ICAT Playdate — Posture portraits

This ICAT playdate is a short presentation about the posture portraits practice, that is the taking of nude and seminude photos of students during orientation at higher education institutions in the US stemming as far back as the 1920s to as recent as the late 1960s. For this playdate we will present a brief overview of the history of the practice; demonstrate how we have integrated technology using 3D real-time visualization and particle simulation to critique this practice; and engage the audience in a participatory practice of “The Stand,” from Contact Improvisation, a meditative exercise that allows us to feel our own postural habits of holding and release.  The goal of the playdate is to highlight -- using a transdisciplinary approach to scholarship -- the socially constructed nature of the body and science. We hope to start and sustain a conversation about the impacts of modern science and social practices, particularly around body shaming, postural empathy, and belonging.

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