We started with morning with an artist talk from Pia Van Gelder. She walked us through her journey of interest in sound and heirloom technologies. A project that was especially interesting was the psychic synth, which read your alpha and beta brain waves to produce a sound and light show. The math behind it was pretty intriguing - her collaborater used some sort of fractal analysis!

Allison’s first Critical Theory of Technology class was this afternoon. I’m excited about this class because I have a feeling that we’re going to read a lot of the pieces that I was assigned for a similar class in university but didn’t read (whoops…), so this is my chance to really dig into them! We started by introducing ourselves and identifying what we wanted to get out of the class/desired areas of focus. I mentioned that I’d like to focus on the concept of a digital divide, and how technology is really only accessible to those who can pay for it.

We finished the class by watching ‘All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace’ which really got me thinking. It was a pretty depressing film and I’m still not quite sure how to process it all/what to think - maybe I’ll have to watch it again…

This weekend will also be really busy: a bunch of us plan to go to the opening of Eyebeam and Zan and I are also going to the Robotic Church on Saturday. On Sunday, Zan, Rachel, and I are planning to go to the Brooklyn Museum.

Here are some photos from the trips: