Reading Matter

Reading Matter 

 Hydrogeny by Evelina Domnitch & Dmitry Gelfand

Atoms and particles, rare earth minerals and hybrid composites, precious metals and microwaves, matter is commonly perceived as a passive commodity ought to be mobilised to become material. But when approached through a lens of human productivity, only certain facets of matter get recognised as valuable part of the market. In this event, Evelina Domnitch will address strategies for expanding the human perception of the material forces and agency of matter, from chemical and quantum to micro-gravitational. Through performative environments and phenomenological experiments that exceed the scope of applied science and challenge the disciplinary boundaries, Domnitch invites to rethink the nature of human relationship with matter.

Using material and the concept of conductivity as a lens, Füsun Türetken will explore a range of instances where conflict and capital can be read through matter, more precisely metal. Acknowledging ‘metal as conductor of all matter’, her work proposes a theory of the complicity of metals as quasi-agents that influence and register events, and addresses metal’s role in shaping the world of finance, belief systems, geopolitical relations, (digital) bodies, even the stratosphere and the ‘climate-engineered’ weapons. Türetken will screen her latest film ‘Alchemic Desire’, which examines the parallels between the practice of trading metals at the world’s biggest physical metals exchange, the London Metal Exchange (LME), deleuzo-guattarian models of psycho-social dynamics, and the practice of alchemy.

The evening is moderated by design critic and curator Alice Twemlow.

The event is part of ‘Matter’ series, exploring the relationship between design and matter. It imagines different forms of engagements with materiality, and inquires what it means to design with social and ecological sensitivity in the age of escalating environmental crisis. The event is organised in conjunction with the Neuhaus programme for more-than-human knowledge, opening at Het Nieuwe Instituut in May 2019.

https://thursdaynight.hetnieuweinstituut.nl/en/activities/reading-matter 

Earth's Mineralogy Unique in the Cosmos

New research from a team led by Carnegie’s Robert Hazen predicts that Earth has more than 1,500 undiscovered minerals and that the exact mineral diversity of our planet is unique and could not be duplicated anywhere in the cosmos.

Minerals form from novel combinations of elements. These combinations can be facilitated by both geological activity, including volcanoes, plate tectonics, and water-rock interactions, and biological activity, such as chemical reactions with oxygen and organic material.

Nearly a decade ago, Hazen developed the idea that the diversity explosion of planet’s minerals from the dozen present at the birth of our Solar System to the nearly 5,000 types existing today arose primarily from the rise of life. More than two-thirds of known minerals can be linked directly or indirectly to biological activity, according to Hazen. Much of this is due to the rise of bacterial photosynthesis, which dramatically increased the atmospheric oxygen concentration about 2.4 billion years ago.

/https://www.astrobio.net/geology/earths-mineralogy-unique-in-the-cosmos/ 

Desert Rose

Desert roses are crystal-like formations and may produce a rose shape, multiple plates adjoining at 

angles or the formations may look like a cluster

 of cereal flakes

On the mineralogy of the “Anthropocene Epoch”

The “Anthropocene Epoch” has been proposed as a new post-Holocene geological time interval—a period characterized by the pervasive impact of human activities on the geological record. Prior to the influence of human technologies, the diversity and distribution of minerals at or near Earth’s surface arose through physical, chemical, and/or biological processes. Since the advent of human mining and manufacturing, particularly since the industrial revolution of the mid-eighteenth century, mineral-like compounds have experienced a punctuation event in diversity and distribution owing to the pervasive impact of human activities. We catalog 208 mineral species approved by the International Mineralogical Association that occur principally or exclusively as a consequence of human processes. At least three types of human activities have affected the diversity and distribution of minerals and mineral-like compounds in ways that might be reflected in the worldwide stratigraphic record. The most obvious influence is the widespread occurrence of synthetic mineral-like compounds, some of which are manufactured directly for applications (e.g., YAG crystals for lasers; Portland cement) and others that arise indirectly (e.g., alteration of mine tunnel walls; weathering products of mine dumps and slag). A second human influence on the distribution of Earth’s near-surface minerals relates to large-scale movements of rocks and sediments—sites where large volumes of rocks and minerals have been removed. Finally, humans have become relentlessly efficient in redistributing select natural minerals, such as gemstones and fine mineral specimens, across the globe. All three influences are likely to be preserved as distinctive stratigraphic markers far into the future.

Text by Robert M. Hazen, Edward S. Grew,Marcus J. Origlieri, Robert T. Downs

http://ammin.geoscienceworld.org/content/102/3/595