Design is focussed on the creation of intelligent surroundings which free us from the necessity of physical effort. Critical tasks such as health and mental care are being undertaken by robots while wars are being fought by remotely controlled drones. Roles formerly performed by human beings have undergone a process of disembodiment. We have reached a critical point and have to wonder if this process has started to run independently from actual human needs and nature. And in fact, we find spheres in which the human body slowly reclaims the attention it deserves.
The festival addressed the relation of flesh and consciousness in the interdependent evolution of humankind and technology. We discuss the processes of embodiment; the integral role of the body in perception and interaction; as location of implicit knowledge; and as a tool we constantly try to extend and optimize. NODE15 invites artists and projects that investigate how these processes shape our perception and consciousness; how they alter communication and interaction with humans or machines.
