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Welcome to my blog. I document my adventures in travel, style, and food. Hope you have a nice stay!
Welcome to my blog. I document my adventures in travel, style, and food. Hope you have a nice stay!
This special edition of Cognitive Sensations is dedicated to the subject of perception, moving away from its reputation as a cognitive process of the senses, and reinforcing its relationship with the external environment and certain man-made forces.
Throughout history, humans have developed intellectual tools to expand and support their mental powers and capabilities. Writing changed how we externalised our inner thoughts and ideas, allowing knowledge to transmit across distances without the originator present. The development of maps enabled humans to decode complex visual information, changing the very dynamics of internal spatial representation. The invention of glasses and hearing aids enhanced visual and auditory perception, filling in the sensory gaps that once felt lost. Most relevant to the society of the 21st century is the progression of digital technology.
The contributors of this season have examined both the everyday and emerging practices of humans, from virtual reality gaming to the obsessive checking of weather apps. Neurological framing of perception is very much present, but has been unravelled and redefined through societal and cultural perspectives. We question how might the infiltration of digital technology in photographic and curatorial practices alter the perception of their presented content? Has the immediacy of online information pushed our perceived levels of self control, ultimately satisfying the innate human need for the control of one’s environment?
In today’s landscape of fast-paced connectivity and attention-grabbing notification stimuli, it can sometimes feel like the world is turning too fast. Two centuries of technological development, through the industrial revolution and WW2, the connection between human perception and machines has become sharper, stronger and faster. This article will examine the changing nature of time as a product of these engagements.
‘faces’ explores how we construct narratives, highlighting the role a reader plays in determining meaning and truth. It interrogates how we piece together information to understand the world around us, highlighting the role the internet prompts and interactions can play in shaping how we tell and understand stories, and make sense of ‘facts'.
Curator Agata Kik writes about her experiences of curating across multiple realities: virtual and physical. During a time where the physical presence of artworks are no longer confined to the walls of a museum, how does the notion of presence shift as artists move increasingly towards digital spaces? Kik puts forward her own experiences as a curator, building a theory around the relationship between technology and sensory perception in contemporary curating practice.
The information age has privileged humans with immediate knowledge about their day-to-day activity, from personal health data, to weather predictions for the upcoming week. As we increasingly tap into this information, we perceive a feeling of self control. Are these feelings simply a fulfilment of a basic need of being human, or are we on the brink of a control crisis?
How do we perceive the world through digital media and VR, and how does this relate to real world perception? Can gaming and VR experiences influence how we perceive our surroundings? Delving into the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty & Bergson, this article examines the evolution of perception over several key turning points in the history of visual technology.
Perception is a process which takes place in the body as well as the brain. It’s not something that happens to us, it’s something that we do. Olafur Eliasson demonstrates the potential of art to affect an individual physiologically, emotionally and socially, through a few simple experiments of the senses. How can the conditions of viewing be designed to enhance the experience of art, and can it shift the foundations of our politics?
Dutch artist duo Persijn Broersen & Margit Lukács are fascinated by the relationship between the screen and the natural world. In our current era of representation, photography has become liquid, changing our very reality through editing, filters and enhancement. This article explores the interweaving of fact and fiction through the digital territories of the artist’s work.
Flicker Fusion Rate, peeling an egg, stop motion without a screen. These are all experiments conducted by artists at the Visual Science of Art conference in Leuven. How can artistic practice be used as a pathway into the science of dementia and psychophysics? Join my journey as I explore my new scientific knowledge in perception gained at this very unique conference.
In 1967, both Guy Debord and Marshall McLuhan released their forward thinking publications exploring the impact of mediated images on society. Fifty two years after publication, both thinkers are considered leading media theorists of their time, with views still relevant in the digital age. What can we learn from Debord and McLuhan about the impact of technology on perception?
