#I struggled with the line between recognizing the very real damages of climate change

[reasonsforhope]

People ask me sometimes how I'm so confident that we can beat climate change.

There are a lot of reasons, but here's a major one: it would take a really, really long time for Earth to genuinely become uninhabitable for humans.

Humans have, throughout history, carved out a living for themselves in some of the most harsh, uninhabitable corners of the world. The Arctic Circle. The Sahara. The peaks of the Himalayas. The densest, most tropical regions of the Amazon Rainforest. The Australian Outback. etc. etc.

Frankly, if there had been a land bridge to Antarctica, I'm pretty sure we would have been living there for thousands of years, too. And in fact, there are humans living in Antarctica now, albeit not permanently.

And now, we're not even facing down apocalypse, anymore. Here's a 2022 quote from the author of The Uninhabitable Earth, David Wallace-Wells, a leader on climate change and the furthest thing from a climate optimist:

"The most terrifying predictions [have been] made improbable by decarbonization and the most hopeful ones practically foreclosed by tragic delay. The window of possible climate futures is narrowing, and as a result, we are getting a clearer sense of what’s to come: a new world, full of disruption but also billions of people, well past climate normal and yet mercifully short of true climate apocalypse. Over the last several months, I’ve had dozens of conversations — with climate scientists and economists and policymakers, advocates and activists and novelists and philosophers — about that new world and the ways we might conceptualize it. Perhaps the most capacious and galvanizing account is one I heard from Kate Marvel of NASA, a lead chapter author on the fifth National Climate Assessment: “The world will be what we make it.”" -David Wallace-Wells for the New York Times, October 26, 2022

If we can adapt to some of the harshest climates on the planet - if we could adapt to them thousands of years ago, without any hint of modern technology - then I have every faith that we can adjust to the world that is coming.

What matters now is how fast we can change, because there is a wide, wide gap between "climate apocalypse" and "no harm done." We've already passed no harm done; the climate disasters are here, and they've been here. People have died from climate disasters already, especially in the Global South, and that will keep happening.

But as long as we stay alive - as long as we keep each other alive - we will have centuries to fix the effects of climate change, as much as we possibly can.

And looking at how far we've come in the past two decades alone - in the past five years alone - I genuinely think it is inevitable that we will overcome climate change.

So, we're going to survive climate change, as a species.

What matters now is making sure that every possible individual human survives climate change as well.

What matters now is cutting emissions and reinventing the world as quickly as we possibly can.

What matters now is saving every life and livelihood and way of life that we possibly can.

[collegeeducationnewsllcusa]

Electric Car Fire Risk Exaggerated, Towing Myth Rejected, But Existential Risks Loom

Young girl with electric car without electricity in the battery seeks help

getty

The fire hazard in an electric car has likely been exaggerated, and if the battery runs out on the highway the only option is not to lift the vehicle onto the back of a truck, but some scenarios pose great risks to the success of electric cars, such as the extreme Batteries’ susceptibility to costly failure due to damage.

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As electric cars are still a rarity, the automotive industry and consumers urgently need more data in order to be able to make meaningful and long-term decisions about possible hazards and viability.

The possibility that even a modest mistreatment could send a modern battery to the roofer’s yard at tremendous cost and with crippling insurance cost implications would make many ambitious plans for exponential electric car sales rethinking.

But many reports of threats to electric cars are just media speculation with little data to show the extent of the danger.

Richard Billyeald is Chief Technical Officer of Thatcham Research, a UK automotive, insurance, safety and engineering consultancy. In an interview, he spoke about the real and imaginary dangers of the upcoming electric car revolution. It pierced some potential dangers, but uncovered others that could pose an existential threat to battery performance by drastically shortening the life of what is by far the most expensive item on the electric car agenda, the battery.

As electric cars become more prevalent, a number of myths and unproven risks or disadvantages have built up. Spontaneous fires were a threat due to laptop, tablet or phone fires and similar designs. Extreme climates could unsettle batteries, including large temperature fluctuations and increased dust and particle concentrations. The need for high-voltage fast charging stations is a potential fire risk.

An article in the American Spectator, “The Future of Electric Vehicles Is Highly Flammable,” by Eric Peters earlier this year listed some troubling possibilities, saying that electric car batteries are very high voltages, typically 400 volts and 800 volts, are becoming the norm and are prone to fire . The process can supposedly trigger a “thermal runaway” that looks more like spontaneous combustion to the layperson. Fast charging, a crucial element in the success of electric cars, is said to increase the risk of fire.

Fire in an electric car is a unique set of problems and does not react like a normal car fire, since it often relentlessly re-ignites when it appears to have been extinguished. Damaged batteries can lead to fires, and this is a major problem because an electric car is a huge battery compared to an internal combustion engine, with the fuel tank being small and away from likely areas of impact.

The media is full of videos of burning Tesla TSLAs, but the problem is that many of these hazards still cannot be backed up with data to provide a meaningful rate of electric vehicle fires, not least because the electric car business is still huge strong is young.

In the interview, Billyeald said it was impossible to tell if electric car fires happened faster than ICE cars. More data was needed.

An electric motor cab and driver, London, c1897-c1900. This early taxi was obviously based on that … [+] Design of the horse-drawn vehicle. Cars of any kind would have been a rarity back then. The taxi pictured could be a Bersey electric cab introduced in London in 1897. They weighed two tons and had a range of 30 miles before they needed to be charged. They suffered from various defects and were taken off the road in 1900. Artist York & Son. (Photo by English Heritage / Heritage Images / Getty Images)

Getty Images

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“We are definitely not seeing a crisis from EV fires. Tesla fires are very important. The most important thing is to recognize and deal with the difference between ICE and EV fires. First responders or tow truck drivers, repair shops, or anyone exposed to an electrical fire need to understand that they are different. In around 100 years we have learned how to handle vehicles with 70 liters of highly flammable liquid fuel on board. Electric vehicle fires are different and need to be treated differently, ”said Billyeald.

However, he shot down a rumor. Electric cars that were once stranded with an empty battery are impossible to tow and need an ambulance with a hoist. It turned out that the problem was just a struggle to find neutral. When that is found, towing is no problem.

According to Akkurate, battery specialists from Finland, fires can be major problems and climatic conditions could be responsible.

“Of 23 fire incidents, 18 occurred in the mountains or coastal areas. It was concluded that these environments created harsh conditions, including large temperature fluctuations, high humidity, and increased levels of dust and particles, which ultimately led to errors that led to fires, ”Akkurate said in a statement.

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Akkurate commented on the perceived problem of lithium-ion batteries in laptops and cell phones.

“What makes this type of battery potentially volatile is the batteries’ high energy density. The amount of energy in each battery is large compared to its size, which makes it ideal for electric cars. But if the tiny lithium-ion batteries in phones are dangerous, how much more dangerous is the huge array of batteries in a car, “said Akkurate.

Akkurate did not respond to an interview request.

Billyeald would not comment directly on these suggestions.

“From a technical point of view, I can’t see large temperature fluctuations that lead to a large risk of fire, there could be many other things at play. We’re seeing more electric cars on the streets, but they’re still a very small part of the total. It is very difficult to come to specific conclusions because we don’t have enough data yet, but that will change in the next year or two, ”said Billyeald.

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Lithium-ion phones and laptops are similar to car batteries in chemistry and fundamentals, but the big difference is that the high voltage and high energy density must be handled differently, with cooling being very important for car batteries.

Modern electric car chassis x-ray vehicle battery in studio setting, line art 3D rendering

getty

“High-voltage vehicle batteries are managed much more strictly than batteries for consumer electronics, even if they are fundamentally similar,” he said.

A so-called “thermal runaway” can occur if the battery is damaged or malfunctioning and the cells heat up and penetrate the rest of the battery in a domino effect.

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“These fires that don’t subside will continue on their own and firefighters will have to treat them differently because they can’t just spray water on the flames. You have to keep applying flame retardant and sometimes have to act drastically by completely submerging the vehicle in a pool-like area to prevent walk-through.

Is fast charging more of a fire risk and are fires not reported enough?

“We don’t have any numbers yet, so I can’t say anything. Avoid exaggeration in fires near Tesla and other electric vehicles, which suggests they are more prone to fires. If we focus on that, we will minimize the actual problems and we have not yet seen any data from insurance companies suggesting a specific problem, ”said Billyeald.

There is a potential problem that, if not addressed, could end up in a huge very existence-threatening cost element of owning an electric car. This is the tendency to do little damage to batteries, rendering them unusable. And batteries are a huge cost factor in a battery electric vehicle (BEV). For example, the battery in a Jaguar I-Pace, which costs around £ 70,000 ($ 100,000), costs about half that – £ 35,000. As a result, insurance costs are likely massive and could put these vehicles off for all but the highest income buyers. Since the prices are currently at least twice as high as for a normal ICE, this would be a hurdle that pushes electric cars to the edge.

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Sign for a power supply for electric cars

Getty

“The high-voltage battery does not fit into the usual insurance repair framework, in which your car is damaged and is being repaired and is ready for use within perhaps 2 weeks. However, if a relatively minor collision dented the battery or deployed an airbag, which blows the main fuse in the battery to relieve the battery, it must be removed and shipped back to the manufacturer. There is not the know-how on the market to recondition and return these batteries, a replacement will be required, so the insurance claims are much higher than for ICE vehicles, ”said Billyeald.

This would also turn on the head a revived idea that the best way to charge electric cars is to simply replace their batteries with another full one. The idea was pursued by the Israeli company Better Place with Renault from France, but it crashed in 2013 and burned. Renault revived the idea in May. The Chinese electric car company Nio also has a network of exchange stations. The idea that charging an electric car could be as fast as refueling the ICE – you drive in, your almost empty battery is whipped out, and a full battery is inserted – sounds convincing.

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But when they’re sensitive enough to succumb to a modest mistreatment and the replacement cost is half the value of the car, the idea looks like a loser unless, of course, the price of batteries falls early and steeply. If the idea of ​​changing the battery has a lot of logic behind it because of its speed and simplicity, why not just swapping the whole car would be an even better answer?

source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/electric-car-fire-risk-exaggerated-towing-myth-rejected-but-existential-risks-loom/

[thomdunn]

Smash Mouth wrote “All Star” to warn about climate change & anti-intellectualism 20 years ago—and we turned it into a stupid meme.

Smash Mouth wrote “All Star” to warn about climate change & anti-intellectualism 20 years ago—and…

Medium · by Thom Dunn · August 24, 2018

It was the fall of 1998. Guy Fieri was preparing to open his second Johnny Garlic’s Restaurant, while his clone-twin, Steve Harwell, was in the studio with his bandmates wrapping up their sophomore album, “Astro Lounge.” Beyond the studio walls, military tensions were rising in North Korea, Pakistan, and Iraq, and a little company called Google had just opened up in Silicon Valley; but all anyone cared about were Bill Clinton’s blowjobs.

Smash Mouth had carefully curated the sonic landscape of their first hit single, “Walkin’ on the Sun,” to use as a musical weapon to avert the coming damages that would soon be caused by nuclear apocalypse and climate change. The dopeass organ riff was specifically designed to vibrate on a frequency that would deliver a message of peace, hope, and sustainability directly into the prefrontal cortex of anyone who heard it. Even the title of the song itself was a direct nod to threats of rising global temperatures largely caused by carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. Yet somehow, it failed to stop the dystopian vision of the future they had seen that one time after communing with too much California weed.

The members of Smash Mouth knew they had an obligation, as all pop-ska-rock groups do, to deliver a totally sick jam that would also save the world from its own impending doom.

And thus was born “All Star.”

 Unfortunately, we were all too stupid to figure out the idyllic message hidden in its rhythms. Something did resonate about the song, however. That cleverly diminished chord in the chorus took root in our heads and found new life as a sonic meme, a viral idea that would spread from person to person and perpetuate its own existence.

Rather than heeding the foreboding prophecy that Hartwell and his bandmate, songwriter-guitarist Greg Camp, laid out for us in that little earworm, we just used it to make “Smashups” and other esoteric Internet jokes.

We should have listened more closely.

Like Moses parting waters with the tablets of the Ten Commandments, the truth was revealed in a tweeted photo of the original handwritten lyrics:

#TBThursday #tbt Original "All Star" Lyrics by: @GregCampMusic pic.twitter.com/65zzzT3caG

— Smash Mouth (@smashmouth) February 9, 2017

As you can see, the last line of the chorus was originally different. Perhaps if Smash Mouth had left that line “Wave bye-bye to your soul” intact, rather than replacing it with “Only shooting stars break the mouooohuould,” then perhaps we could understood the truth sooner, and avoided the predicaments of our current political climate, just as they had intended.

When you look at the song line-by-line in this new context, it all makes sense.

Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me I ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed

From the very opening of the song, Steve Harwell invokes the imagery of some kind of higher power, and a greater global purpose — and the fact that humans are a bunch of fucking idiots by contrast. He cleverly plays on the idea of the “world” and “rolling me” to allude back to the days when people thought the world was flat, and how they mocked and ridiculed the scientists who tried to tell them otherwise.

She was looking kind of dumb with her finger & her thumb in the shape of an “L” on her forehead.

In every verse, the narrator stands in for humanity at large, and this case, humanity is largely a bunch of uneducated manual laborers who think that Galileo is the stupid one, standing there making the classic “loser” sign of the 90s. Except…what if he was actually measuring right angles, attempting to use the physical science to better understand the world?

But no; these anti-intellectual raptors go so far as to mock his masculinity, swapping out his gender pronouns like a trollish Twitter egg. “LOL what kinda loser believes in science?” they say with their French frog cartoon faces, willfully ignorant to the measurable truths of the natural world, and all of the potential it contains.

Well the years start coming and they don’t stop coming Fed to the rules and I hit the ground running

This couplet is revealed as a critique of the US education system, and how for-profit agendas collude with Creationist beliefs through misleading text books that spread mass disinformation across the generations. From an early age, children are told not to break the mold, but instead to fall in line and maintain some preconceived sense of “order” that follows them from school into adulthood, when they start to scold the individuals and revolutionaries for not breaking rules in the “right” way.

This also alludes to the passage of time on a grander scale, and how the anti-intellectualism and stubborn war between science and religion would repeat themselves in endless cycles, even as mankind continues to grow and evolve. Rather than look back and learn from our past mistakes, humanity is encouraged to hit the ground running, and never to question anything—including the fact that we’ve dealt with all these same conflicts before.

Didn’t make sense not to live for fun Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb

This is where Smash Mouth predicts the rise of “snowflake” as a pejorative. Imagine Galileo’s anti-intellectual haters mocking his gender while they chant, “Can’t you take a joke?”

So much to do, so much to see So what’s wrong with taking the back streets?

Now we start getting into issues of carbon emissions and sustainability. Our narrator-as-stand-in-for-humanity is clearly coming from a position of privilege, with no concern about temporal or financial obligations—or the damages that his gas-guzzling joyride does to the planet. It’s generally accepted among climate scientists and activists that ecological catastrophe will have a disproportionate impact on marginalized groups, since the rich and powerful can always afford to shield themselves from the brunt of it in their ivory towers.

You’ll never know if you don’t go You’ll never shine if you don’t glow

These words are sung from the point-of-view of climate deniers, who seem to think that unless they, personally, can recognize the precise moment that a 2°C temperature change occurs, then there’s nothing to worry about. Worse, they think that something bad will happen if people stopped using carbon-based energy and greenhouse gases. Until the day that people start literally glowing in the aftermath of nuclear fallout, they’re not going to see a problem or care to prevent the seemingly inevitable.

Hey now, you’re an all-star, get your game on, go play Hey now, you’re a rock star, get the show on, get paid

And all that glitters is gold

In true punk rock style, Smash Mouth invokes the anarchistic belief that Capitalism is a disease, and that overly-toxic economic competition is an impediment to peace and progress. It’s all about games and money.

The use of “gold” can also be read as a reference to oil as “liquid goal,” and the ways in which oil industry profits have steered most of the social, political, and technological progress of the last century, particularly in the form of Koch-sponsored legislation.

Wave bye-bye to your soul

This should be pretty self-explanatory.

It’s a cool place and they say it gets colder You’re bundled up now, wait till you get older

Yet another direct jab at climate deniers who insist that the continued existence of winter and/or snow supports their belief that “the climate is always changing.”

The second part of this couplet plays on a double-entendre: it can be interpreted as the condescending voice of an older generation basking in their ignorance and the dismissive of when-I-was-your-age attitudes that reinforce the aforementioned rule establishment brainwashing of the for-profit school system; or, it’s yet-another intentionally ironic allusion to rising global temperatures, the idea being that there will be little need for us to bundle up by the time that 2099 comes around because we’ll all be dead from freak storms, flooding, or mosquito-borne illnesses.

But the meteor men beg to differ Judging by the hole in the satellite picture.

Despite the fact that it was written 20 years ago, this is another example of how “All Star” predicted our current circumstances in which media, expertise, and evidence are no longer trusted.

This also alludes to the idea that “weather” and “climate” are two separate things — a distinction that continues to elude people—as well as the notion that scientific prediction is not 100% reliable. Climate scientists in particular use the available information to form models and calculations, and while the specifics have been incorrect at times, the larger idea that the climate is changing in disastrous ways still shines through. Climate Critics will always miss the forest for the trees, at least until naturally-occurring brush fires wipe out all the forests.

The ice we skate is getting pretty thin The water’s getting warm so you might as well swim

Crumbling ice floes. Rising global temperatures. Rising water levels, caused by that melting ice. The struggle is real, my friends.

 That’s right: by predicting our fiery doom, Smash Mouth also inspired the popular “This is fine” meme. This is an historical fact.

Somebody once asked could I spare some change for gas? I need to get myself away from this place.

Income inequality has grown drastically in the 20 years since “All Star” first graced the airwaves—and Smash Mouth saw this coming, too, as evidenced in this vignette of a poverty-stricken person forced to beg for change in order to afford gasoline, despite knowing that their own contributions of carbon emissions will get them away from this place, that is, bring on their impending death.

I said yep, what a concept I could use a little fuel myself And we could all use a little change

This was clearly intended as an ironic juxtaposition, urging us to make a change from our fossil fuel-based energy system to one of more sustainable production—particularly if we are going to continue taking the back streets (once again, a double entendre both for gas-guzzling fuel waste, and the hope that we could extend human life using biotech advancements that now collide with the ecological damage that threatens to shorten our lives.

And then we return to begin, as we’re once again reminded that the years start coming and they don’t stop coming—because Smash Mouth the future was inevitable, unless we did something about it.

But all we did was make a bunch of stupid Smash Mouth memes, ignoring the clear warnings they placed before our ears.

It’s why the songs ends on that ringing chord, Steve Harwell’s warbling vocals fading off like the dying echo of our not-so-distant future. It’s why the song has persisted as a meme: because somewhere in the deepest, darkest recesses of our subconscious minds, we understood what Smash Mouth was trying to tell us.

“All Star” resonates with something primal and shared by all of mankind—but sadly, it was not a truth that we would find within until it was too late.

“Wave Bye-Bye to your soul” indeed.

[my-artyavocado-me]

Level 6 Tate Symposium

Susan Davies Through many volunteering experiences, Susan Davies became interested in exploring the practices of artists motivated by addressing environmental issues; her paper discussed the social and environmental issues that are given a platform through participatory art. More specifically the growing relationship between a forever increasing population and the effects it has on climate change over the past 60 years. The paper focused on two artists, Dave Buckland and Olafur Eliasson and how their artistic practice had joined together with science; for example, Buckland’s artistic project Cape Farewell (2011) where he took a team of scientists and artists to Norway to see the damaging effects of climate change first hand. Secondly, a further discussion of Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson and his work in response to climate change and although these exhibitions produce a carbon footprint themselves it is about the result justifying the means: making a wider community aware of the effects of climate change.

Jennifer George After Jennifer’s final major project being centered around American railway photographers to argue the importance of recognizing photography as a major art form, she decided to further explore this idea in her paper involving the photographer Carl Bellingrodt and his work in the 20th century. She discussed the struggles he experienced financially being a photographer at this time, and how his dedication to walking many miles along a train track to capture the perfect image paid off.

Lucy Mcintyre In this paper the theme of murderabilia was discussed and how the buying and selling memorabilia from criminals such as Charles Manson can increase their credibility not only as a criminal but as an artist.  She especially uses the example of serial killer and sex offender John Wayne Gacy to argue her point: art vs artist. Should we question the infamous personality of an artist when it is a key selling point for art collectors, rather than the subject matter or skill involved?  Dahmer Skull by John Wayne Gacy had the estimated price of up to $100,000 and the world was outraged when he himself was being considered as an artist. However, Lucy further continued to shock the audience in her symposium when she outlines that even the great artist Caravaggio is a murderer himself; The final part of her symposium made us question who should be considered separate from their work as an artist, to their criminal background. Just because Caravaggio’s crime has withstood the passage of time unlike Gacy, should we ignore the crime?

Callum Craddock Centering his paper around tattoo art, Callum Craddock’s paper discussed the work of Arkady Bronnikov and his Bronnikov Collection founded in 1965. He explored the symbolism and iconography found in tattoo art specifically around gang affiliation and prison ink communities which is where the Bronnikov Collection is introduced; In the early 1950’s he studied at Moscow Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Soviet Union and during his work he regularly helped solve crime cases by using his tattoo archive to identify culprits and corpses. Further discussed in Callum’s paper was the link between classical art pieces and those who have the same imagery tattoos on their body, for example the classic painting surrounding the story of Prometheus where the iconography in the painting depicts Prometheus only escaping the chains with help; However on a similar tattoo it depicts the same story except for Prometheus triumphs over Zeus without any help which resonates with the prisoner who had the tattoo as it symbolises his own capture and freeing himself without the help of Hercules like the original story.

Lauren Caley This paper analyzed the mythical work of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy and the discussion of the artwork and the biographical and social-historical context of his work. She first explained Tolkien’s involvement with war and his interest in drawing a link between the theme of past conflict and his work, for example, Lauren drew a link between the Battle of Europe and the Battle of Middle Earth which emphases Tolkien’s fascination with symbolism. Referring to Viking, Celtic and Roman ideology Laurens research demonstrated the influence of medieval symbolism  on cinematography drawing many more example from Lord of the Rings, one in particular, the iconic Ringwraith character depicting the front like of war; As he is a somewhat blurry character and we can't see any significant facial features just like all we would see on a front line is a blur of multiple people and bodies. To conclude her paper Lauren compared Peter Jacksons Middle Earth to that of George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones and the parallels created; Martin focuses less on fantasy and more of the horrors of reality and the horrors created by humankind which compares to Tolkien’s depiction of the weakness of men in true form. Lauren then included multiple screens captures with similar scenes from both successful franchises, for example, The Battle of the Bastards in Game of Thrones in comparison to The Thoren vs Azog Battle from Tolkien's world. In my opinion, Lauren did an excellent job in representing Tolkien as a multi-layered author and artist who continue to inspire others with his dedication to his craft.

Sadie Curtis Sadie’s paper focussed on using the iconic Godzilla franchise as a visual metaphor and the social-historical implications behind the Hollywood monster. Sadie highlighted the importance of the real meaning behind Godzilla in relation to the Japanese’s fears and anxiety to do with hydrogen warfare using the original 1952 Gojira to emphasise how crucial the original film is to Japanese heritage as a personified political retaliation and how the many remakes of the film has deemed its original meaning lost due to the Americanisation of the franchise and the Hollywood treatment. In the 1952 film the Gojira monster has no scales just a grooved hide which is depicting the scarring of the nuclear survivors and includes a moving scene of a mother with her child seconds before destruction, however in the 1956 remake, they have lost the true meaning of the scene leaving out the speech and covering it up with music which removes the theme of national loss and mourning in the movie. Sadie then continues to talk about the 2014 Godzilla remake which further makes Godzilla a Hollywood monster as it censors the oppression and minimizes tragedy in the film which in turn neglects the nuclear allegory and the true meaning behind what Godzilla is. Although the constant remakes of the film helped build the Hollywood monster metaphor but also, in turn, destroyed the true allegorical meaning.

Lesley White This paper was the discussion of the evolution of film as a technology and how in the 20th century it had rapidly developed as both a global industry and a contemporary art form. More specifically a discussion on the work of American film director Zack Snyder cinematography and how his 21st century work of using filmmaking as an art form is an innovative direction for the art world; She firstly discusses how new methods such as film and cinema have rendered classical art forms a thing of the past as the audience have become impatient with the static view of art. She drew many comparisons between Snyder’s work and his inspirations he took from classical art pieces, for example, in his 2006 film 300 the use of the colour red can be very comparable to baroque artist Caravaggio and his painterly techniques especially that of his 1598 painting John the Baptist; By comparing a selection of Snyder’s films to the works and styles of famous artists such as Caravaggio, Lesley’s research demonstrated how regardless of how any centuries it has been, traditional art can still be reinvented and still appreciated in contemporary art today.

James Thomas This paper explores the films of Andy Warhol, his less popular films Kitchen (1966) and Outer and Inner Space (1965) which are considered very avant-garde at the time. This paper explained how Warhol’s films moving from silkscreen onto silver screen was very iconic for film and media; Warhol found an interest in creating film after he moved away from producing his ever-popular screen prints, like the prints, Warhol found his film very comparable as they included multiple imagery and they were interchangeable and moving. His 1966 production Kitchen was deliberately amateurish as James explained, it was unalleviated, unedited and was considered to be “Duchampian” as it broke through the wall between the audience and cast. James did an excellent job in explaining Warhol’s films and identifying the reoccurring themes within his work.

Felicity Grant After finding her love for contemporary art and pop culture she decided to base her paper on the famous Kings Road in the Royal Borough of Kensington and how it still remains the central- hub for arts. Felicity’s paper discussed many key themes and areas such as the first boutique SEX which is considered to be the birthplace of the punk movement and the infamous Saatchi gallery, these areas hold rich culture and history as artistic centres; With these themes in mind Felicity paper perfectly examined the events in history that makes Kings Cross what it is today.

Through attending the Symposium at Tate Liverpool and listening to all the papers and attending each question and answer session, I learnt that it is particularly important that when the time comes for me to present my own it is especially crucial for me to pick a topic I am passionate about and allows me access to many research sources. It was very interesting to see everyone's take on presenting and how I can use some of the advice in my own studies.