{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/6452b6516dd22500113dc7ca/6625372709a93200123f3ea0?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"OBJECTS WITH SOUL: The strange  power of puppetry.","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/6452b6516dd22500113dc7ca/1713714816744-975e113a0173a0ad72909477a78dfdf1.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p>Why do we respond to puppets? That's what this episode explores, with the help of Pia and Ana, academics who approach the question from different perspectives. We discover what is meant by the 'uncanny valley' and how it links puppetry to robots (and zombies!) and discuss if 'conceptual blending' might be useful. Does the old notion of 'suspending disbelief' hold water? Ana talks about her project using a viewer's direction of gaze to explore this question in relation to puppetry.</p><p><br></p><p>Participants:</p><p>Pia Banzhaf, Assistant Professor, Michigan State University, Department of Linguistics , Lanuages and Culture; Center for Integrrative Studies in the Arts and Humanities; Collaborations for Applied puppetry Research. Website: <a href=\"https://kaleidoscopia.ca/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"> Kaleidoscopia</a></p><p>Ana Diaz Barriga, Doctoral Candidate,&nbsp;Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Theatre &amp; Drama, Northwestern University. <a href=\"https://www.anadiazbarriga.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">https://www.anadiazbarriga.com/</a></p><p>Ken Barrett, artist, writer and retired neuropsychiatrist.<a href=\"http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.kenbarrettstudio.co.uk/</a></p><p><br></p><p>Pia's chapter, 'The Ontology of puppets' is here: http://otworzksiazke.pl/images/ksiazki/dolls_and_puppets/dolls_and_puppets.pdf#page=9</p><p>More about the show Ana has been studying is <a href=\"https://tomleeprojects.com/shanks-mare\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">here</a></p><p>More about the 'uncanny valley is here: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/ai-uncanny-valley</p><p>and this image illustrates it: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/6f/d2/2c/6fd22c3c6e5cc72c1e7f4f840c594c56.jpg</p><p><br></p><p>Music: Prelude to Brainland, Act 1, composed by Stephen Brown</p><p>Sketch by KB.</p><p><br></p><p>Brainland the opera: <a href=\"http://www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">www.brainlandtheopera.co.uk</a></p>","author_name":"Ken Barrett"}