Landon Ross: Examining Consciousness, Evolution, AI, and Physics Through Art, Storytelling, and Philosophy | Urgent Futures #17

My guest this week is Landon Ross.Landon Ross is a Los Angeles artist working primarily in painting, sculpture, video, and installation. Ross’s work explores the ontology of mathematics, consciousness, the self, and seeks to explore origin-stories of a distinct epistemological stance: those derived from nature. The artist’s once-central role in channeling the human inclination for the transcendent or the sublime is one that Ross seeks to continue from within the framework of naturalism.As you can tell from his bio, Landon isn’t your “typical” artist! I met him through my work as a curator. Earlier this year I was fortunate to launch SMALL V01CE, an exhibition I curated for Honor Fraser Gallery, which examined the intersection of artificial intelligence and instinct, intuition, and feelings.As I was refining that concept last year with Honor, and beginning to have conversations with artists, Honor connected me with Landon. Our studio visit was jam-packed full of ideas, not just about art but politics, media, philosophy, math, cosmology, evolution, the list goes on.As I knew he would, Landon did create incredible work for the show, which we not only talk about in the episode, but which you can see for yourself in the show’s exhibition trailer on YouTube (hint, hint). But more importantly Landon has remained a friend and someone I’m always excited to dive into conversation with.In a moment when it feels like many people who hold strong opinions are just ragebaiting or dunking online, Landon’s strong positions are deeply researched and deeply felt. I admire this quality in him, even—perhaps especially—in the moments where our perspectives diverge. In a highly polarized environment, it’s hard to go against what is perceived to be the party orthodoxy—in the U.S., that’s team red and team blue, and the various subfactions. A certain set of ideas is meant to “belong” to one group vs the other, or the group is meant to only discuss particular aspects of issues and not mention others.Of course, there are bad faith takes here, and I don’t want to discount those. But what happens when your beliefs don’t fall neatly into those camps? Sometimes that’s the case with Landon—such as his opinions about free speech and why it’s vital for democracy, or the notion that beauty has an objective quality to it. The fact that he’s resolute enough to continue to voice them makes his voice a special one to hear from, especially in such a complex moment. So much more to say, but I’ll let you hear it from him.If you’re loving the Urgent Futures podcast…Please subscribe + leave a review on your preferred podcast platform! Both things help the podcast grow. Guests on Urgent Futures are experts across art, science, media, technology, AI, philosophy, economics, mathematics, anthropology, journalism, and more. We live in complex times; these are the voices who will help you orient to emerging futures.Support Reality Studies:NOTE: Thank you for supporting my work by purchasing these products through the links provided. I will only ever share products I actually believe in.MUD\WTR: Right now, get 43% off starter packs using this link and the code SUMMER. There’s four different blends to choose from, but my current favorite is :rest. “This is our protest to hustle culture,” they say, and that resonates with me. Not only does it actually help me ramp down to sleep, but since I froth a little milk and make a latte with it, I get the warm cozy feeling of morning coffee at night. (For the evening tea drinkers out there: I’m not saying it’s better, just different!)NordVPN: Right now, get up to 69% off 2-year plans + a Saily eSIM data gift through this link. Some people tell me that “VPN” brings to mind ideas of hackers and the dark web, but honestly VPNs are just an extremely easy way to stay much safer online. I’ve used NordVPN for the past four years, and appreciate what they offer, including Threat Protection against malware, 24/7 customer support, fast speeds, and more. One account can protect up to 6 devices (phone and computer), and they don’t track or share what you do online. Another benefit: you can always access the content/apps you have at home, wherever in the world you are.ZBiotics: Right now, get 10% off ZBiotics. Just head over to zbiotics.com and use code JESSEDAMIANI. If you have an evening with drinking and a morning you need to feel fresh, I strongly recommend these. Genetically engineered by a team of PhD microbiologists, ZBiotics is a probiotic drink that breaks down the byproduct of alcohol responsible for rough mornings after drinking (acetaldehyde).Mission Farms CBD: Mission Farms CBD crafts full-spectrum CBD products for specific conditions like sleep, stress, and discomfort, using a combination of CBD and terpenes found in essential oils. I swear by this stuff: I take one of their Marionberry Lemon gummies to end each day. There’s a lot of junk CBD on the market. All of Mission Farms’s CBD comes from a small farm in Bend, Oregon. They farm the hemp organically, tend every plant by hand, and test for purity four times: the soil, the hemp, the hemp-extract, and the final products. This CBD is designed for wellness and it shows. Go to this link and sign up for emails to get 25% off your first order.CREDITS: This podcast is edited and produced by Adam Labrie and me, Jesse Damiani. Adam Labrie also directed, shot, and edited the video version of the podcast, which is available on YouTube. The podcast is presented by Reality Studies. If you appreciate the work I’m doing, please subscribe and share it with someone you think would enjoy it.Find more episodes of Urgent Futures at: youtube.com/@UrgentFutures. Past conversations include Taylor Lorenz, Lia Halloran & Kip Thorne, Cherie Hu, Lisa Messeri, Legacy Russell, and more. Get full access to Reality Studies at www.realitystudies.co/subscribe