Screen Culture
A research project of the Youth Section at the Goetheanum is dedicated to understanding today's interactive screen technologies; at the same time, practical tools are being developed to improve the quality of screen time.
The marked shift from a verbal/text-oriented mode of communication toward one that is predominantly visual is a central characteristic of our time. This mostly takes the form of interactive screen technologies for young people today. One estimation of the average time teens in the USA report being online is around 7 hours, where they are often using popular platforms like snapchat, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.
Over the past decade it has become widely evident that current screen cultures and technologies are influencing young adults in a negative way. This raises the question: how are screen cultures connected with the human being and human development?
This project is a contribution toward a deeper understanding of the significance of screen culture and technology, especially for young people, and new artistic instruments and disciplines that align with these insights. It involves research and the development of a series of instruments that allow for an artist’s intentional, live sculpting in light, color, form and movement.
Inspired by Rudolf Steiner and Jan Stuten
The project has been inspired by a collaboration between Rudolf Steiner and Jan Stuten, as well as many artists that have contributed to the greater field of visual music.[1]
An expanded imagination of the human being informs the background of this project, a spiritual orientation and contemplative inquiry[2] (meditative practice with an intention of developing knowledge), enable a deeper understanding of the relationship between screen culture, disciplines and technologies and the developing human being. The human being can be approached and observed not only as a physical being but also one of interiority and creative mind,[3] an orientation that does not accept the principle of mechanism as appropriate for all dimensions of human life and health.
Between 2022 and 2024 young people have participated in artistic projects with these first instruments. The experiences suggest significant artistic and therapeutic potential. It is time to produce the next generation on a professional level.
Outcome: four next generation designs and instruments, ready for use, along with initial theoretical backdrop and findings.
Total funds needed: 166,331 CHF.
Investments since 2022: 25,331 CHF.
Current gap: 141,000 CHF
Timeline: November 2022 until January 2026
For more information on this project contact Nathaniel Williams.
Notes
1 For more on this field of art and research see Wolfgang Veit and Jan Stuten (1993) Bewegte Bilder: der Zyklus ‘Metamorphosen der Furcht’ von Jan Stuten : Entwurf zu einer neuen Licht-Spiel-Kunst nach einer Idee von Rudolf Steiner (Urachhaus) as well as Kerry Brougher and Olivia Mattis (2005) Visual Music: Synaesthesia in Art and Music Since 1900.
2 Arthur Zajonc, Meditation as Contemplative Inquiry: When Knowing Becomes Love, 2009.
3 Steiner, Rudolf (1988) Theosophy: An Introduction to the Supersensible Knowledge of the World and the Destination of Man (Anthroposophic Press).