J. Irwin Miller Symposium “Aesthetic Activism”

This session of the J. Irwin Miller Symposium, “Aesthetic Activism” evaluates the role of physical objects and architectural form in social change; recognizes new relationships between social definitions and architectural space formulates new ideas about how architecture can be more interdisciplinary; investigates the evolving definitions of genders and their potential relationship to space; and formulates new ideas about how architecture can better address contemporary social problems. Nettrice Gaskins (Boston Arts Academy), Diann Bauer (Artist), Catherine Flood (Victoria and Albert Museum), Jonathan Massey (California College of the Arts) Peggy Deamer (Yale University), Introduction and Discussion Moderator

Architect, educator, theorist, and director of Ruy Klein, David Ruy delivers the closing remarks to the symposium, “Aesthetic Activism”. David Ruy (Southern California Institute of Architecture)

This session of the J. Irwin Miller Symposium, “Aesthetic Activism” explores the interrelationship between art and architectural practices; formulates new ideas about how architecture can be more interdisciplinary; identifies trends in architecture and art that rely on creating unusual and strange spaces and objects; analyzes how lighting can impact the understanding of space in photography and architecture. “The Aesthetics of the Other: Alienation, Estrangement, and Unfamiliarity” Gregory Crewdson (Yale University), Caroline Picard (Curator), Pamela Rosenkranz (Artist), Roger Rothman (Bucknell University) Michael Young (Yale University), Discussion Moderator

Panel Discussion: “Aesthetics and the Progressive: Architecture and the State of the Contemporary” Hernan Diaz Alonso (SCI-Arc), Lydia Kallipoliti (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), Jason Payne (University of California, Los Angeles), Rhett Russo (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) and Albena Yaneva (University of Manchester) - Michael Speaks (Syracuse University), Discussion Moderator. From the J. Irwin Miller Symposium, “Aesthetic Activism” at Yale This distinguished panel, moderated by Michael Speaks (Syracuse University), interprets the relevance of emerging philosophy on architectural theory and practice; discovers how architecture today is changing as a discipline; assesses the value of changes in the discipline of architecture and cross-disciplinarily; and explores how contemporary architecture is identified as contemporary through aesthetics.

J. Irwin Miller Symposium, “Aesthetic Activism” Professor Jacques Rancière in conversation with Assistant Dean Mark Foster Gage in which they investigate the relationship between architecture and aesthetics; consider the role architecture and architects in social and political processes; discover potential new ways architecture can be used to promote social equality; and evaluate the historic role of architecture in forming hierarchical political structures. Jacques Rancière (Université Paris VII) in Conversation with Mark Foster Gage (Yale University)

This session of the J. Irwin Miller Symposium, “Aesthetic Activism” offers a re-evaluation of the relationship between architecture and social theory; evaluates the role of beauty in how the public understands architecture; discovers interdisciplinary connections that can inform architectural design; and reconsiders the relationship between interconnectivity and architecture. Graham Harman (Southern California Institute of Architecture), Ariane Lourie Harrison (Yale University), David Ruy (Southern California Institute of Architecture), Elaine Scarry (Harvard University), Tom Wiscombe (Southern California Institute of Architecture), Discussion Moderator, Ferda Kolatan (Pratt Institute)

Following Dean Mark Foster Gage’s introduction, this session of the J. Irwin Miller Symposium, “Aesthetic Activism” looks to clarify the developing relationship between nature and architecture; describes how land use in architecture is related to property valuation; speculates on ways in which architects can be more influential in large scale development; and explore the interrelationships between ecology and architecture at large scale. Keller Easterling (Yale University), Catherine Ingraham (Pratt Institute), Timothy Morton (Rice University), Discussion Moderator, Jonathan Massey (California College of the Arts)

Harvard’s Walter M. Cabot Professor of Aesthetics and General Theory of Value, Elaine Scarry, delivers the opening lecture to the J. Irwin Miller Symposium, “Aesthetic Activism”.