseau and Frank Westermeyer he published Playing at being human. Between AI, animal and plant life: an artistic and philosophical experimentation (e-book, Naima éditions / HEAD, 2021). He is also currently editing, with Jean-Paul Thibaud and Nicolas Tixier, Ambiances. A sensitivity to Ordinary Situations (Routledge, Series “Ambiances, Atmospheres and Sensory Experiences of Spaces”, to be published in 2024).

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    Bio

    Takanori Oishi, Ph.D.

    Associate Professor, Graduate School of Global Studies, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies

    Born in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1978. Loves fishing. Interested in environmental issues and the relationship between humans and nature. Majoring in ecological anthropology, he has visited Cameroon many times and has continued to research the relationship between people living in tropical forests and nature.

Partners

This project and its publication are the result of a research project based at HEAD – Genève (University of Art and Design, Geneva) from 2018 to 2020 and supported by the strategic fund of HES-SO.

Contact

    Fiammetta Pennisi

    Head of Art-Science
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