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Performativity and Aesthetic Experience of the City. From the body of the flâneur to the soma of the Man in Gold.
Get PDFIn this essay, I do not want to focus on performativity as such and understand it as an aesthetic expression; instead, I would like to illustrate how performativity takes on the role consequential to an aesthetic experience. Specifically, I want to highlight how aesthetic experience takes place in the spatial contexts of the city. In this regard, I want to define the aesthetic-practical-sensory relationship of the soma, understood as a paradigm of a living body, that is, a body that moves and acts in space, by declining three historical moments that tell the story. I want to define three historical moments from the early twentieth century to the present through the soma-city relationship: 1) The first moment is inscribed in the emergence of the Baudelairian concept of the flâneur, a symbolic figure who introduces a relationship with the city characterized by a disenchanted gaze and a slow, wandering movement picked up, especially by Walter Benjamin in the Paris Passages; 2) The second moment is that of Situationism, in which Guy Debord introduces the concept of dérive, understood as an approach to the city marked by the experiential and emotional relationship; 3) The third and most recent moment concerns Richard Shusterman\u27s embodiment of the somaesthetic exercise, in which the Avatar of the Man in Gold, enters into a relationship with the city, aspiring to reconnect urban spheres and not to a pure somaesthetic experience of the city. The last point to be made is that these three historical and aesthetic experience-based moments of the body in the city are marked by the body moving in space. In the case of the flâneur, the body wanders in an unresolved manner without a precise destination; in the case of the drift, the body is propelled by the many sensations and expressions of the city that are expressed through walking (urban Walkscapes); finally, in the case of the Man in Gold, there is a movement totally absorbed in the experience of places.In this essay, I do not want to focus on performativity as such and understand it as an aesthetic expression; instead, I would like to illustrate how performativity takes on the role consequential to an aesthetic experience. Specifically, I want to highlight how aesthetic experience takes place in the spatial contexts of the city. In this regard, I want to define the aesthetic-practical-sensory relationship of the soma, understood as a paradigm of a living body, that is, a body that moves and acts in space, by declining three historical moments that tell the story. I want to define three historical moments from the early twentieth century to the present through the soma-city relationship: 1) The first moment is inscribed in the emergence of the Baudelairian concept of the flâneur, a symbolic figure who introduces a relationship with the city characterized by a disenchanted gaze and a slow, wandering movement picked up, especially by Walter Benjamin in the Paris Passages; 2) The second moment is that of Situationism, in which Guy Debord introduces the concept of dérive, understood as an approach to the city marked by the experiential and emotional relationship; 3) The third and most recent moment concerns Richard Shusterman\u27s embodiment of the somaesthetic exercise, in which the Avatar of the Man in Gold, enters into a relationship with the city, aspiring to reconnect urban spheres and not to a pure somaesthetic experience of the city. The last point to be made is that these three historical and aesthetic experience-based moments of the body in the city are marked by the body moving in space. In the case of the flâneur, the body wanders in an unresolved manner without a precise destination; in the case of the drift, the body is propelled by the many sensations and expressions of the city that are expressed through walking (urban Walkscapes); finally, in the case of the Man in Gold, there is a movement totally absorbed in the experience of places
Performativity and the domestic space Practices of embodied dwelling through enactivism, participation, and auto-construction
Get PDFThis paper examines the transformative potential of performativity in reimagining the concept of dwelling and of domestic spaces. Drawing from enactivist and embodied cognition perspectives, we delve into the dynamic relationship between individuals, their bodies, and the architectural environment. Emphasising the role of bodily engagement, sensorimotor experiences, and interoceptive awareness, we explore how individuals actively participate in and shape their architectural surroundings. Moving beyond individual interactions, we also highlight the social and collective dynamics influenced by the built environment, underscoring the impact of cultural conventions and societal norms.
This paper investigates some contributions that advocate for a reappropriation of institutionalised domestic spaces through imaginative interventions that challenge conventional norms and envision future-oriented dwelling practices. Within the context of institutionalised domestic spaces, we investigate the role of the fantastical and the monstrous as disordered qualities that challenge traditional boundaries and offer opportunities for transformation. Through case studies, we examine projects that blur the lines between public and private realms, enabling participatory practices and urban influences to reshape functional space utilisation.
In conclusion, this paper underscores the importance of a dialogue between embodied performativity and the concept of dwelling. It proposes a re-evaluation of our relationship with space that is not just functional but enactive, and it champions the transformative potential of the arts in conceiving our future homes. With a renewed focus on sustainability, participation, and the interplay between the human body and space, we can begin to imagine a future of dwelling that is as dynamic, inclusive, and vibrant as the lives we wish to live within these spaces.This paper examines the transformative potential of performativity in reimagining the concept of dwelling and of domestic spaces. Drawing from enactivist and embodied cognition perspectives, we delve into the dynamic relationship between individuals, their bodies, and the architectural environment. Emphasising the role of bodily engagement, sensorimotor experiences, and interoceptive awareness, we explore how individuals actively participate in and shape their architectural surroundings. Moving beyond individual interactions, we also highlight the social and collective dynamics influenced by the built environment, underscoring the impact of cultural conventions and societal norms.
This paper investigates some contributions that advocate for a reappropriation of institutionalised domestic spaces through imaginative interventions that challenge conventional norms and envision future-oriented dwelling practices. Within the context of institutionalised domestic spaces, we investigate the role of the fantastical and the monstrous as disordered qualities that challenge traditional boundaries and offer opportunities for transformation. Through case studies, we examine projects that blur the lines between public and private realms, enabling participatory practices and urban influences to reshape functional space utilisation.
In conclusion, this paper underscores the importance of a dialogue between embodied performativity and the concept of dwelling. It proposes a re-evaluation of our relationship with space that is not just functional but enactive, and it champions the transformative potential of the arts in conceiving our future homes. With a renewed focus on sustainability, participation, and the interplay between the human body and space, we can begin to imagine a future of dwelling that is as dynamic, inclusive, and vibrant as the lives we wish to live within these spaces
Logic of deviations. From magical thinking to empirical science
Get PDFThis essay aims to deal with early forms of skepticism, which naturalized the animal Kingdom by removing it from the moral sphere of religious spiritualism.In the 17th century, the gradual shift from magical thinking to science had important implications in the study of monsters.
Starting from the concept of anomaly, we define a new science of life where monsters dwel. We deal with human phenomena, the tremendus, described and explained as deviations from the norm, errors. In the second half of the 17th century, the most important Academies began to devote themselves to the study of portentuos marvels and the debate on monsters became central in Natural Science: it was during this period that monsters were placed on anatomical tables in order to be dissected and classified. Fundamental in this regard were the studies of the surgeon John Hunter, in whose collection we can admire numerous specimens of so-called double monsters. In the 18th century, thanks to the numerous studies by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire and his son Isidore, we arrive at the new vision of monstruosities, finally considered as sufficient in themselves, as autonomous abjects and therefore concrete, accessible and observable. Finally, I will discuss the special relationship between science and spectacle, public an private. The monster embodies a very strong aesthetic end attractive power: the image is the most suitable medium for describing it.This essay aims to deal with early forms of skepticism, which naturalized the animal Kingdom by removing it from the moral sphere of religious spiritualism.In the 17th century, the gradual shift from magical thinking to science had important implications in the study of monsters.
Starting from the concept of anomaly, we define a new science of life where monsters dwel. We deal with human phenomena, the tremendus, described and explained as deviations from the norm, errors. In the second half of the 17th century, the most important Academies began to devote themselves to the study of portentuos marvels and the debate on monsters became central in Natural Science: it was during this period that monsters were placed on anatomical tables in order to be dissected and classified. Fundamental in this regard were the studies of the surgeon John Hunter, in whose collection we can admire numerous specimens of so-called double monsters. In the 18th century, thanks to the numerous studies by Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire and his son Isidore, we arrive at the new vision of monstruosities, finally considered as sufficient in themselves, as autonomous abjects and therefore concrete, accessible and observable. Finally, I will discuss the special relationship between science and spectacle, public an private. The monster embodies a very strong aesthetic end attractive power: the image is the most suitable medium for describing it
The contingency of the norm: the monstrum
Get PDFWhat does it really mean to contemplate the “anomalous”, the “malformed”, the “anatomical- monster”? Why and how is it so disturbing? And what is the proper norm and status of the monster? The monster is what shocks, the weird, the eerie. The monster is the uncanny, the “unhomely”, das Unheimliche, to borrow from Freud’s famous expression. It’s the irruption of the improper that threatens the stability of life, as it indicates how the commonness of life itself is a precarious yet contingent state. The monster upsets us because it shows us the contingency of the norm. Based upon this assumption, we shall also touch upon other concepts. These might be: the transvaluation of values, the Einverleibung, the Great Health and the theory of the hopeful monster. It is, in the end, a new form of the same: the individual subtracts itself, therefore, from the individuality of the species, but it does so as to affirm a different same that is absolutely contingent. To borrow again from Deleuze, we might say: a “prodigious”, unexpected turn of the becoming.What does it really mean to contemplate the “anomalous”, the “malformed”, the “anatomical- monster”? Why and how is it so disturbing? And what is the proper norm and status of the monster? The monster is what shocks, the weird, the eerie. The monster is the uncanny, the “unhomely”, das Unheimliche, to borrow from Freud’s famous expression. It’s the irruption of the improper that threatens the stability of life, as it indicates how the commonness of life itself is a precarious yet contingent state. The monster upsets us because it shows us the contingency of the norm. Based upon this assumption, we shall also touch upon other concepts. These might be: the transvaluation of values, the Einverleibung, the Great Health and the theory of the hopeful monster. It is, in the end, a new form of the same: the individual subtracts itself, therefore, from the individuality of the species, but it does so as to affirm a different same that is absolutely contingent. To borrow again from Deleuze, we might say: a “prodigious”, unexpected turn of the becoming
Introduzione: Dante e il fumetto
Get PDFDivina Commedia represents Dante’s most famous work: even if many centuries have passed, it still represents universal knowledge. Today comics are still perceived as consumer literature, however over time there have been many comics works that have reinterpreted in various ways Commedia. Various reinterpretations have been conducted using interwined and different languages. Reinterpretations accompany Dante\u27s world in today\u27s world.
The issue entitled Dante and comics contains essays that investigate the links between Commedia and comics through two perspectives: philosophical, linguistic and literary. The authors develop a number of central subjects: comics as a transmedia medium based on drawn from reflections on aesthetics and the artistic improvisation practices; the role that comics can take as a medium to bring students closer to language and literature; the type of language found in the comics and an accurate analysis of the language itself; the results of classroom activities that start from texts taken from Commedia; an in-depth study about various visual Commedia translations that have followed one another over the centuries.
From the reflections it emerges versatility and liveliness offered by the transposition of Commedia into comics, allowing the texts to be examined on several levels of interpretation in which the possibilities arising from topics are recognized and broadened. Contributions have a philosophical, linguistic and literary impact.Divina Commedia represents Dante’s most famous work: even if many centuries have passed, it still represents universal knowledge. Today comics are still perceived as consumer literature, however over time there have been many comics works that have reinterpreted in various ways Commedia. Various reinterpretations have been conducted using interwined and different languages. Reinterpretations accompany Dante\u27s world in today\u27s world.
The issue entitled Dante and comics contains essays that investigate the links between Commedia and comics through two perspectives: philosophical, linguistic and literary. The authors develop a number of central subjects: comics as a transmedia medium based on drawn from reflections on aesthetics and the artistic improvisation practices; the role that comics can take as a medium to bring students closer to language and literature; the type of language found in the comics and an accurate analysis of the language itself; the results of classroom activities that start from texts taken from Commedia; an in-depth study about various visual Commedia translations that have followed one another over the centuries.
From the reflections it emerges versatility and liveliness offered by the transposition of Commedia into comics, allowing the texts to be examined on several levels of interpretation in which the possibilities arising from topics are recognized and broadened. Contributions have a philosophical, linguistic and literary impact
From the sensitive thing to the aesthetic thing: The passage from instrumentalization to the configuration of the world
Get PDFThrough Heidegger’s re-reading of Descartes, this article explores a fundamental issue in the contemporary conception of worldliness. In a restricted sense, the human being is the maker of the world in that he appropriates what composes it, i.e., the worldly beings or things. Greatly influenced by the Cartesian notion of extensio, this tendency no longer entails the world as a thing in itself, but as a set of measurable things, thus available and open to activity.
This article articulates the threat relative to the idea of the forming, by the human being, of the essence of the world. Every being, be it an object, an animal or even a human being, seems to be considered as a producer of energy and a structure that could be possessed. For example, such natural space is not campaign or land, but automatically field, that is to say, an agricultural deposit that is symbolically exploited and empirically exploitable. This ontological device prevents us from grasping the world in any other way than in terms of use and productivity.
As a result, the ontology of the thing becomes an aesthetic issue in its own right. This issue does not involve here the capture of the object as a bearer of Beauty, but an aesthetic relation in the fundamentally etymological sense (αἰσθητικός) of what is felt, of what is sensible and perceptible. The need for an aesthetic rereading of the world and the things that stand in it presupposes, therefore, the evolution of the human gaze and a metaphysical approach to worldliness, detached from the instrumentalization of the beings and focused on their presence or their proximity. This article aims at demonstrating the necessity of a real human aesthetic responsibility, which can be concretized in the metaphysical thought of the thing that the human being unfolds, by considering it as the persistence in the world of an object whose ontological disposition could never be neutral.Through Heidegger’s re-reading of Descartes, this article explores a fundamental issue in the contemporary conception of worldliness. In a restricted sense, the human being is the maker of the world in that he appropriates what composes it, i.e., the worldly beings or things. Greatly influenced by the Cartesian notion of extensio, this tendency no longer entails the world as a thing in itself, but as a set of measurable things, thus available and open to activity.
This article articulates the threat relative to the idea of the forming, by the human being, of the essence of the world. Every being, be it an object, an animal or even a human being, seems to be considered as a producer of energy and a structure that could be possessed. For example, such natural space is not campaign or land, but automatically field, that is to say, an agricultural deposit that is symbolically exploited and empirically exploitable. This ontological device prevents us from grasping the world in any other way than in terms of use and productivity.
As a result, the ontology of the thing becomes an aesthetic issue in its own right. This issue does not involve here the capture of the object as a bearer of Beauty, but an aesthetic relation in the fundamentally etymological sense (αἰσθητικός) of what is felt, of what is sensible and perceptible. The need for an aesthetic rereading of the world and the things that stand in it presupposes, therefore, the evolution of the human gaze and a metaphysical approach to worldliness, detached from the instrumentalization of the beings and focused on their presence or their proximity. This article aims at demonstrating the necessity of a real human aesthetic responsibility, which can be concretized in the metaphysical thought of the thing that the human being unfolds, by considering it as the persistence in the world of an object whose ontological disposition could never be neutral
Fare Terra. Istituzione ed espressione in Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Get PDFIn this article, we aim to focus on the notion of Earth in Merleau-Ponty’s reflections on the concept of nature and his reinterpretation of the Husserlian Umsturz. In doing so, we will use the expression “Earth-making” to describe a particular instituting dynamic, where by the term “institution” we wish to refer to the Husserlian concept of Stiftung and its original reworking by Merleau-Ponty during his 1954-55 course at the Collège de France: L’institution - La Passivité.
We will therefore identify the concept of institution as a privileged way to describe our relationship with the Earth, understood as Boden [soil], envisaging in the instituting dynamic as something close to art. Finally, we will try to illustrate what Merleau-Ponty means by transcendental geology, namely the capacity to grasp the original relationship between space and time and a new way of conceptualizing the Earth as aIn this article, we aim to focus on the notion of Earth in Merleau-Ponty’s reflections on the concept of nature and his reinterpretation of the Husserlian Umsturz. In doing so, we will use the expression “Earth-making” to describe a particular instituting dynamic, where by the term “institution” we wish to refer to the Husserlian concept of Stiftung and its original reworking by Merleau-Ponty during his 1954-55 course at the Collège de France: L’institution - La Passivité.
We will therefore identify the concept of institution as a privileged way to describe our relationship with the Earth, understood as Boden [soil], envisaging in the instituting dynamic as something close to art. Finally, we will try to illustrate what Merleau-Ponty means by transcendental geology, namely the capacity to grasp the original relationship between space and time and a new way of conceptualizing the Earth as
Tra «incivilimento» e «riordino»: le ambizioni di un grande teatro d’opera per Roma capitale (1789-1960)
Get PDFDuring the nineteenth century the theatre building - and in particular the opera house - imposed itself as tangible proof of the civic progress of Western societies. As Mazzini theorised the “civilization of the multitudes” through the arts, the theatre became the place where this yearning could be pursued. The momentum of Italian theatre construction was impressive during the nineteenth century, both in the major centres and in the small provincial towns. Rome, from this point of view, represents a significant exception. Until the end of the 19th century, the city, although equipped with important venues of the old regime, did not have an opera house conceived in contemporary terms. To fill the gap, for about a century and a half, designers from different backgrounds will work to equip the capital with an opera house worthy of its aspirations. Drawing on rare or little-known sources, produced among others by architects Pietro Sangiorgi, Antonio Lovatti, and Marcello Piacentini, the contribution reflects on the positioning of a large opera house in the urban layout of the capital. From the papal Rome and the liberal age, to the fascist period, the longed opera house tries to give new, contemporary meanings to a building that will come to stand out for its fascinating outdatedness.During the nineteenth century the theatre building - and in particular the opera house - imposed itself as tangible proof of the civic progress of Western societies. As Mazzini theorised the “civilization of the multitudes” through the arts, the theatre became the place where this yearning could be pursued. The momentum of Italian theatre construction was impressive during the nineteenth century, both in the major centres and in the small provincial towns. Rome, from this point of view, represents a significant exception. Until the end of the 19th century, the city, although equipped with important venues of the old regime, did not have an opera house conceived in contemporary terms. To fill the gap, for about a century and a half, designers from different backgrounds will work to equip the capital with an opera house worthy of its aspirations. Drawing on rare or little-known sources, produced among others by architects Pietro Sangiorgi, Antonio Lovatti, and Marcello Piacentini, the contribution reflects on the positioning of a large opera house in the urban layout of the capital. From the papal Rome and the liberal age, to the fascist period, the longed opera house tries to give new, contemporary meanings to a building that will come to stand out for its fascinating outdatedness
Carol Rama: Medusa’s Gaze
Get PDFBy analysing a choice of Carol Rama’s (1918-2015) pictorial works and comparing them with her ‘discursive practices’ or the ways she articulates her verbal expressions and interactions, this paper aims to construe a particular model for studying the relation between words and images, drawn from and inspired by both Émile Benveniste\u27s ‘Enunciation’ Linguistics and Mikhail Bakhtin’s Metalinguistics. Read in this way, the alleged "pornography" of some of Carol Rama\u27s early works is transformed into its opposite, that is, into an invitation addressed to a traditional voyeur to become a possible erotic interlocutor. This transformation is effected by the figures appearing in Rama’s paintings, who aim their gaze directly at the spectator’s eyes, addressing him as "you". Instead of enticing a voyeur, stealthily peeping at a sensual object, the figures’ gaze transforms the spectator into a “second person of the enunciation” (Benveniste). Similar considerations apply to Carol Rama\u27s discursive practices, all of which are characterized by a "polyphony of voices", a polyphonic ensemble whose voices are not split and conflicting against one another. To quote Bachtin’s on Dostoewsky’s characters, whose voices are usually self-conflicting, in Carol Rama’s case, the voices are problematically “pacified” (Bakhtin,).By analysing a choice of Carol Rama’s (1918-2015) pictorial works and comparing them with her ‘discursive practices’ or the ways she articulates her verbal expressions and interactions, this paper aims to construe a particular model for studying the relation between words and images, drawn from and inspired by both Émile Benveniste\u27s ‘Enunciation’ Linguistics and Mikhail Bakhtin’s Metalinguistics. Read in this way, the alleged "pornography" of some of Carol Rama\u27s early works is transformed into its opposite, that is, into an invitation addressed to a traditional voyeur to become a possible erotic interlocutor. This transformation is effected by the figures appearing in Rama’s paintings, who aim their gaze directly at the spectator’s eyes, addressing him as "you". Instead of enticing a voyeur, stealthily peeping at a sensual object, the figures’ gaze transforms the spectator into a “second person of the enunciation” (Benveniste). Similar considerations apply to Carol Rama\u27s discursive practices, all of which are characterized by a "polyphony of voices", a polyphonic ensemble whose voices are not split and conflicting against one another. To quote Bachtin’s on Dostoewsky’s characters, whose voices are usually self-conflicting, in Carol Rama’s case, the voices are problematically “pacified” (Bakhtin,)
Interpreting Magnolia through Badiou’s Axiomatic Judgment: The Visitation of the Idea that Humanity is Love
Get PDFAlain Badiou’s interpretation of Paul Thomas Anderson’s film Magnolia is a paradigmatic example of his peculiar procedure of cinematic analysis called axiomatic judgment. According to the axiomatic judgment, to read a film is to inquire into the effects it has on thought. This essay reconstructs Badiou’s analysis of Magnolia to show how various cinematic elements—acting style, montage, music, and biblical references—are combined to arrange the visitation of a precise idea: that love is the fundamental precondition for humanity’s existence. Without love, the only experience of the world would be monadic. Examining Badiou’s interpretation of Magnolia does not simply aid our understanding of the film; it also clarifies Badiou’s theories of cinema and love.Alain Badiou’s interpretation of Paul Thomas Anderson’s film Magnolia is a paradigmatic example of his peculiar procedure of cinematic analysis called axiomatic judgment. According to the axiomatic judgment, to read a film is to inquire into the effects it has on thought. This essay reconstructs Badiou’s analysis of Magnolia to show how various cinematic elements—acting style, montage, music, and biblical references—are combined to arrange the visitation of a precise idea: that love is the fundamental precondition for humanity’s existence. Without love, the only experience of the world would be monadic. Examining Badiou’s interpretation of Magnolia does not simply aid our understanding of the film; it also clarifies Badiou’s theories of cinema and love