A Gigahand is a unit of worldwide creative output. In this podcast I explore what Earth could look like if we all felt creatively empowered to build it together, without permission, here and now, like 8 billion votes cast continuously, transforming reality repeatedly throughout the day. We will explore tools, environments, and rituals for reinventing learning and reality itself. Through unscripted longform discussion with creative luminaries, we can feel the connection to the deep wells of inspiration.
Funded by the National Science Foundation.
Jeff Lieberman is a high tech artist and an old dear friend who is making an immersive camp for young adults. In this interview we talk about some of his art machines and how they make me question my own senses, and ultimately my experience. We also talk about how he is trying something that, you know I don't know if he thinks of it as "another art instillation," but I wonder if maybe it is, a new type of camp called “Sleep Awake Camp,” a play on the idea of “sleep away camp” and “awakening the mind." Sleep Awake Camp is taking place in Hawaii for young adults to explore everything you don’t learn in school. What could be a more fully immersive art installation than a summer camp?
Sleep Awake Camp
Jeff's Lieberman's Work
Eric Rosenbaum is a creative platform builder and a longtime collaborator. He now works at the Scratch Foundation as the Director of Research for Scratch Labs. He also consults with JoyLabz on projects like Makey Makey. In this interview we talk about some of his creative platforms and the history of his curiosity that led him to today.
Scratch Lab
Eric Rosenbaum's Portfolio
Andy Cavatorta is a sculptor working with sound and robotics. His work integrates emerging technologies with traditional crafts to discover new ways to create meaning with sound. Discovery-Oriented Design is a process for creating functional things that nobody knows how to make. It’s like being a mouse trained to solve unfamiliar mazes brilliantly. The process is founded on concrete prototyping skills and theoretical subjects like math, physics, algorithms, circuits, and systems. Sign up for his course by contacting Andy from his website below.
Andy Cavatorta's Website
Erika Davis-Pitre is a worldschooling, unschooling, and homeschooling expert. She is the president of the Homeschool Association of California. She has unschooled and worldschooled her children. She speaks internationally at conferences on alternative modes of education. The speech took place at the Project World School Family Summit in Zihuatanejo.
Conference Website
Amos Blanton is a psychologist and creative educational theorist. He was an early participant in Not Back to School Camp and directed the community at Scratch.mit.edu. After directing a research lab at LEGO, he is now completing his PhD in Collective Creativity and has done some interesting work on solar creative platforms in the constructionist lineage (see site below).
Amos Blanton's Homepage
Playing with the Sun
.
In this clip Jeff Lieberman talks about a levitating wirelessly powered lightbulb and a slow motion illusion frame. He talks about how some people want to understand things and some people just don't wanna know. Finally, we discuss the sublime state of compass-based navigation through art or through life and the beautiful vistas that only present themselves when you don't have a map with an "X" on it.
Jeff Lieberman tells how he hosted Time Warp, and ascended Maslow's hierarchy,, only to find emptiness. It all comes to a head as a producer tells him his inspirational moment on camera is 30 seconds too long to make the cut, and there are no more forward steps to take: he hit rock top. From there, he has to turn inside and continue the struggle in a new direction.
In this clip Jeff Lieberman talks about his intuitive reaction to charge a group of thieves and take one of them "hostage." He discusses how bodies can shake out trauma, his own privilege bubble, and the cycle of generational trauma that must exist to create the situation. Ironically, the thief he holds in his hands is exactly the age of people he hopes to reach with his work.
Jay discusses the influence that Not Back to School Camp had on him including the intense emotional impact. What will Sleep Awake Camp accomplish in light of Not Back to School Camp? Where is the unschooling movement now and what has it accomplished?
In this clip Jeff Lieberman describes his experiential art piece, where clapping makes the film go. The film evolves from playing, to marching with flags, to a Hitler speech, and by the time you stop clapping it's too late. Then he discusses how we all have the same basic needs, and how sometimes that leads to good and sometimes not, depending on how we carry it out.
Can we express anger? If not how does that shape our internal world? Touching on philosophies from Amma the hugging saint, Gabor Maté, and Krishnamurti, what wounds do we walk around with? What is "trauma with a lower case t?"