Leter today I'll be participating in an unusual art project: Betakontext. It's unusual in several ways. The most unusual thing about it is the topic, already implied by the name: the 'before'. Beta versions are the software versions released for testing before the final version. Thus, the topic is everything that is concerned with the'before'. The exhibition features photographers, painters and musicians. Obviously, the musicians are going to play preludes, what else?
Scientifically, the 'before' is of course a prevalent concept. While correlation never implies causation, obviously, very often, something that happens right before something else has a causal relationship to the following event. We make use of this simple notion in our lab when we train our animals. And of course, something that happens after an event cannot be the cause of the first event. The timeline defined by 'before' and 'after' clearly delineates what can and cannot be cause and effect, crucial concepts for all natural sciences.
Another unusual feature of the exhibition is where it takes place. It takes place in a building which was a gas station 'before' it became an art gallery. There are several of these in Germany and one in Miamy, Florida in the US, the Freie Internationale Tankstelle, F.I.T. This evening at around 19:00, I'll be sitting with the organizers and some of the artists at a table under the roof 'in front of' (in German the same word as 'before') the building and we'll talk about all matters 'before'. If you happen to be in Berlin and have some time tonight, drop by, sit down and join us at our table and share your thoughts!