Roman Verostko

Bio: Roman Verostko is an academic researcher from Minneapolis College of Art and Design. The author has contributed to research in topics: Heaven. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 2 publications receiving 19 citations.

Heaven and earth

Abstract: V IS U A L P R O C E E D IN G S 54 Works are executed with a multipen plotter coupled to a PC driven by the software. The plotter, choosing from an array of pens loaded with inks mixed in the studio, draws each individual line. Most works require thousands of lines and frequent pen changes, which are software controlled. An optional brush routine allows the occasional substitution of a brush for a pen. All brush strokes are plotted using Chinese brushes adapted to the machine’s drawing arm. One recent series of illuminated digital scripts is reminiscent of medieval manuscripts. Many of these works are enhanced with a touch of gold or silver leaf applied by hand. However, the design elements illuminated with gold are always codegenerated and machine-plotted.

Algorithms and the artist (panel session)

Abstract: Introduction We address a number of problems related to viewing algorithms as the formulation of artistic statements. We analyze the nature of the algorithmic approach as opposed to direct physical action. Here are some of the basic questions that will be raised. Why do artists choose to express themselves indirectly, by way of formal descriptions of their ideas and what are the sources of inspiration for algorithmic activity. How does current algorithmic work relate to formal methods in an art-historical context. What is the relationship between paint systems and a pure algorithmic approach and is there a way to integrate both. What determines the beauty and effectiveness of an algorithm. What is the relationship between an algorithm and the nature of the physical results it produces i.e. how to externalize (materialize) algorithmic processes. What is the role of interaction in the development of algorithms. Do algorithms allow for progressive optimization or do they require fully preconceived ideas? Finally, and most pertinent, does computer programming force a focus on the surface component i.e. perceivable structure, or does it allow for the manipulation of deeper components such as meaning and emotion? We shall confront the algorithmic practice of the panelists and hope for strong audience interaction.

Ancient China and its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History . By Nicola Di Cosmo. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. ix, 369 pp. $70.00 (cloth).

Abstract: Introduction Part I: 1. The Steppe Highway: the rise of pastoral nomadism as a Eurasian phenomenon 2. Bronze, iron and gold: the evolution of nomadic cultures on the northern frontier of China Part II: 3. Beasts and birds: the historical context of early Chinese perceptions of northern peoples 4. Walls and horses: the beginning of historical contacts between horse-riding Nomads and Chinese states Part III: 5. Those who draw the bow: the rise of the Hsiung-nu Nomadic Empire and the political unification of the Nomads 6. From peace to war: China's shift from appeasement to military engagement Part IV: 7. In search of grass and water: ethnography and history of the North in the Historian's Records 8. Taming the North: the rationalization of the nomads in Ssu-ma Ch'ien's historical thought Conclusion.

It Should Not Be That Easy Using Green: A Mapping of a Green Theo-Ecoethical Hermeneutical Lens in Conversation with Pope Francis’ Peace Witness, Evangelii Gaudium, and Laudato Si’

Abstract: Interrelated social and ecological crises increasingly threaten both human survival and the vitality of the Earth community. These crises are primarily anthropogenic, have spiritual and temporal implications, and are therefore of concern to Christian ethics. In light of this confluence, the working premise of this thesis is that magisterial responses to these contemporary crises can be examined and assessed through an ecumenically-informed green theo-ecoethical lens. Specifically, that lens is fashioned in relation to six green principles, viz., ecological wisdom, social justice, participatory democracy, nonviolence, sustainability, and respect for diversity. A green theo-ecoethical lens is then employed to map, colligate, and assess the contributions of Pope Francis’ peace witness, his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, and his encyclical Laudato Si’, to the fostering of socio-ecological flourishing. In turn, such mappings and assessments reciprocally inform the lens. The dynamic interplay between the green theo-ecoethical lens with its six operative principles and the ecotheological, ecospiritual and ecoethical reflections of Pope Francis bring into sharper

Reading and Writing with a Tree: Practising ‘Nature Writing’ as Enquiry

Abstract: This thesis reframes, or reforms, ‘nature writing’ (‘Nature Writing Reformed’) through the practical and theoretical recombination of human, tree, and page. Understandings of ‘writing’, ‘nature’, and their phrasal relation in ‘nature writing’, are explored through a sustained enquiry into the reading and writing practices principally undertaken by the author (Camilla Nelson) in relation to one specific apple tree in the walled garden of University College Falmouth’s Tremough Campus, Cornwall. The central claim of this thesis is that composition is always environmentally constructive and constructed: how (the method with which) you read and write, and where (the environment in which) you read and write, i.e. the situation and materials you read and write with, affect not only the composition of the written text but the composition of the human, as well as the other-than-human, entities involved in this practice. This thesis is explicitly structured as an interweave of variously material (word; page; room; box; walled garden; library; studio; tree) and conceptual (word; page; theory; footnote; hyperlink; field of research) framing devices (and / or environments). The structure of this thesis and that of the orchard and studio installations, which together constitute the final PhD research submission, play on the variety of framing and reframing that occurs in relation to the spatio-temporal specifics of material and conceptual composition (as evidenced in the Media Log). This ‘reform’ of nature writing, as an interweave of human and other-than-human environments (or frames), is developed in relation to Mark Johnson’s expanded theory of ‘mind’ by way of the conceptual and material practice of metaphor (Johnson, 2007). This thesis combines the theories and practices derived from the (prinicipal) field of ‘Nature Writing’ (as defined in the correspondingly titled chapter), with those suggested by contemporary developments in cognitive philosophy, neuroscience, microbiology, systems theory, and translation studies.

Western Australian Graduate Diploma of Education (Primary) Students' Perceptions of Sustainability

Abstract: In late 2011, the researcher investigated a cohort of Western Australian (WA) Graduate Diploma of Education Primary (GDE-P) students’ perceptions of Sustainability across a broad range of biophysical/natural, social and cultural, economic and political spheres. The study occurred during the seventh year of UNESCO’s Decade of Education for Sustainability Development, and when Sustainability Education became one of three cross-curriculum priorities of the new Australian Curriculum. Importantly, the students’ perceptions were interpreted during the context of the Post Global Financial Crisis and after Julia Gillard replaced Kevin Rudd as the Labor Prime Minister. The intense political context was often supported by controversial media debates covering a range of themes linked to Sustainability: Climate Change, the introduction of a carbon tax, global economics, population and the refugee crisis associated with the Christmas Island detention policy. The researcher sought to use an explanatory mixed methods approach for the investigation. However, measuring GDE-P students’ perceptions of Sustainability through a quantitative instrument proved to be unreliable and the researcher focused on interpretivist-constructivist qualitative methods. Subsequently, rich feedback from 18 students was obtained using semi-structured interviews that linked to both UNESCO’s definition of Sustainability and associate themes within the Australian political debate. The research findings underscore the multitude of factors that frame perceptions of the term Sustainability and the subjectivity that even well educated people encounter when dealing with this global priority. In addition, the research emphasises the need for its inclusion in pre-service teacher training, supported by ongoing professional learning for both pre-service and established primary teachers. It is vital teachers are aware of the complex themes within Sustainability as a key multimodal literacy and cross-curriculum priority in the emerging Australian Curriculum.

Postapocalyptic Fantasies in Antebellum American Literature

Abstract: Even before the Civil War, American writers were imagining life after a massive global catastrophe. For many, the blank slate of the American continent was instead a wreckage-strewn wasteland, a new world in ruins. Bringing together epic and lyric poems, fictional tales, travel narratives, and scientific texts, Postapocalyptic Fantasies in Antebellum American Literature reveals that US authors who enthusiastically celebrated the myths of primeval wilderness and virgin land also frequently resorted to speculations about the annihilation of civilizations, past and future. By examining such postapocalyptic fantasies, this study recovers an antebellum rhetoric untethered to claims for historical exceptionalism - a patriotic rhetoric that celebrates America while denying the United States a unique position outside of world history. As the scientific field of natural history produced new theories regarding biological extinction, geological transformation, and environmental collapse, American writers responded with wild visions of the ancient past and the distant future.