Two-Day Symposium on "Synergetics and Morphology: Explorations into the
Shapes of Nature" at the RISD Auditorium 2-4 Nov 2007
Theme:
Synergetics and Morphology: Explorations into the Shapes of Nature
When:
Saturday 3 November 2007, 8AM - 5PM (Symposium), 8PM - 10PM (Dance Performance)
Sunday 4 November 2007, 8AM - 5PM (Symposium)
A Reception will be held on Friday, 2 November 2007 from 7PM - 9PM
Where:
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Auditorium
17 Canal Street (Canal Walkway at Market Square)
Providence, RI 02906
Short Description
The "Synergetics and Morphology: Explorations into the Shapes of Nature"
Symposium will bring together lovers of "form" ("philomorphs") for
an exploration into the interrelationships of structure, Nature and
Bucky Fuller's Synergetics.
Description
The Synergetics Collaborative has teamed with the Philomorphs and The
Edna Lawrence Nature Lab to present a two-day symposium on "Synergetics
and Morphology: Explorations into the Shapes of Nature" at the RISD
Auditorium on 2-4 Nov 2007. In addition to presenting an engaging
program around the intriguing concept of "the Form of Nature", the event
will include a reception on Friday 2 November and a dance performance
on Saturday 3 November. The event will also feature an art exhibit on
"Synergetics and Morphology" with the work of participants on display
at the nearby Waterman Gallery and in the Nature Lab. The Arthur Loeb
Design Science Teaching Collection, which now resides with the Nature
Lab, will be highlighted during the event. The event will continue
our efforts to build upon Buckminster Fuller's Synergetics legacy. It
will also offer a reunion for Philomorphs. Finally, it will provide
an opportunity to discuss and share diverse viewpoints among the
Synergetics community, the Philomorphs, the RISD student and faculty
communities, and other explorers of Form aboard SpaceShip Earth.
The symposium will appeal to a broad range of individuals who share
a common interest in Morphology (the Art and Science of Form: Goethe
is reported to be the first to study and define morphology), including
artists, designers, naturalists, geometers, mathematicians, scientists,
educators and students.
Representative Symposium Topics
Presentations should touch on Buckminster Fuller's Synergetics
and morphology. Representative topics include Synergetics, Arthur Loeb,
the Arthur Loeb Design Science Teaching Collection, the Philomorphs,
geometry and/or pattern in Nature, the form, shape, or structure of
Nature, the forms, shapes, and structures in Nature. A relationship
to Synergetics and/or Morphology should be central.
The registration fee is $125 (includes lunch tickets for Sat &
Sun, and the performance on Sat evening); $30 for students.
RISD students enter at no charge but registration is
required. Please fill out the on-line registration form.
Registrations received after 28 October will be subject to a $25
late processing fee. At the door registrations will be subject to
a $50 surcharge. Please mail checks to Synergetics Collaborative;
240 Copley Road; Upper Darby, PA 19082-4016.
There will be limited space in the Waterman Gallery and The Edna
Lawrence Nature Lab for exhibiting 2-D and 3-D pieces
and digital art. Please request space by filling out this
Art Show submission form by the application deadline of 1
October.
Poster Papers
Although every effort to include as many Poster Papers as possible
will be made, we have limited space and may have to
limit late submissions. Please send abstracts (150-200
words) with your request to present a Poster Paper to papers@synergeticists.org
by the 26 October deadline. Note: posters should be mounted on
a foam board single-panel display that is 24" x 36".
Synergetics Collaborative (SNEC) was founded in 2002 as an
organization to bring together a diverse group of people with an interest in
Buckminster Fuller's Synergetics in face-to-face workshops, symposia,
seminars, and other meetings to educate and support research and
understanding of the many facets of Synergetics, its methods and principles. Visit the Synergetics Collaborative
on-line.
Philomorphs, the "lovers of form", is an ad hoc group founded by
Cyril Stanley Smith, Steven J. Gould, and Arthur Loeb, to provide a
forum for those interested in form to share ideas in process or new
thinking with other interested parties. Two memorable examples of
presentations were: the structure and behavior of clusters of soap
bubbles by Cyril Smith or the structural jumps in changes of snail
evolution by Steven Gould. For many years, the Philomorphs were
hosted by Arthur Loeb in his studio in Sever Hall and then in the
Carpenter Center at Harvard University. The following quote by Cyril
Stanley Smith in 1979 exemplifies the main thinking of the Philomorphs:
"There seems to be emerging a new philosophy of structural hierarchy
applicable to change biological, intellectual, esthetic or social."
Philomorphs has been in hiatus for several years. We hope the event on
"Synergetics and Morphology" will provide a reunion for Philomorphs'
participants to rekindle their passion for discussing their work
on Form.
The Edna Lawrence Nature Lab at Rhode Island School of Design
uniquely integrates a natural history collection, a lending library
of natural specimens and a studio environment. With its growing
collection of more than 80,000 natural history objects, books, visual
resources, microscopes and a digital work station, the Nature Lab
serves as an invaluable research facility for the RISD community. In
2003, The Nature Lab accepted the Arthur Loeb Design Teaching
Collection. This hands-on collection of hundreds of three-dimensional
polyhedra and two-dimensional patterns inspires students and faculty
to examine nature's fundamental responses to design problems. Visit the Nature Lab online.