Idea 25: Le Manifeste du Laboratoire

"Edwards infects us with his subjects creativity. When the final chapter turns from vignettes to his utopian laboratoire, we're rooting for it to succeed." Alice W. Flaherty, Nature (review of ArtScience) Six months before opening Le Laboratoire in Paris, David Edwards visited Hans Ulrich Obrist, who had co-curated the famous exhibition Laboratorium that explored connections between art and science. "Famous, yes, said Hans, which I find ironic since almost nobody saw it. You have to be careful getting too near contemporary science." But this was precisely where David Edwards chose to be. His new book, Le Manifeste, promotes surprising innovations in culture, industry and society by exploring new ideas in the arts and design at the frontiers of science. With great passion, Edwards argues for a new kind of educational art lab based on a contemporary science lab model the artscience lab. With examples ranging from breathable chocolate to contemporary art installations that explore the neuroscience of fear, he demonstrates how students learn by translating ideas alongside experienced creators and exhibiting risky experimental processes in gallery settings. Idea translation, making the conception real, is in turn facilitated by a network of complementary labs whose missions range from education to industrial and humanitarian development. A manifesto of a new innovation model driven by the arts, this is the first detailed description of an emerging cultural phenomenon in the United States and Europe where artists and scientists collaborate to produce intriguing cultural content and surprising innovations. It also offers a fresh look at the creative process as it applies to experiential education, museum exhibition, and industrial innovation. Le Manifeste du Laboratoire came out in France on January 20th, edited by Odile Jacob. Please visit: http://www.amazon.fr/manifeste-du-laboratoire-David-Edwards/dp/2738125905. For more information visit: http://labstoreparis.com/#&p=products&products=the-lab