Nervous Listening: Neuroceptive Ethnographies of Atmospheres

On Monday, June 26th, anthropologists of art and science Marina Peterson (University of Texas in Austin) & Maxime Le Calvé (MoA) invited to »Nervous Listening«, an experimental ethnography workshop, realized together with cloud designer Clemens Winkler (MoA). Entering the Central Laboratory that day, participants were greeted with balloons to inflate with their breath and a 285-hertz »Theta« sound bath, which they were invited to explore haptically through the red latex bubbles. Blown into tension, they made us subtly reactive to air vibration. Thus attuned, we started listening nervously to the atmosphere around and to each other’s vocal utterances. In the spirit of contemporary experimental anthropology, emphasizing the intersection of art, science, and lived experience, our workshop "Nervous Listening: Neuroceptive Ethnographies of Atmospheres" strived to explore the ethereal fabric of our surroundings through the collective and individual exploration of neuro-phenomenological experience. Marina gave the introductory impulse, holding a balloon unsuspectedly in her hand, which had already become part of her ephemeral sensory being for that day.

Read the full report here: https://stretchingmaterialities.pubpub.org/pub/nervous-listening/release/5