Add a philosophical lecture on time and intuition, a pint and a float down the French Broad to your list of other things to do this weekend — that is, other than Bele Chere. The Media Arts Project (MAP) has organized such an event, called “DRIFT unRACE,” this Saturday, July 27 for the “Off the MAP,” their “roaming arts symposium” and lecture series. Though, they’ve noted that this is more of an experience, rather than a formal lecture.
UNC Asheville New Media professor Curt Cloninger will present a brief lecture at Jean Webb Park on Riverside Drive at 11 a.m. Saturday. Cloninger’s talk will cover theories concerning and enveloping the “Situationist practice of derive/psycho-geography” and French philosopher and Nobel laureate Henri Bergson’s concepts on time, memory, matter and the mind.
Bergson held that our intuition, interpretations and immediate reactions to a situation were far more important than, say, over-thinking, studying and researching it afterwards.
In his September 2011 Friction Research piece “Bergson’s SPIRIT,” Cloninger notes the constant ebb and flow in academia’s favor for Bergson’s theories, saying that it largely depends on the moment and whether or not his ideas can fit into that moment. “Cloninger will give instructions about how to subjectively drift through time in order to reclaim it,” according to press for the event.
“But to read Bergson as a kind of amateur Victorian neuroscientist, crippled by the science and technology of his time, is to miss the potential revolutionary thought of Bergson’s philosophy,” Cloninger says.
After the lecture, they’ll put theory to practice with a float down the river from Jean Webb Park to the Bywater. Shuttles will be available if needed. In keeping with the lecture’s concepts, the last person to float into the Bywater’s shoreline wins.
Details: “If necessary, some drivers will be available to help people get back to their cars in the River Arts District, but it’s helpful to make ride arrangements beforehand. Wear a hat, water sneakers, swim gear, sunglasses, sunblock/parasol. Keep valuables in Ziploc plastic baggies.”
For information on MAP and Saturday’s event visit http://www.themap.org/map/. For more information on Curt Cloninger and Henris Berson’s understanding on time, memory, matter and the mind read here and http://www.lab404.com.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.