<nettime> Transvergence

[Laurea de Ocampo <laureadeocampo@mac.com>]

Hello all-

The idea of transvergence is one of the themes for the upcoming <a
href "http://isea2006.sjsu.edu/";>2006 ISEA International Symposium of
Electronic Arts</a>.  I am an undergrad at San Jose State University in
the <a href "http://cadre.sjsu.edu";>Cadre</a> department and am
planning on writing a critical paper examining the idea of
transvergence, and I wanted to incite a dialogue about the idea of
transvergence and what it means.

<a href "http://www.create.ucsb.edu/~iani/lab/58.php";>Marcos Novak</a>
has defined transvergence:

In short, we conceive algorithmically (morphogenesis); we model
numerically (rapid prototyping); we build robotically (new tectonics);
we inhabit interactively (intelligent space); we telecommunicate
instantly (pantopicon); we are informed immersively (liquid
architectures); we socialise nonlocally (nonlocal public domain); we
evert virtuality (transarchitectures). He has also posited a new "Soft
Babylon," a theoretical stance which posits that our digitized
architectural palette is causing us to create a wired Situationist
city, while we struggle with some of the massive paradigm shifts that
our era will and must face.

Novak explains: "transvergence, in a pedagogical and research context,
refers to the study and applications of concepts and methods by which
convergence of disciplines, media and technologies is seen not as a
goal in itself, not as the focal point of a predictable origin for
divergences but as an opportunity to speculate and propose novel
transdisciplinary epistemological and creative formations. Using
willful strategies of derailment, it seeks to promote the mergence of
previously unattainable but presently potentially viable species of
efforts: future genres, future fields of inquiry, future arts, media
and sciences".

Does anyone have an opinion about what transvergence does that is
necessarily different from traditional forms of social critique in art?
What happens after the point of transvergence that makes a discipline
different from its solitary state?
When is the point of transvergence of value?
What works do you consider transvergent?

I look forward to your responses.

Laurea


#  distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission
#  <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism,
#  collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
#  more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body
#  archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net