How to Move a Mountain (3 of 3)

A three-part series exploring cooperative efforts of both humans and animals

How to Move a Mountain (3 of 3)

Southern Exposure and The Citizens’ Laboratory (Amanda Eicher, Valerie Imus, Jerome Waag) invite experts on systems of organization from both the human and animal worlds to discuss ways in which various methods of collaboration can inform us as groups and individuals, acknowledging the characteristics that make us particularly human. How to Move a Mountain takes place over three sessions, each including brief presentations by experts, group conversation, and a responsive interpretation by an artist.

Thursday’s program begins with Helena Keeffe, who leads participants in a collective drawing exercise. Then, Phil Ross presents his research and screens his video Leviathans, a dramatic narrative documenting the romantic life of slime mold. Slime mold live part of their lives as single-cells and can spontaneously form multi-celled organisms, developing specialized capacities to act collectively and move in complex ways. Finally, trombonist, improvisation theorist, and Professor of American Music at Columbia University George Lewis presents his work with machines that improvise music. His practice challenges traditional notions of interactivity and agency, demonstrating that machines are capable of improvisation and collaboration with other machines as well as human musicians.