PROJECT PHONETHICA – SERENDIPITY ENHANCER EXPLORER THE WORLD THROUGH THE PHONETICS

By TAKUMI ENDO

Project Phonethica is an interdisciplinary art project, which explores the world through the phonetics of language. Combining scientific technology with art, Project Phonethica maps out the diversity and similarity of the worlds 6,000 existing languages. Project Phonethica aims at developing a practical strategy for vigorous survival in the post-modernized society, which has been openly enjoying chaos as a conclusion of its own fragmentation.

INTRODUCTION

Project Phonethica began in Tokyo and Paris in 2004, aiming to collect fundamental data through a wide range of interviews with for example: artists, scientists, composers, linguists, phoneticians, anthropologists, philosophers, and sociologists. During this period of time, research has also been undertaken in order to develop Phonethica System – a computer system based on the phonetic feature of language

The project will be disseminated to the public in the form of online tools, interactive installations and other media in all over the world from 2007.

THE MORPHOLOGY PROJECT ART-SCIENCE EXPLORATIONS OF BIOLOGICAL SHAPE ANALYSIS AND EVOLUTION

By ROB O’NEILL

INTRODUCTION

Morphology, within the field of biology, refers to the outward appearance of an organism or taxon and its component parts. As a means of quantifying morphology, morphometrics is the collection of methods used to collect measurements from shapes and perform statistical analysis on the variation. This paper introduces the concepts and history behind morphology and morphometrics as a backdrop to the subsequently described art-science explorations undertaken by the author in the Morphology Project. In particular, “dataFace”, the most recent installment of the Morphology Project is detailed as an example of how a large scientific dataset can be harnessed using custom and existing tools as a means of artistic exploration and scientific inquiry. Morphometrics is an untapped area for the arts. By utilizing these ideas and their accompanying methodologies, artists have the ability to analyze shape mathematically and to wield large biological shape databases as a medium. This interplay has the potential to enhance both the arts and sciences.

THE LAW OF DIVERGENCE: MYTHOANALYSIS OF LIMITS

By HERVÉ FISHER

Darwin’s law of natural selection published some 150 years ago proposed a surprising and evidently fundamental discovery and explanation of the Origin of species and their evolution. But this law for sure cannot explain that the human species, which is the most recent of mammals according to experts, has succeeded to mute so quickly and to outrun all other live species thanks to the development of its brain up to the point which we observe today.