What is “experimental”? Vol. 3 The Study of Uselessness

Guests☞ Tamotsu Yoshimori (Professor, Graduate School of Medicine / Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University),
Hiroshi Yoshioka (Aesthetician / Professor of Aesthetics and Theory of Arts, Kyoto University)
Host☞ Kyoto Experiment Co-directors

This is the third installment of our talk series that addresses the question “What is experimental?” from a variety of angles. In a world that tends to measure the value of human beings in terms of how productive and “useful” they are, it might be worthwhile to contemplate the value of uselessness. Culture, research, and artistic practices are often experimental in nature, and much of it does not produce concrete results right away; but these are fields that sometimes give rise to great achievements in time. At this event, the importance of uselessness will be discussed in depth by two guest speakers at the forefront of their respective (and very different) areas of research: Hiroshi Yoshioka and Tamotsu Yoshimori.

2.20 (Sat) 18:30-20:30

Online
Click here to watch the live stream on youtube.
Language: Japanese only

Hiroshi Yoshioka

Hiroshi Yoshioka graduated from the Faculty of Letters at Kyoto University, where he also completed postgraduate studies. Following teaching posts at the Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences and the Kyoto University Graduate School of Letters, he is currently a program-specific professor at the Kokoro Research Center, Kyoto University. His writings include Information and Life: The Brain, Computers, and the Universe (Shin-yo-sha) and The Present Tense of Thought: Complex Systems, Cyberspace, and Affordance (Kodansha). He is also editor-in-chief of Diatxt., a journal of criticism published by Kyoto Art Center. He has planned and curated such exhibitions as the Kyoto Biennale 2003 and Gifu Ogaki Biennale 2006, and was also involved with the video installation BEACON (1999–2020).

Tamotsu Yoshimori

Tamotsu Yoshimori graduated from the Department of Biological Sciences at Osaka University but dropped out of medical studies there. He then studied in Germany, before eventually taking up his current post teaching at Osaka University’s Graduate School of Medicine and Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences. He is a medical doctor, a distinguished professor at Osaka University, and the head of its Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences. He is the recipient of the Medal with Purple Ribbon, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Prize for Science and Technology, the Uehara Prize, and a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher for 2014, 2015, 2019, and 2020, among other awards. He specializes in cell biology. He pioneered the field of autophagy with Nobel laureate Yoshinori Ohsumi. His hobbies include marathons and trail running, polishing shoes, bonfires, listening to the music group Perfume, visiting art museums around the world, and collecting rubber ducks.