Abstract
Keywords: Art, interactive art, installation, human consciousness, hu- man cognition, medical imaging, fMRI, brain activity.
“The Transmediated Self” draws upon contemporary discourse and theoretical debates surrounding concepts of subjectivity and objectivity in relationship to the mediated self. The artwork is grounded in interdisciplinary collaboration between art and science, in particular Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Neuroscience and Interactive Arts. “The Transmediated Self” presents a deconstructed human form, overlapped by video of the artist, 3D mesh and maps of active areas and tracks of the brain as well as medical MRI scans of the head of the artist, in order to demonstrate the contrast between humanist and technicist approaches to viewing the human and “the self”. The main artist serves as the subject of the medical imaging and as the primary subject for this art-based study. This intentional use of contrasting visual methods serves to highlight and question our cultural predisposition to “virtual media” and our trust in technological platforms as origins of informational and cultural “truth”.
- Anatol Bologan is an Instructional Assistant Professor in the Department of Visualization at Texas A&M University. He holds an MA in Image and Communication from Goldsmiths College, University of London, and a MFA in Visualization from Texas A&M University. He is a classically trained painter as well as digital artist working in the space of multidisciplinary and interactive arts. His work has appeared at national and international conferences and exhibitions such as SxSW, ISEA, Creativity and Cognition and iDMAA.
- Jinsil Hwaryoung Seo is an interactive artist/researcher focusing on aesthetics of interactive experience. Currently she is an aassociate professor in the Department of Visualization at the College of Architecture and a faculty fellow in the Center for Health Systems & Design at Texas A&M University. Seo received a Ph.D. in Interactive Art and Technology from Simon Fraser University in Canada and an MFA in Computer Arts from School of Visual Arts. With interdisciplinary, interactive art practice, Seo investigates the intersection between body, nature and technology. She has exhibited and published her art research projects nationally and internationally.
- Dr. Joseph Orr’s research examines the psychological and neural mechanisms underlying executive functions. Specifically, he is interested in the factors that underlie voluntary task selection; while we may think we have control over which task we choose at any given moment, there are a number of factors that influence our choices. Dr. Orr work suggests that overcoming task choice biases from external stimuli depends on the frontal pole of the brain, which is thought to be involved in coordinating the activity of multiple other brain areas.
- Dr. Vidya Sridhar is a research specialist at the Texas A&M Institute for radiological imaging, which aims to provide state-of-the-art imaging services to researchers both within and outside of Texas A&M University. She is trained in diagnostic and interventional radiology. Dr. Sridhar has extensive experience in neuroradiology, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and brain mapping, as well as cardiothoracic computed tomography (CT), echocardiography and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Her areas of special interest include neuroimaging and translational imaging research.
Full text (PDF) p. 65-72