Leonardo Network News

The Newsletter of the International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology and of l'Observatoire Leonardo des Arts et Technosciences

Happy 40th Birthday, Leonardo!

Forty years ago in Paris, a group of artists, scientists and engineers got together and decried the lack of professional venues where emerging work bridging the two cultures could be presented, debated and promoted. Frank Malina, himself a research engineer and a professional artist, convinced publisher Robert Maxwell of Pergamon Press to take on the challenge of publishing a peer-reviewed scholarly art-science-technology journal, the first time such a project had been attempted.

To date we have published the work of 5,538 artists, researchers and scholars. We wish we could bring this community together for a celebration, but in keeping with our networked times, we are collaborating with groups around the world on a variety of events:

Leonardo Celebrates Leonardo da Vinci

Special Section of Leonardo, 2007-2008, edited by David Carrier.

What, building upon Leonardo's ways of thinking, can artists and scientists tell each other today? Full call for papers: <leonardo.info>. Inquiries and proposals: <david.carrier@cwru.edu>.

Leonardo in New York (February 2007)

Panels, events and exhibition organized by the Leonardo Education Forum at the 2007 College Art Association meeting: <leonardo.info/isast/lef.html>.

MutaMorphosis: Challenging Arts and Sciences

Prague, Czech Republic, 8-10 November 2007: <www.mutamorphosis.org>.

Leonardo co-sponsors a conference and exhibitions in Prague, organized by the International Centre for Art and New Technologies (CIANT): <ciant.cz>. (See below for more information.)

Lovely Weather in Ireland

We have initiated a three-year collaboration with Regional Cultural Centre Letterkenny, Donegal County, Republic of Ireland, to host a Leonardo 40th Anniversary exhibition and collaborate on an art-and-climate-change project, Lovely Weather: <www.donegalculture.com>.

Leonardo in India

Leonardo/Olats is working with groups in Bangalore, India, on a symposium and workshop. We welcome contact with Indian artists and scientists who might wish to be involved.

Leonardo in North America (2008)

We are planning a final 40th-anniversary symposium and celebration in North America. Further details will be announced on <www.leonardo.info>.

Leonardo in Spain: Expanding the Space (October 2006)

We were pleased to co-sponsor Expanding the Space, a conference and workshop on space exploration and the arts: <expandingthespace.net>.

All 40 Years of Leonardo Now Available On-Line

Volumes 1-33 available through JSTOR: <jstor.org>. Volumes 34-current volume available through MIT Press: <mitpressjournals.org>.

If you are interested in being involved, or have ideas on how we can celebrate the work of the new Leonardos, send E-mail to <rmalina@prontomail.com>.

What You Can Do Today

We know what Leonardo da Vinci could have used for his 40th birthday in Milan: a gift membership in the Leonardo organization and subscription to the Leonardo journal. If you know any budding Leonardos, buy them a gift at <leonardo.info/members.html>.

MutaMorphosis: Challenging Arts and Sciences

8-10 November 2007, Prague, Czech Republic. Conference web site: <www.mutamorphosis.org>.

MutaMorphosis is an international conference organized by CIANT as part of the ENTER festival in the framework of the Leonardo 40th anniversary celebrations. The festival will also feature the first retrospective exhibition of the work of Leonardo Founding Editor Frank J. Malina.

The conference will explore the major mutations that are affecting the future of our world. Papers will be presented by artists, scientists and researchers on the evolution of life and the societies they constitute, and on the modes of knowledge, expression and communication of humans, animals and other forms of life.

The conference will concentrate on the growing interest within the worlds of the arts, sciences and technologies in extreme and hostile environments. These environments appear as symptomatic indicators of the mutations that are taking place. They are potential vectors for an awareness of the different problems at the origin of the disturbances that threaten the ensemble of the Earth's eco-systems.

Conference Steering Committee: Alban Asselin, Louis Bec, Annick Bureaud, Don Foresta, Denisa Kera, Roger F. Malina (co-chair: <rfm.mutamorphosis@gmail.com>), Louise Poissant, Pavel...