Naturally Hypernatural
Concepts of Nature (Graz, 13.-15. Juni 2014)
Naturally Hypernatural I: Concepts of Nature is an interdisciplinary conference investigating current discourses of 'nature' and the 'natural.' Looking at the latest developments in art, arttheory,architecture, and the biological sciences, one can comprehend nature in a striking manner. Traditional genres representing nature in art -such as landscape paintings, earth works, and eco-art projects- continue to this day. However, current practices bring to the fore investigations with unexpected materials, high-technological instrumentation, and collaborations between artists, designers and scientists. Sustainability is being rethought from critical perspectives which incorporate bio-ethics, plant phenomenology, and global warming. What kind of conceptual changes take place when living animals and plants are works of art themselves? Are the artificial and the natural interrelated? By what means can one interpret traditional semantics and symbolismin these cases?
Can we grasp appearances and representations of nature in art from interdisciplinary perspectives? Categories like 'art', 'nature', and the 'natural' fundamentally define the relationship between aesthetics and phenomenology. Is postulating anaesthetics of nature (Naturästhetik) a means of understanding nature (Naturerkenntnis)? To critically examine these equivalences is the ambition of Naturally Hypernatural: Concepts of Nature.
Organized by Sabine Flach (Chair, Department of Art History, University of Graz, Austria) and Suzanne Anker (Chair, BFA Fine Arts Department, School of Visual Arts, New York).
Our special thanks for their generous support goes to:
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