SETI - Artists and Scientists Meet to Plan Messages to E.T.
17/03/2002
A group of twenty artists, scientists and scholars from the humanities are gathering in Paris on Monday (March 18) to understand better how we might communicate the human sense of beauty to any intelligent civilizations that could be circling other stars.
The Art and Science of Interstellar Message Composition workshop, to be held in the Paris suburb of Boulogne Billancourt, will focus on aesthetic messages that could be transmitted by radio waves or laser pulses. These communication techniques reflect the methods used by current observational programs in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), including the world's most comprehensive search, being conducted by the SETI Institute. "While the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence is a scientific endeavor with more than 40 years of experience, woefully little thought has gone into what we might say if we either make contact or find ourselves ready to send messages of our own," said chair of the workshop, Dr Douglas Vakoch. "Even less is understood about the interplay between technical methods and the aesthetic nature of the message."
Participants have backgrounds in a range of disciplines in the arts, humanities, and sciences. Artists at the workshop provide expertise PRESS RELEASE in drawing, musical composition, new media, painting, sculpture, and space arts.
Speakers from the humanities include scholars in history, law, literature, and philosophy. Scientific disciplines represented include astronomy, biology, computer science, engineering, mathematics, physics, and psychology. More information at (http://publish.seti.org/art_science). The workshop is being sponsored by the SETI Institute; Leonardo/l'Observatoire Leonardo des Arts et des Techno-Sciences (OLATS); International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology (ISAST); the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) Permanent SETI Study Group; and the IAA SETI & Society Study Group.
NOTE TO EDITORS: Participation is by invitation only. Interested journalists should contact workshop chair Douglas Vakoch (artscienceinfo@seti.org), cell phone 408-306-4514. Limited space will be available for media to be present on-site, but interviews outside of the workshop can also be arranged. A translator fluent in both French and English will be available for interviews before or after the workshop. Additional information about sponsoring organizations is available at (http://publish.seti.org/art_science/sponsors.php?language=e).
Contacts:
SETI Institute
Douglas Vakoch
Cell phone: 408-306-4514 (in USA until March 13; in France March 14-22 at
same number)
artscienceinfo@seti.org
IAA SETI Permanent Study Group
Carol Oliver
Cell phone: +61 417 477 612
coliver@els.mq.edu.au
