Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PolArt (Political Art: Understanding the Function of Art in the Contemporary Social Space Through a New Interpretation of Classical German Philosophy)
Reporting period: 2023-09-01 to 2025-08-31
The general goal of PolArt is to investigate the political dimension of art and the relationship between art and society, with the aim of identifying in aesthetic representation a meaningful way to understand, critique, and transform social reality.
PolArt seeks to provide a new paradigm for understanding how art can play a central role in shaping the fundamental ideals of a society, fostering the proper functioning of political institutions, and strengthening dialogue, solidarity, resilience, and responsiveness in times of crisis. The project aims to rethink this very relationship by addressing the question of what the political dimension of art is and what art can contribute to society.
To achieve this, PolArt focuses on a specific moment in the constitution of this relationship, Classical German Philosophy (CGP), which it reconsiders in an innovative way in order to develop the conceptual tools needed to address the challenges of the present. It is an interdisciplinary project that primarily brings together the philosophy of art and political philosophy, while also drawing on other fields such as art and literary history, practical philosophy, philosophical anthropology, gender studies, and decolonial studies.
The research is being conducted at the University of Padua (Italy) as the Host Institution, in collaboration with the New School for Social Research (New York) as the Third Country Partner, and the Free University of Berlin as the Secondment Institution.
PolArt pursues its aims through three specific objectives:
- to produce a new interpretation of Classical German Philosophy, identifying the very origins of a political philosophy of art and, through a rethinking of canonical historiographical divisions, providing a conceptual map of the multiple positions of the period and a hermeneutic model of the relationship between art and politics.
- To produce a genealogy showing how much of the conceptual framework underlying twentieth-century and contemporary debates on the relationship between art and politics derives from Classical German Philosophy.
- To demonstrate the usefulness of a conceptual framework derived from Classical German Philosophy in formulating a new paradigm capable of addressing issues arising from both academic and public debates on the role of art in society today.
PolArt seeks to provide a new paradigm for understanding how art can play a central role in shaping the fundamental ideals of a society, fostering the proper functioning of political institutions, and strengthening dialogue, solidarity, resilience, and responsiveness in times of crisis. The project aims to rethink this very relationship by addressing the question of what the political dimension of art is and what art can contribute to society.
To achieve this, PolArt focuses on a specific moment in the constitution of this relationship, Classical German Philosophy (CGP), which it reconsiders in an innovative way in order to develop the conceptual tools needed to address the challenges of the present. It is an interdisciplinary project that primarily brings together the philosophy of art and political philosophy, while also drawing on other fields such as art and literary history, practical philosophy, philosophical anthropology, gender studies, and decolonial studies.
The research is being conducted at the University of Padua (Italy) as the Host Institution, in collaboration with the New School for Social Research (New York) as the Third Country Partner, and the Free University of Berlin as the Secondment Institution.
PolArt pursues its aims through three specific objectives:
- to produce a new interpretation of Classical German Philosophy, identifying the very origins of a political philosophy of art and, through a rethinking of canonical historiographical divisions, providing a conceptual map of the multiple positions of the period and a hermeneutic model of the relationship between art and politics.
- To produce a genealogy showing how much of the conceptual framework underlying twentieth-century and contemporary debates on the relationship between art and politics derives from Classical German Philosophy.
- To demonstrate the usefulness of a conceptual framework derived from Classical German Philosophy in formulating a new paradigm capable of addressing issues arising from both academic and public debates on the role of art in society today.
I have pursued the three main objectives of the project so far, following the proposed research plan and discussing it with my supervisors as we went along.
Specifically, I conducted a study on the relationship between art and politics within classical German philosophy, outlining a mapping of various positions and their characteristics (e.g. art as education, art as utopian rethinking, art as orientation, art as social criticism).
Within this broad framework, I focused on certain concepts from the subsequent debate, highlighting their derivation from the discussions of the time. I investigated both concepts envisaged by the project (e.g. the death of art, the aestheticization of politics and the politicization of art, the relationship between form and content, and socially engaged art) and concepts that emerged as particularly relevant in the course of the research (e.g. representation, global literature, and irony).
Finally, I am bringing together the material that has emerged from research on the 19th and 20th centuries with contemporary academic and public discussions, attempting to provide further tools for analysis and possible solutions. At the moment, I am focusing on the concept of representation, understood as both artistic representation and political representation, as a concept that can synthesize a whole series of arguments on the subject.
It included a reflection on methodologies, which led to an in-depth examination of some of them (such as conceptual history and the relationship between close and distant reading), and on the interaction between the different disciplines involved.
This work was carried out through research on primary and secondary literature, discussions in seminars and conferences, and opportunities for meetings and networking with researchers at an international level.
Specifically, I conducted a study on the relationship between art and politics within classical German philosophy, outlining a mapping of various positions and their characteristics (e.g. art as education, art as utopian rethinking, art as orientation, art as social criticism).
Within this broad framework, I focused on certain concepts from the subsequent debate, highlighting their derivation from the discussions of the time. I investigated both concepts envisaged by the project (e.g. the death of art, the aestheticization of politics and the politicization of art, the relationship between form and content, and socially engaged art) and concepts that emerged as particularly relevant in the course of the research (e.g. representation, global literature, and irony).
Finally, I am bringing together the material that has emerged from research on the 19th and 20th centuries with contemporary academic and public discussions, attempting to provide further tools for analysis and possible solutions. At the moment, I am focusing on the concept of representation, understood as both artistic representation and political representation, as a concept that can synthesize a whole series of arguments on the subject.
It included a reflection on methodologies, which led to an in-depth examination of some of them (such as conceptual history and the relationship between close and distant reading), and on the interaction between the different disciplines involved.
This work was carried out through research on primary and secondary literature, discussions in seminars and conferences, and opportunities for meetings and networking with researchers at an international level.
The mapping and analysis of the proposed concepts constitute both an original interpretation of the relationship between art and politics and a reading of classical German philosophy. The picture that emerges is already sufficiently complex for the research carried out, but it is open to further study, for example with regard to specific art forms.
Interaction with contemporary debate is still being analyzed and aims to address issues that are relevant to both academic discussions and broader public debates.
The work carried out so far has fostered an international dialogue—both within the field of classical German philosophy and aesthetics—that has deepened the understanding of the theses and concepts proposed in the project and enriched its vision with new perspectives, which will be the focus of further investigation.
Interaction with contemporary debate is still being analyzed and aims to address issues that are relevant to both academic discussions and broader public debates.
The work carried out so far has fostered an international dialogue—both within the field of classical German philosophy and aesthetics—that has deepened the understanding of the theses and concepts proposed in the project and enriched its vision with new perspectives, which will be the focus of further investigation.