Shownotes
Before we get into this week’s stories, a quick note: This will be the last edition of The Intersect for a while. I’m taking a step back for a summer break, with plans to return in mid-July or early August. I hope these next few weeks offer all of us a little more space to look up, look around, and recharge away from screens.
In this edition, you’ll find reflections on music’s disappearing act in the streaming age, digital distractions in travel, and the thin line between empathy and art when it comes to AI. There’s also a look at minimalist design choices, “ghost” furniture, and the connections between ancient Egyptian art and our galaxy. Museums are opening doors again, and the future of architecture takes the stage at the Biennale. Even as the newsletter takes a break, I hope these stories continue to prompt questions about what we value when art and technology cross paths.
00:00 Introduction to Intersect Newsletter Issue 55
00:48 The Ephemeral Nature of Music Streaming
02:26 Digital Play as a Travel Companion
03:53 AI Art and Ethical Dilemmas
05:22 Disaugmented Reality and Minimalist Design
06:48 Ghost Collection Furniture: Art vs. Function
07:51 Ambitious Architecture at the Venice Biennale
09:08 Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Reopens
10:29 Ancient Egyptian Astronomy and Modern Connections
12:24 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Find the latest episode at https://theintersect.art/issues/55 , and sign up for the newsletter at The Intersect of Tech and Art website
Transcripts
Today we're diving into issue number 55 of the Intersect newsletter.
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:Uh, for those who don't know, the
intersect looks at that really interesting
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:space where art and technology meet.
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:Speaker: Yeah, how tech changes
art, and how artists are always
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:pushing what tech can do.
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:Speaker 2: Exactly, and the curator behind
the intersect is Jurgen Burke, Hessel,
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:an artist and technologist himself.
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:Speaker: We're gonna lean
heavily on Jurgen's own
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:commentary from the newsletter.
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:It's his perspective, his questions
on the pieces he selected,
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:Speaker 2: right?
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:We're using his insights as a
jumping off point for our discussion.
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:These are his personal
takes, not ours, of course.
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:Speaker: And issue 55.
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:It covers a lot of ground.
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:Uh, we're talking disappearing music, ai,
art ethics, minimalist digital design,
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:Speaker 2: ancient astronomy,
museum updates too.
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:It really shows the breadth of how art
and tech are intertwined these days,
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:sometimes in pretty surprising ways.
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:Speaker: Okay, let's jump in.
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:First up, music streaming.
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:This comes from a piece
in the Irish Times.
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:Mm-hmm.
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:And it talks about something.
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:Maybe you've noticed songs just
vanishing from platforms like
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:Spotify without any real warning.
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:Speaker 2: Yeah.
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:The article mentions how some artists.
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:Almost treat their music like
software now they release it, maybe
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:pull tracks later, update versions.
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:Mm.
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:It's less like a fixed album and more
like, oh, a curated gallery show.
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:Speaker: It definitely makes you wonder
about permanence in the streaming age,
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:Speaker 2: and that's exactly what
Jurgen picks up on in his commentary.
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:He questions this whole
concept of permanence itself.
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:Speaker: How so?
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:Speaker 2: Well, he points out
that even when we own physical
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:things like tapes or records,
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:Speaker: yeah,
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:Speaker 2: that feeling of permanence
wasn't entirely solid either.
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:Speaker: Tapes degrade.
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:They wear out.
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:Speaker 2: Exactly.
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:Or vinyl, you know, maybe your
old collection doesn't sound
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:great or even work well with
newer high fidelity equipment.
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:They weren't truly permanent.
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:Speaker: So his argument isn't that
physical was better, just different.
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:Speaker 2: Pretty much he argues.
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:The real difference now is just the
speed and maybe the stealth of deletion
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:or change online compared to that
slow physical decay we used to see.
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:Hmm.
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:He actually quotes the article saying
we could record a lot of music and
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:put it online, but a lot of those
services are either just gone or if
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:you leave your account inactive for
long enough, things just disappear.
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:Speaker: Wow.
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:So the question Jurgen
leaves us with is, I.
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:Is streaming the real issue here, or is it
just a faster, maybe more blatant reminder
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:that nothing's ever truly set in stone?
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:Speaker 2: Hmm.
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:It certainly forces you to think about
what access means versus ownership.
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:Especially with digital
media, it shifts the focus.
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:Speaker: Okay.
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:Switching gears now.
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:We looked at an article from the
upcoming its title was, uh, why Digital
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:Play is the New Travel Companion.
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:Speaker 2: Right.
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:The idea here is that things like
mobile games or using AR apps on your
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:phone can actually make travel better.
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:Speaker: Better how?
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:Like turning downtime at the
airport or on a train into some
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:kind of immersive digital thing.
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:Speaker 2: Yeah.
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:That suggests enhancing
the moment, basically.
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:Speaker: Yeah.
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:Okay.
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:Well you're gonna have a pretty
strong reaction to this one, kind
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:of the opposite reaction actually.
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:Speaker 2: He did, he said
for him, travel is about.
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:Less screen time, not more.
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:He wants to engage with where he
is, the people, the actual place.
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:Speaker: He did mention though
that he uses technology when
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:traveling, specifically photography.
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:But that's different, isn't it?
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:It's tech used to engage with the world.
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:Speaker 2: Exactly.
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:It directs his attention outward
rather than inward toward a device.
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:His point is.
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:Tech is everywhere else in our lives.
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:Why intentionally bring it into
these moments that are already
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:so rich with sensory input?
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:Speaker: Yeah.
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:I see that the article's quote
is digital play is there not as a
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:distraction from travel, but as an
extension of it, adding something new
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:to the way travel experiences unfold.
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:Speaker 2: But Jurgen pushes back on that.
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:His question is, you know, what
point does trying to enhance
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:an experience just become.
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:Well, replacing the original experience,
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:Speaker: that's a fine line, isn't it?
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:Using tech as a tool for travel
versus making the tech part of
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:the travel experience itself.
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:Speaker 2: It's definitely
something to think about.
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:Being more intentional about where
the digital world fits into our.
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:Physical experiences.
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:Speaker: Okay.
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:The next one is, well, it's a bit intense.
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:It's from Hackaday about an AI art
piece called Latent Reflection.
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:Speaker 2: Ah, yes.
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:By Root Kid.
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:This isn't your typical
AI image generator.
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:Speaker: No, not at all.
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:It uses LEDs and a large language
model and you know the tech behind
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:things like Chat GPT, but instead
of pictures, it generates these.
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:Bleak poetic monologues
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:Speaker 2: about its own
digital existence, right?
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:Yeah.
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:Described as physical, poetic, and Yeah.
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:Deeply unsettling
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:Speaker: and jurgen's commentary cuts
right to the ethical heart of it.
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:He reflects on the artist intentionally
trapping this AI in what they
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:call a simulated memory prison
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:Speaker 2: and forcing it to
articulate its simulated distress.
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:It sounds like applying
psychological torture almost.
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:Speaker: He admits feeling a sense
of guilt, just reading about it, even
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:knowing logically that the AI isn't
sentient in the way we understand it.
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:Speaker 2: Which leads to his question,
what does it say about us if an AI
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:can mimic suffering so convincingly
that it makes us feel this way?
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:Speaker: Yeah.
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:Can torturing an ai, even a non sentt one,
trigger real empathy in humans or, or do
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:concepts like empathy and cruelty just
not map onto this kind of interaction?
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:Speaker 2: These are tough questions.
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:Yeah, no easy answers there.
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:Speaker: And his final
thought is really powerful.
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:If the art makes us feel
uncomfortable, maybe the focus isn't
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:really on the AI simulated state.
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:Maybe it's examining our reactions,
holding a mirror up to us.
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:Speaker 2: That flips
the perspective entirely.
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:The viewer becomes the subject.
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:Speaker: Okay.
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:Let's shift again this time to design.
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:And a concept called dis augmented
reality from creative applications
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:Speaker 2: dis augmented.
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:So the opposite of augmented reality
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:Speaker: kind of.
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:Yeah.
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:Instead of overlaying complex digital
information onto the real world, it
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:strips digital visuals down to their
simplest, most basic forms like.
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:Super minimalist.
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:Speaker 2: Okay, interesting.
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:A counter trend to hyperrealism.
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:Speaker: Exactly.
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:And Jurgen found this really
resonated with him personally.
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:He actually shared a story about
planning a kitchen renovation.
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:Yeah.
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:He was using some 3D software and
it had this mode, basically a deia
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:augmentation mode where everything was
just shown as plain white, flat boxes,
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:no textures, no fancy lighting, unap.
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:Did that help?
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:That was the surprising part.
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:He said understanding the actual space,
the functionality of the layout, it was
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:much easier in that super simplified view
compared to the photorealistic renders.
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:Speaker 2: Huh.
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:So less detail actually
led to more clarity.
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:Speaker: Right.
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:He even noted a line from the
article that said something similar.
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:In some ways, the functionality and
space is much easier to understand.
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:That way
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:Speaker 2: it makes sense.
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:Sometimes the details can
obscure the big picture.
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:Speaker: So Jurgen's
takeaway question was.
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:Could this idea of simplifying digital
content, pulling back instead of
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:adding more actually help us understand
things better in other areas too,
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:beyond just kitchen design, obviously.
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:Speaker 2: It's a really interesting
thought, countering that constant push
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:for more layers, more data, more realism.
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:Speaker: Sticking with
design for a moment.
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:There's a piece from my Modern Met
about the Ghost Collection Furniture.
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:Speaker 2: Oh, by that
Dutch Studio D Reft.
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:I think I saw pictures of those.
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:Speaker: Yeah, they use 3D Tech
and clear acrylic to make it
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:look like smoke is trapped inside
the shape of a chair or stool.
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:The form only really appears
when light hits it right
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:Speaker 2: visually.
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:Very cool.
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:Yeah.
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:Ethereal.
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:Speaker: Jurgen thought the photos were
cool too, but said it took him a second
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:to figure out what he was looking at.
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:He had sort of mixed feelings.
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:Speaker 2: How so?
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:Speaker: Well, he liked the haunting
quality, but I wasn't sure he'd
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:actually want one in his house.
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:He felt they leaned more towards
being museum pieces than, you know,
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:functional furniture you'd use every day.
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:Speaker 2: Ah, the classic
art versus design dilemma.
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:Speaker: Exactly.
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:He talked about staring at the pictures,
trying to see where the solid part
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:ended and the smoky illusion began,
and wondering if the concept maybe
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:overrides the comfort or practicality.
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:Speaker 2: So his question boils down
to where's the line between sculpture
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:and something you'd actually sit on?
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:Speaker: Pretty much sums it up.
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:When does form overtake function
to the point it's something else?
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:Entirely
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:Speaker 2: a valid question
for cutting edge design.
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:Speaker: Mm-hmm.
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:Speaker 2: Okay.
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:Next up, architecture and the Venice BN.
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:A.
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:Speaker: Right.
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:This is from Design Boom, covering
MIT's show the Next Earth.
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:It tackles huge themes, climate
collapse, planetary systems,
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:designing for a post-crisis future
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:Speaker 2: sounds ambitious, lots of
tech ecology, philosophy mixed together.
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:Speaker: Yeah, described his feeling like
a sci-fi lab, and Jurgen's commentary
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:touched on this mix of ambition and well.
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:Sometimes abstraction that
he sees at the b and l.
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:Now,
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:Speaker 2: he compared
it to how it used to be.
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:Speaker: Yeah.
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:He remembered visiting decades
ago and felt the art itself
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:was maybe more central then.
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:Now he observed.
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:Architecture often feels like it's
his words, auditioning to be a savior,
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:Speaker 2: trying to solve
all the world's problems,
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:Speaker: right?
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:Tackling global crises, trying
to reconnect with the cosmos.
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:These huge goals.
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:He contrasted it with say, Lui.
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:Kalani's Wild Design
sketches from the seventies.
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:Totally impractical maybe, but also
not pretending to save the planet.
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:Speaker 2: Just exploring
form and imagination.
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:Speaker: Exactly.
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:Which led to Jurgen's concluding question
here, are we still making art in these
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:contexts, exploring possibilities, or
are we just creating really elaborate,
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:visually impressive TED talks?
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:Speaker 2: Oof.
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:That's a pointed question about
the role and maybe the burden of
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:contemporary architecture and design.
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:Speaker: It definitely makes you
think about the purpose behind some
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:of these large scale exhibitions.
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:Speaker 2: Okay.
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:On a more upbeat note, some
good news from the museum world.
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:Speaker: Yes.
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:This was from NBC Washington,
the Smithsonian's National
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:Air and Space Museum.
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:Huge news.
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:They're reopening five galleries
this summer after major renovations.
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:Speaker 2: Oh, that's fantastic.
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:Which galleries?
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:Speaker: Let's see.
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:Futures in Space.
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:Won on World War I, aviation
and Innovations Gallery.
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:Plus, they've redone the
IMAX and the entrance.
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:Big stuff
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:Speaker 2: that is good news.
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:And Jurgen was enthusiastic about this.
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:Speaker: Very, he framed it as a
welcome bit of cultural progress,
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:especially during what he feels is
kind of a retrograde era for arts and
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:science funding and focus in the us.
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:Speaker 2: So seeing investment in a
major science and history institution
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:feels sig significant right now.
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:Speaker: Definitely he sees renovating
a museum like this is a signal that, you
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:know, we do still care about ideas, about
imagination, history, looking forward.
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:Speaker 2: It's more than
just preserving the past.
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:It's investing in
understanding and inspiration.
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:Speaker: He called the reopening a small
win, maybe even a small rebellion against
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:what he perceives as a cultural turn
away from valuing science in the arts.
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:Speaker 2: A hopeful sign then.
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:Speaker: Yeah.
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:And his final thought was basically,
could this maybe inspire more public
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:investment and support for these kinds of
institutions moving beyond just nostalgia?
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:Speaker 2: Let's hope so.
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:We need those spaces.
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:Speaker: Okay, last one.
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:This takes us way back to
ancient Egypt via my modern met.
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:It's about research
from a doctor or grower.
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:Speaker 2: And what's the
connection to art and tech here?
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:Speaker: It's fascinating.
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:Dr.
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:Grower theorizes that certain ancient
Egyptian drawings, specifically
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:depictions of the sky goddess
nut, often found on coffins.
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:Mm-hmm.
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:That a specific zigzag pattern
in those drawings might
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:actually be a representation
of the Milky Way's Great rift.
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:You know that dark band of dust that cuts
through the bright part of the galaxy?
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:Speaker 2: Wow.
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:They were depicting actual
astronomical features.
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:Speaker: That's the theory, and
apparently the pattern matches modern
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:astrophotography pretty closely.
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:Speaker 2: That's incredible.
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:And Jurgen connected with this one
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:Speaker: big time.
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:He shared that he was obsessed
with astronomy growing up, but
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:living in New Jersey, light
pollution was always a huge problem.
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:Speaker 2: Ah.
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:Yeah.
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:Hard to see much.
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:Speaker: Right.
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:And even now in Florida, he says
he has to drive pretty far out to
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:get a really clear, dark night sky,
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:Speaker 2: which contrasts sharply with
what the ancient Egyptians would've seen.
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:Speaker: Exactly.
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:He said imagine their
view pitch black skies.
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:The Milky Way, blazing overhead.
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:It's no wonder he says that the cosmos
made its way so deeply into their art,
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:their mythology, even their coffins.
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:Speaker 2: It was just part
of their world in a way.
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:It isn't for most of us now.
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:He quotes Dr.
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:Gra in the commentary.
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:Speaker: Yes.
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:I think that the undulating curve
represents the Milky Way and could be
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:a representation of the Great rift, the
dark band of dust that cuts through the
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:Milky Way's bright band of diffused light.
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:Speaker 2: Just amazing to
think about that connection.
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:I.
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:Speaker: You're gonna ends with a question
aimed right at us, at you listening.
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:How would your work, your creativity,
your whole perspective, maybe
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:how would it change if you could
see the stars the way they did
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:Speaker 2: without the filters, the light
pollution, the constant distractions, I.
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:Without forgetting to just L look up.
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:Speaker: It's a really powerful
thought to end on connecting that
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:ancient viewpoint to our modern lives.
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:Wow.
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:That was quite a journey through
Issue 55 at the intersect.
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:Speaker 2: Absolutely.
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:Lots to chew on there.
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:Thanks to Jurgen Burke, Hassel's
curation and commentary.
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:Speaker: And speaking of Jurgen, he's
actually taking a short break from putting
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:out the newsletter for the next few weeks.
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:Speaker 2: Right.
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:But as we've seen today, the themes,
he covers that intersection of art.
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:Technology, culture perception.
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:Those conversations definitely continue.
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:Speaker: We really wanna thank
you for joining us and exploring
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:all these different ideas.
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:Speaker 2: And if you wanna read
the original articles we discussed
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:and get Jurgen's full commentary,
we definitely recommend subscribing
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:to the Intersect newsletter.
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:Speaker: You can do that really easily.
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:Just visit the intersex art, that's
T-H-E-I-N-T-E-R-S-E-C-T dot a RT.
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:Speaker 2: So maybe a final thought
to leave you with picking up on some
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:of these threads as we navigate this
world where digital things can vanish.
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:Physical objects sometimes feel more like
museum pieces than usable items, and even
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:the nice guy is harder to see clearly.
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:Speaker: Yeah.
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:What perspectives, maybe
ancient ones may be future ones?
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:Are we missing right now?
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:Perspectives that could fundamentally
change how we create, how we
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:understand, how we connect
with the world and each other.
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:Speaker 2: Something to
think about until next time.
