SAM Deep Dives – Session 1: The Dance Between Art and Science with Michael Arnold (University of Melbourne)

In this hour lecture, Michael Arnold of University of Melbourne’s DeathTech team delves into the intersectionality of art and science whilst reflecting on the themes and works in SAM exhibition Dance Me to the End of Love.

Exploring the academic research of DeathTech into death, technology and society and its inclusion of art, Arnold reflects on the relationship between art and reality.

This lecture is the first in the Deep Dive series – a three-part lecture series hosted by SAM in partnership with the University of Melbourne.

Michael Arnold is a Professor in History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Melbourne. His ongoing research lies at the intersection of technologies and our society and culture, focusing more recently on technologies in the context of memorialisation, commemoration and the final disposition of the human body.

Content warning: this video contains graphic footage of a surgical procedure (timestamp 31.38-34.29)

About SAM Deep Dives:

SAM Deep Dives is a series of talks presented at Shepparton Art Museum in partnership with University of Melbourne. The lectures, led by University of Melbourne academics and researchers, delve into the themes and ideas of current SAM collection exhibition Dance Me to the End of Love to investigate death, technology, poetry and society in three unique conversations prompted by featured artworks.

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SAM recognises the Yorta Yorta as the traditional owners and ongoing custodians of the lands and water of the Country upon which SAM is built, and that sovereignty of this land has never been ceded.