Welcome to the second episode of the Scientific Imagination x A Sign in Space series! In this special series, we explore the theory and process behind a fascinating project called “A Sign in Space.” We’ll be talking to a team of experts from different parts of the world and different fields of study.
A Sign in Space is an interdisciplinary project by media artist Daniela de Paulis, in collaboration with the SETI Institute, the European Space Agency, the Green Bank Observatory and INAF, the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics.
The project consists in transmitting a simulated extraterrestrial message as part of a live performance, using an ESA spacecraft as celestial source. The objective of the project is to involve the world-wide Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence community, professionals from different fields and the broader public, in the reception, decoding and interpretation of the message. This process will require global cooperation, bridging a conversation around the topics of SETI, space research and society, across multiple cultures and fields of expertise.
In this episode, we focus on the theory and concept behind the project, as well as the meaning of the message it carries. Our special guests for this episode are Daniela de Paulis, Frank White, and Jörg Matthias Determann. They’ll be sharing their insights and ideas with us.
Join us as we dive into the world of scientific imagination and uncover the secrets of “A Sign in Space” with our amazing guests.
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Daniela de Paulis is a former contemporary dancer and a media artist exhibiting internationally. She is also a licensed radio operator. Her artistic practice is informed by Space in its widest meaning. Since 2009 she has been implementing radio technologies and philosophies in her art projects. She is currently Artist in Residence at the SETI Institute (California) and Artist in Residence at the Green Bank Observatory (West Virginia), with the support of the Baruch Blumberg Fellowship in Astrobiology.
She is collaborating with some prominent research institutes, including the European Space Agency, INAF (Italian Research Institute for Radio Astronomy), the Donders Centre for Neuroimaging and the University of Cambridge. For her projects, she is using state of the art radio telescopes, such as the Green Bank Telescope (West Virginia), the Allen Telescope Array (California), the Square Kilometre Array prototype and the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory (UK), the Medicina Radio Telescope and the Sardinia Radio Telescope (Italy). Previously, she has been collaborating with radio operators based at historical antennas, such as the Bochum Radio Observatory (DE). In 2009 she has developed the Visual Moonbounce technology, in collaboration with international radio operators, and for the past fourteen years she has been working on a series of innovative projects combining radio technologies with live performance art and neuroscience. From 2010 to 2019 she has collaborated with Astronomers Without Borders as the founder and director of the Arts programme. She has been collaborating with several other organizations, including the Human Space Program, lead by space philosopher Frank White, the Space and Society Working Group lead by philosopher Jayme Schwartz.
She is a member of the IAA SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Permanent Committee and a regular host for the Wow! Signal Podcast, a platform dedicated to conversations on SETI, science, technology and the humanities. In addition to her artistic practice, she is part of the editorial board for the Springer Space and Society series. She has published her work with the Leonardo MIT Journal, Routledge, Springer, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Inderscience and RIXC, amongst others.
Gregory Betts is a scholar, editor, and experimental poet with collections published in Canada, the United States, Australia, and Ireland. His poetry books explore conceptual, collaborative, and concrete poetics, thinking about the limits of language and the boundaries of communication. He has lectured and performed internationally, including at the Sorbonne Université, the Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, the National Library of Ireland, and the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games as part of the “Cultural Olympiad”, amongst many others. He is a professor of Canadian and Avant-Garde Literature at Brock University, where he has produced two of the most exhaustive academic studies of avant-garde writing in Canada, Avant-Garde Canadian Literature: The Early Manifestations (2013) and Finding Nothing: The VanGardes, 1959-1975 (2020; winner of the Gabrielle Roy Prize and the Basil Stuart-Stubbs Prize), both published with University of Toronto Press. He has served as the President of the Association of Canadian College and University Teachers of English (ACCUTE), the Craig Dobbin Professor of Canadian Studies at University College Dublin, and the Chancellor’s Chair for Research Excellence at Brock University. He is currently the Curator of the bpNichol.ca Digital Archive and Associate Director of the Social Justice Research Initiative. His most recent books include Foundry (Ireland, 2021), a collection of visual poems inspired by a font named after a 15th century poet, and The Fabulous Op (Ireland, 2022), a collaborative epigenetic romp through the canon with Gary Barwin. He lives in St. Catharines, Ontario.
Dr. Chelsea Haramia is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Spring Hill College, USA and Senior Research Fellow with the Center for Science and Thought at the University of Bonn, Germany. Her research focuses on the intersections of science, technology, and values, and she is the author of several articles and book chapters on space exploration, astrobiology ethics, and the search for extraterrestrial technology—as well as public philosophy news articles and outreach. She holds a PhD in Philosophy and a graduate certificate in Gender and Women’s Studies from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She is co-editor of the journal 1000-Word Philosophy and an international affiliate of the SETI Post-Detection Hub.
Jayme “JS” Johnson-Schwartz is a philosopher, musical artist, and human rights advocate. Her academic research focuses on the ethics of space exploration, especially the intersections of space and environment as well as space and disability. She is author of The Value of Science in Space Exploration (Oxford University Press, 2020) and editor of Reclaiming Space: Progressive and Multicultural Visions of Space Exploration (Oxford University Press, 2023) as well as The Ethics of Space Exploration (Springer, 2016). Johnson-Schwartz records and releases original music as Anyways, So, Concepts!. Her first album, shed a tear or two, will be released later in 2023, and you can stream her existing releases on most music streaming platforms.
Music and sound snippets:
TZT
Vocalizations: Gregory Betts
Saxophone and Clarinet: Gary Barwin
Guitar: Arnold McBay
Bass: Ben Mikuska
Drums: Devon Forneli
Recording by Max Anderson at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts.
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Anyways So Concepts! – Heartbreak Starshot