Descrizione del progetto
La capacità dell’arte di affrontare questioni sociali ed ecologiche
Nel corso di quattro mostre presso il Centro per l’arte e la tecnologia dei media di Karlsruhe, il filosofo francese Bruno Latour, noto per il suo lavoro nell’ambito degli studi scientifici e tecnologici, e l’artista post-concettuale austriaco Peter Weibel hanno elaborato la nozione di «thought exhibition» ovvero «mostra pensata». Si tratta di un metodo curatoriale fondato sull’estetica e sulla capacità partecipativa dell’arte di fronteggiare alcune questioni fondamentali, quali i cambiamenti climatici. Il progetto THOUGHT EXHIBITION, finanziato dall’UE, analizza il concetto di «mostra pensata» per acquisire nuovi dettagli sul lavoro di Latour, dimostrandone il significato per le sue opere e fornendo un quadro concettuale per il ruolo dell’arte nell’agevolare narrazioni coinvolgenti su questioni critiche di carattere ecologico e sociale.
Obiettivo
The research project investigates the concept of “thought exhibition” (TE), a curatorial approach developed by Bruno Latour and Peter Weibel during four exhibitions at ZKM | Centre for Art and Media, Karlsruhe (Germany). Following Latour’s work in philosophy and science & technology studies (STS) the art exhibitions aim at challenging the dualistic mentality (nature/culture, object/subject, etc.) fostered by European modernity which is, according to Latour, at the heart of current crises such as climate change. TEs engage visitors in a “spatio-aesthetic thought experiment” by bringing them into a position where they can question modern preconceptions, such as the domination of culture over nature or the notion of objective distance towards phenomena, and encourage them to develop alternatives. The project will gain new insights into Latour’s work in philosophy and STS by demonstrating the significance of TEs for this work. It will also provide a conceptual framework for the role of the arts in facilitating engaging narratives on ecologically/socially critical issues. In particular, the project will investigate Latour’s concepts of “hybrids”, artefacts which cannot be put distinctively in categories of nature or culture, transgressing the dualistic distinctions, and of “compositionism”, a relational way of juxtaposing objects and actors in the exhibition space. The research will be carried out by reviewing published and, at the ZKM archive, unpublished material, by analysing ZKM visitor surveys and by conducting interviews with Latour, Weibel, co-curators and ZKM staff, all of whom have pledged to fully support the project. Despite the relevance of both Latour’s work and ZKM as a leading art museum, little research on the TE concept has been done so far. The project wants to thoroughly investigate this curatorial approach which builds on the aesthetic and participatory capacity of the arts to address crucial issues and to activate individuals for processes of change.
Campo scientifico
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
1165 Kobenhavn
Danimarca