Event 1

http://artsci.ucla.edu/node/1316

On April 19, I went to Linda Weintraub’s workshop, “What’s Next? Eco-Materialism and Contemporary Art. In this workshop, we used all of our senses- using our fingertips, taste buds, nose, ears, bottoms of our feet and palms of our hands. Technology of any sort was not allowed. Before entering, we had to drop off our belongings outside of the room. Boxes were scattered all over the room and there was an element of the natural world in every box. We were given directions of what to do with the items placed inside.

For example, in one box, there were natural items of different size and density. We had to order the items from lightest to heaviest. In our contemporary world, we would use a scale to find out the exact measurement of every item. However, since technology was not allowed, we needed to guess the weight of each item with our own senses/gut feeling.

 

Weintraub in this workshop was stressing the importance of nature and our over dependence on technology. This workshop relates to the robotics and art lecture in Week 3. We get so caught up in technology and depending on electronics so much that we forget to go out and smell the roses. I really liked this workshop because I was able to experience nature up close. Instead of relying on our phones for pleasure, I was able to feel direct, sensual pleasure. This workshop is a great example of how art can have an impact on peoples’ outlook on our world.