Perry Hoberman

Donald Hoffman and Martin Wattenberg in Dialogue

Friday, March 6, 2009
Noon - 1:45 p.m.
Social Sciences Building (SOS), Room 250
Lunch provided. No RSVP required.

Donald Hoffman and Martin Wattenberg will discuss the interface between the cognitive neurological processes of vision and creative strategies for visualization. What happens when inborn “visual intelligence” meets the new modes of visualization made possible by new media? How might visualization techniques reshape how we see and what we know?

Donald D. Hoffman is a Professor of Cognitive Science at UC Irvine, and author of the book, Visual Intelligence: How We Create What We See. His research focuses on visual perception, consciousness and the mind-body problem, virtual reality and cognitive science. He holds a Ph.D. in computational psychology from MIT.

Martin Wattenberg is a computer scientist and artist, known for his visualization-based artwork, which has been exhibited in venues such as the London Institute of Contemporary Arts, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the New York Museum of Modern Art. He is the founding manager of IBM’s Visual Communication Lab, which researches new forms of visualization and how they can enable better collaboration. Wattenberg holds a Ph.D. in mathematics from U.C. Berkeley.

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PARASOMNIA (DREAMS OF THE SLEEPWALKER)
2008, Rising Storm Productions, 103 min.

Director William Malone (HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, FEAR DOT COM, "Masters of Horror") helms this macabre twist on the Sleeping Beauty legend. This gripping peril-packed love story not only taps into the zeitgeist of dark yet edgy romance-driven fantasies, but also pushes the familiar slasher film landscape into the more unique world of the surreal. The film is director Malone’s homage to the late Polish Surrealist Zdzislaw Beksinski, using the artist's work as the inspiration for the dream world throughout the film.

Valdemar Plusa, owner of the Belvedere Gallery and Beksinski's longtime friend and agent, will introduce the program. A panel discussion moderated by Richard Elfman (THE FORBIDDEN ZONE) on how art shapes and enriches the filmmaker’s vision, past and present, will precede the film, with director William Malone as well as legendary filmmakers Tobe Hooper, Mick Garris, Wes Craven and Stuart Gordon.

(Note from Perry: I will be conducting the interview with Valdemar before the film)

The filmmakers’ proceeds from this screening will be donated to arts organization MOCA for its continued support in providing arts education programs to the public and support for new artists.

Tickets $10, Students $8, advance tickets: Fandango

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Sunday, March 8, 2009
1:00pm warning: first day daylight savings time!
Machine Project, 1200 D North Alvarado Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Presenters will include:

Dan Goods: Dan is the "Visual Strategist" for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at CalTech where he develops creative ways of communicating science. He recently has done artwork with aerogel and on a team to develop a 108-foot long data driven sculpture at the San Jose airport.

Eric Gradman and Brent Bushnell: Eric and Brent will present ArtFall: a dynamic physical simulation by drawing on a whiteboard.

Brian O'Connor: Arduino + Chumby = Fun!: The Chumby is an open-source, ambient Internet device running Linux while the Arduino is an open-source prototyping platform. Brian will show how to connect an Arduino to the Chumby and develop a simple application that monitors the environment.

Link

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