In its size and complexity, the universe we inhabit exists at a scale that is fundamentally ungraspable by humans. We have therefore developed tools of perception and abstraction in the attempt to better comprehend it and our position within it. With each revolution in thought or scientific innovation—from Copernicus’s heliocentric model to the invention of the microscope to the detonation of the first nuclear bomb—comes the need to dramatically reconfigure our sense of scale and place. In today’s world, the digital storage of the touchstones of our daily lives (documents, messages, books, music, movies, etc.) evades our ability to fathom its volume through visual or embodied perception. Scale is no longer just a function of size but rather more so now of complexity, thereby evading the scope of our current tools. Though the Eameses’ dream is now literally at our fingertips with our ability to zoom with abandon, what new tools for understanding are necessary to invent in order to address our contemporary issues of scale?
Here are some of the questions we will ask: How has our perception of scale changed over time? How have scientific milestones contributed to that shift? What shifts will come next? What is our place in the universe? How can we fully come to terms with its scale? Are we in a crisis of perception? With the ever-increasing complexity of our world, will we ever be able to fully comprehend it? Do we even need to? Should our actions depend upon this comprehension? How can we grapple with phenomena such as the climate crisis? In what ways has scale become an issue of complexity over size? How do we understand scale in terms of both time and space?
The evening will commence with a brief introduction by Paola Antonelli, followed by equally brief presentations by – here in alphabetical order:
Alexandra Amon: is a cosmologist who uses large-scale surveys of galaxies to study the structure of the universe and is Assistant Professor of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University.
Susan Buck-Morss: is a trans-disciplinary scholar with interests in critical theory, philosophy of history, and trans-local global commons and is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at The Graduate Center, CUNY.
Jamer Hunt: collaboratively designs open and adaptable frameworks for participation that respond to emergent cultural conditions and is Professor of Transdisciplinary Design at Parsons School of Design.
Trevor Paglen: is an artist whose work spans image-making, sculpture, investigative journalism, writing, engineering, and numerous other disciplines.
The presentations will be accompanied by the screening of a series of short videos cut specifically for Salon 46 by: D. Graham Burnett, Dipesh Chakrabarty, Simon Denny, Olafur Eliasson, Mike Hulme, Hannah Landecker, Laura U. Marks, Jussi Parrika, Jonas Staal, Elaine Scarry, and Annabel J. Wharton.
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The comments and opinions expressed in this video are those of the speakers alone, and do not represent the views of The Museum of Modern Art, its personnel, or any artist.
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