News/Research

Commons Conversations: Ian Ingram Revisited

16 Mar, 2017

Commons Conversations: Ian Ingram Revisited

The BCNM was pleased to host a discussion on "Wild Robots" with Ian Ingram on March 15th, 2017. Ian, an artist who builds robotic systems that borrow from animal morphology and behavior to question our nature of communication, discussed the development of his artistic practice and some of his key works. From a system of communication that used leaves to tell plants and squirrels how an internal combustion engine worked, to an apple that was bruised based on the interior noise of a gallery, Ian investigates how we tell our stories and visualize these narratives in the natural world. Over time, Ian has shifted from questions of direct communication to interaction and some of his recent works have involved creating robots that are placed out in the "wild" to cohabitate with animals.

Guests engaging in Ingram's talk.

Ian's wildly humorous talk was a delight and raised important questions about our technological impact on nature and how we interact with and communicate not only with out environment but with the tools that we use.

View photos of this event on our Flickr page!

2017 Ian Ingram