From Fungi to the Planet, Complex Systems in Science and Art

Join a panel of scientific and artistic thinkers for a deep look at the roles of fungi on the planet and microscopic elements within complex systems. The visiting Treseder Lab of UC Irvine examines fungi’s layered relationship to planetary life and discusses how fungi mediate and connect distant ecosystems. David Familian introduces life webs and AI as complex systems, a topic that comes to focus in the art exhibition, "Future Tense: Art, Complexity, and Uncertainty."

Artists in residence with the Beall Center’s Black Box Projects working with the Treseder Lab, art collective Cesar & Lois introduce their ecosystem-based artwork that articulates fungal respiration and bioelectric signaling. Moving across perspectives in art and science, the panelists reframe how we picture the planet.

Scientists from The Treseder Lab include Dr. Kathleen Treseder and researchers Eduardo Misael Choreno Parra and Melanie Taleen Hacopian. David Familian is artistic director of Beall Center for Art + Technology at UC Irvine. CSUSM Professor Lucy HG Solomon and Brazil-based Professor at UNICAMP Cesar Baio make up art collective Cesar & Lois.