HOST: Fusebox Program with Jiabao Li
Join us for this multisensory journey into the night, where the secret life of bats is revealed through art and technology, challenging our perception of non-human consciousness.
Beginning beneath Austin's iconic Congress Bat Bridge, engage with the captivating stories of bat conservationist Merlin Tuttle and the natural symphony of bats as they fly out from under the bridge at sunset. This intimate bat-watching experience is enhanced by an Augmented Reality (AR) experience built by artists Jiabao Li and Botao Hu that allows you to navigate the environment through echolocation, offering a rare glimpse into the bat's perceptual universe.
Then, the adventure progresses with a walk (or drive) straight down Congress Avenue to our Jones Center rooftop, where Jiabao Li and Matt McCorkle will perform a live bat-inspired soundscape event called "Nocturnal Fugue."
Nocturnal Fugue uses bat vocalizations—from social calls to mating rituals—to artistically create a mesmerizing sonic experience. This soundscape is combined with visual projections that represent the environment in which the specific bat call is being made or in response to. Join us as we explore the complexity of bat communication as it merges with evocative music!
With the help of AI, researchers found bats have more complex language than previously thought, with individual names, the ability to argue over food, and vocal learning. Just like human baby talk, mother bats lower their pitch when talking to babies. What would a baby bat lullaby sound like? Would a song made of bat mating calls be a love song? Inspired by Thomas Nagel's philosophical inquiry in "What Is it Like to Be a Bat?", this project delves into the enigma of truly comprehending the experience of another species. While we may grasp the superficial metadata of bat behavior, the true content of their communication remains elusive. Can we ever fully understand the language of bats, even with the aid of AI? We might not be able to find many words from the bat world in human’s dictionary.
We hope you can join us to experience this unique presentation into bats’ world through the eyes of artists and experts.
AR echolocation experience developed in collaboration with Botao Amber Hu, inventor of HoloKit.
For accommodations, please email [email protected].
For bat viewing experience, street or lot parking is available near the viewing site.
Thank you to our program partner, Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation.
Jiabao Li is an interdisciplinary artist, assistant professor at The University of Texas at Austin, founding director of Ecocentric Future Lab, and a Harvard graduate. She creates works addressing climate change, interspecies co-creation, humane technology, and perceptions. In Jiabao’s TED Talk, she uncovered how technology mediates the way we perceive reality. Jiabao is the recipient of numerous awards including Forbes China 30 Under 30 and the Outstanding Professor Award at MoMA. Her work has been exhibited internationally, at MoMA, Venice Architecture Biennale, Ars Electronica, Exploratorium, Today Art Museum Biennial, SIGGRAPH, Milan and Dubai Design Week, ISEA, and Museum of Design.
Matt McCorkle is an Emmy-nominated artist working at the intersection of sound, art technology, the natural world, and mental health. Using augmented audio, foley, forensic audio isolation, spatial audio processing, virtual reality, and game engines his work seeks to help people experience the world in new ways.
Dr. Merlin Tuttle is widely recognized as the godfather of modern bat conservation. He is a resident of Austin, Texas and an internationally known leader in research, conservation and photography of bats. His photos and research have been featured in five National Geographic articles, the journal Science, and many other leading publications. He founded Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation (MTBC) where he is currently and solely active. Merlin Tuttle Day is August 26, proclaimed by Mayor Steve Adler in 2021 - it's also Merlin's birthday! Thanks to Merlin's life-long and continued dedication, Austin is a world leader in demonstrating that bats make invaluable and safe neighbors. Through Tuttle’s personal efforts, many of our planet’s most important bat colonies are now protected, including the world famous colony of approximately 1.5 million Brazilian free-tailed bats in Austin, Texas.
Botao Amber Hu is a researcher, designer, and creative technologist. He invented the HoloKit, an open-source mixed reality toolkit that turns your iPhone into an affordable optical see-through AR wearable. He founded and leads Reality Design Lab, an interdisciplinary research and design lab that focuses on the intersection of speculative design, spatial computing, and programmable cryptography. He also serves as a guest lecturer teaching "Mixed Reality Design" at the China Academy of Art. His primary focus is on developing intercorporeal interactions within co-located mixed reality, advancing democratized education of mixed reality design, and exploring blockchain as a substrate for artificial life.