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Inhuman and Monstrous Gestations in Contemporary Horror Movies
Full text linkIn cinema, the horror genre explores that grey area where balance and stability are lack- ing, especially through the representation of corporeality. This tendency is evident, above all, in so-called gynaehorror, made up of films that feature supernatural gestations and bloody pregnancies, which appeal to an aesthetic taste aimed at disgust and revulsion, as well as female figures coded as doubly vulnerable (Harrington 2016). The aim of this contribution is to identify how the gore and extreme legacy of the aforementioned genre is being recuperated today by films that are classified as gynaehorror in particular, from Julia Ducournau’s Titane (2021) and Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo’s À l\u27intérieur (2007), which explore the boundaries and spaces of the body in all its ramifications. It will then be traced the link between this mode of representation of the pregnant female body and what feminist theory holds that the body is a structure of dynamic relations that interact in a political and social space (Butler 1999) interrogating and deconstructing, horror as well as feminist science fiction, the same gender dichotomy (Braidotti 2022).In cinema, the horror genre explores that grey area where balance and stability are lack- ing, especially through the representation of corporeality. This tendency is evident, above all, in so-called gynaehorror, made up of films that feature supernatural gestations and bloody pregnancies, which appeal to an aesthetic taste aimed at disgust and revulsion, as well as female figures coded as doubly vulnerable (Harrington 2016). The aim of this contribution is to identify how the gore and extreme legacy of the aforementioned genre is being recuperated today by films that are classified as gynaehorror in particular, from Julia Ducournau’s Titane (2021) and Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo’s À l\u27intérieur (2007), which explore the boundaries and spaces of the body in all its ramifications. It will then be traced the link between this mode of representation of the pregnant female body and what feminist theory holds that the body is a structure of dynamic relations that interact in a political and social space (Butler 1999) interrogating and deconstructing, horror as well as feminist science fiction, the same gender dichotomy (Braidotti 2022)
The Homo mimeticus and the need for a mimetic turn. Interview with Nidesh Lawtoo
Full text linkThe present interview with Nidesh Lawtoo (lecturer at the University of Lausanne, Johns Hopkins University and KU Leuven and holder of the ERC project re-titled Homo Mimeticus: Theory and Criticism from 2017 to 2022) wants to highlight the “broad” and “complex” character of mimesis. The guiding idea is that mimesis – understood not simply as a copy or representation of reality but rather as a drive that leads humans to imitate other humans – provides us with a rich, wide-ranging, and paradoxically original perspective to knowing ourselves better. Thus, in a constant confrontation with the Greek roots of the term and the reflections of some modern and contemporary philosophers, the interview intends to clarify the scope and breadth of that mimetic turn proposed by Lawtoo in contemporary aesthetical debate.The present interview with Nidesh Lawtoo (lecturer at the University of Lausanne, Johns Hopkins University and KU Leuven and holder of the ERC project re-titled Homo Mimeticus: Theory and Criticism from 2017 to 2022) wants to highlight the “broad” and “complex” character of mimesis. The guiding idea is that mimesis – understood not simply as a copy or representation of reality but rather as a drive that leads humans to imitate other humans – provides us with a rich, wide-ranging, and paradoxically original perspective to knowing ourselves better. Thus, in a constant confrontation with the Greek roots of the term and the reflections of some modern and contemporary philosophers, the interview intends to clarify the scope and breadth of that mimetic turn proposed by Lawtoo in contemporary aesthetical debate
Development and Natural Selection, the Historical Foundations of Mimesis in Animal and Plant Form
Full text linkIn biology, mimesis includes imitation between individuals of the same species – the study object of behavioral sciences and neurophysiology – and mimicry between different species through traits or behaviours generally common to all individuals – to be analyzed from an evolutionary and morphogenetic perspective. Mimicry is widespread among representatives of many animal lineages, but has been also recorded among plants. Mimicry is very often adaptive, e.g. because of protection produced by the similarity of a harmless animal to a poisonous or otherwise dangerous one (Batesian mimicry, e.g., false vs. true coral snakes, or hoverflies vs. wasps), or by sharing of closely similar livery by animals protected by different weapons (Müllerian mimicry). Less conventional kinds of mimicry include the aggressive behaviour of some fireflies imitating the flashing of a different species on which they prey; the intraspecific Müllerian mimicry between larva and adult of some ladybirds; and the presence of identical compounds in the sexual pheromone produced by a female wasp and in the fragrance of the orchid species pollinated by the male. Morphological and biochemical similarity cannot be explained by selective advantage only. Even in cases of adaptive mimicry, shared developmental constraint may facilitate the evolution of similarity between model and mime.In biology, mimesis includes imitation between individuals of the same species – the study object of behavioral sciences and neurophysiology – and mimicry between different species through traits or behaviours generally common to all individuals – to be analyzed from an evolutionary and morphogenetic perspective. Mimicry is widespread among representatives of many animal lineages, but has been also recorded among plants. Mimicry is very often adaptive, e.g. because of protection produced by the similarity of a harmless animal to a poisonous or otherwise dangerous one (Batesian mimicry, e.g., false vs. true coral snakes, or hoverflies vs. wasps), or by sharing of closely similar livery by animals protected by different weapons (Müllerian mimicry). Less conventional kinds of mimicry include the aggressive behaviour of some fireflies imitating the flashing of a different species on which they prey; the intraspecific Müllerian mimicry between larva and adult of some ladybirds; and the presence of identical compounds in the sexual pheromone produced by a female wasp and in the fragrance of the orchid species pollinated by the male. Morphological and biochemical similarity cannot be explained by selective advantage only. Even in cases of adaptive mimicry, shared developmental constraint may facilitate the evolution of similarity between model and mime
What is real in hyperrealism? Pictorial representation and layers of the visible
Full text linkAmerican hyperrealist painting is one of the most famous phenomena of American culture in general, but also one of the most difficult to fit into the art-historical canon. Hyperrealism causes difficulties in interpretation because it is placed between traditional mimetic painting skills and the imaginary of American popular culture. In this article, we will suggest that hyperrealism may be evaluated as primarily a philosophical problem of the understanding of reality and its transformation into a pictorial surface. We will try to foreground the neglected possibility that the “excess of the real” in a painting can be in some allegorical function: as the opposite of reality, in other words, as an absence rather than a presence. Moreover, we will point out the twofold contingency of the hyperrealist pictures: as a philosophical platform for the study of pictorial representation on the one hand and as an evidence that there is no universal theory of pictorial depiction that would establish a connection between extra-pictorial reality and representation on the other. The article will analyze why hyperrealism as an artistic style is not crucially defined by the problem of mimesis, but rather by the problem of (dis)continuity in regard to reality. Instead of asking why hyperrealist paintings are so close to human perception of the world, we try to unveil consequences of its playing on the edges of complex systems such as representation, depiction, similarity, imagination, simulation and recognition. Referring to the aspects of reality in painting, photography and conceptual art we will consider to what extent theory can influence a seemingly straightforward artistic phenomenon to gain a different kind of relevance, while providing insights into the possibilities of viewing hyperrealist paintings as both part of the cultural imaginary and philosophical objects.American hyperrealist painting is one of the most famous phenomena of American culture in general, but also one of the most difficult to fit into the art-historical canon. Hyperrealism causes difficulties in interpretation because it is placed between traditional mimetic painting skills and the imaginary of American popular culture. In this article, we will suggest that hyperrealism may be evaluated as primarily a philosophical problem of the understanding of reality and its transformation into a pictorial surface. We will try to foreground the neglected possibility that the “excess of the real” in a painting can be in some allegorical function: as the opposite of reality, in other words, as an absence rather than a presence. Moreover, we will point out the twofold contingency of the hyperrealist pictures: as a philosophical platform for the study of pictorial representation on the one hand and as an evidence that there is no universal theory of pictorial depiction that would establish a connection between extra-pictorial reality and representation on the other. The article will analyze why hyperrealism as an artistic style is not crucially defined by the problem of mimesis, but rather by the problem of (dis)continuity in regard to reality. Instead of asking why hyperrealist paintings are so close to human perception of the world, we try to unveil consequences of its playing on the edges of complex systems such as representation, depiction, similarity, imagination, simulation and recognition. Referring to the aspects of reality in painting, photography and conceptual art we will consider to what extent theory can influence a seemingly straightforward artistic phenomenon to gain a different kind of relevance, while providing insights into the possibilities of viewing hyperrealist paintings as both part of the cultural imaginary and philosophical objects
Il sistema della mimesis in J. Rancière: tra estetica e politica
Full text linkThe article proposes a re-reading of the concept of partage of the sensible in the light of the relationship that regimes of identification of art maintain with mimesis. In this regard, the article retraces the analysis proposed by Rancière of the ethical regime of images, of the representative regime and of the aesthetic regime with the aim of showing the terms in which the system of mimesis intervenes in the definition of the aesthetic-political space we inhabit.The article proposes a re-reading of the concept of partage of the sensible in the light of the relationship that regimes of identification of art maintain with mimesis. In this regard, the article retraces the analysis proposed by Rancière of the ethical regime of images, of the representative regime and of the aesthetic regime with the aim of showing the terms in which the system of mimesis intervenes in the definition of the aesthetic-political space we inhabit
Inter fragmenta nare: Leon Battista Alberti and the Wreck of Memory
Full text linkAs it is well known, rhetoric serves as a theoretical framework for the foundation of artistic practices in the works of Leon Battista Alberti. The structural significance of rhetoric also concerns the conceptualization of the relationship between time, space, and memory. In Alberti\u27s perspective, ruins and fragments from the past are material incarnations of rhetorical-mnemonic imagines agentes: their power to affect the mind depends on the ability of the observer to put them in the right places (loci).
Against this background, Alberti partially overturns the classical model of the ars memoriae: the a priori architectural order of loci becomes the result of an activity of composition and combination, in which the imagines/ruins disrupt the flow of time and the continuum of space by displaying their specific nature as memory traces.As it is well known, rhetoric serves as a theoretical framework for the foundation of artistic practices in the works of Leon Battista Alberti. The structural significance of rhetoric also concerns the conceptualization of the relationship between time, space, and memory. In Alberti\u27s perspective, ruins and fragments from the past are material incarnations of rhetorical-mnemonic imagines agentes: their power to affect the mind depends on the ability of the observer to put them in the right places (loci).
Against this background, Alberti partially overturns the classical model of the ars memoriae: the a priori architectural order of loci becomes the result of an activity of composition and combination, in which the imagines/ruins disrupt the flow of time and the continuum of space by displaying their specific nature as memory traces
Metafora e memoria in Proust
Full text linkProust gave metaphor both stylistic and theoretical centrality. In his view, metaphor is not a mere substitute for literal expression but performs a cognitive function, bringing to light relations and aspects of reality that would otherwise remain unexplored. The article intends to show that the reminiscences of involuntary memory also possess a metaphorical structure.
Just as a pars destruens and a pars construens coexist in metaphor, in authentic reminiscence the deconstruction of a linear and abstract temporality is the indispensable premise of reconfiguring the past that makes its meaning flash forth in unprecedented possibilities.Like metaphor, involuntary memory must enact categorical transgression. It must suspend previous categories and classifications to bring out the rich web of relationships that permeates every fragment of our existence.
Finally, just as metaphor redescribes reality under the banner of metamorphosis, so involuntary memory transforms the usual relationships between past and present. The artwork born from the epiphanies of involuntary memory will adopt an expressive practice capable of interweaving reality and imagination, perception and memory, objectivity, and subjectivity.Proust gave metaphor both stylistic and theoretical centrality. In his view, metaphor is not a mere substitute for literal expression but performs a cognitive function, bringing to light relations and aspects of reality that would otherwise remain unexplored. The article intends to show that the reminiscences of involuntary memory also possess a metaphorical structure.
Just as a pars destruens and a pars construens coexist in metaphor, in authentic reminiscence the deconstruction of a linear and abstract temporality is the indispensable premise of reconfiguring the past that makes its meaning flash forth in unprecedented possibilities.Like metaphor, involuntary memory must enact categorical transgression. It must suspend previous categories and classifications to bring out the rich web of relationships that permeates every fragment of our existence.
Finally, just as metaphor redescribes reality under the banner of metamorphosis, so involuntary memory transforms the usual relationships between past and present. The artwork born from the epiphanies of involuntary memory will adopt an expressive practice capable of interweaving reality and imagination, perception and memory, objectivity, and subjectivity
Memoria dislocata. Svetlana Boym, Marija Stepanova e la poetica nella Russia post-sovietica
Full text linkPost-Soviet literature and theoretical reflection constitute an elective place for the elaboration of memory; the reflection of Svetlana Boym (starting exemplary from her work on Nabokov) and the poetic work of Marija Stepanova between poetry, prose and essays are the subject of these notes, which pay particular attention to the dislocation of memory as a reactivation of history in the double emergency of condition specific to the post-memory generation and the erasure of history by the Putin regime.Post-Soviet literature and theoretical reflection constitute an elective place for the elaboration of memory; the reflection of Svetlana Boym (starting exemplary from her work on Nabokov) and the poetic work of Marija Stepanova between poetry, prose and essays are the subject of these notes, which pay particular attention to the dislocation of memory as a reactivation of history in the double emergency of condition specific to the post-memory generation and the erasure of history by the Putin regime
Uninhabited territories: eye-machine, operative images and geopolitical conflicts in the works of Agencia de Borde and Femke Herregraven
Full text linkThis article aims to analyze how the drone - in its prosthetic, machine and automated dimension - and the operative images that emerge from the recording of certain sites intervened with war and extractivist motives generate ecomedial and techno-imaginary ecologies of seemingly uninhabited territories. The above is developed from the analysis of two audiovisual projects: The Landmine Project (2016-2020) by the Chilean collective Agencia de Borde and Prelude To: When The Dust Unsettles by Dutch artist and designer Femke Herregraven (2022). The former explores minefields laid between 1973 and 1983 in the Atacama Desert in Chile, while the latter shows the modus operandi of a digital twin for mining in the Congo. These are seemingly untouchable territories, out of circulation, where, given their imagined future - either as explosive or exploited territory - a drone and its digital eye appear to be the only way to visually access these places, which are presented as inadmissible and uninhabited. Both cases expose geopolitical conflicts that are primarily articulated and mediated through the production and manipulation of images and technical intervention. In this way, the development of the text proposes to think about forms of contemporary violence that take shape through specific visual devices and rhetorics.This article aims to analyze how the drone - in its prosthetic, machine and automated dimension - and the operative images that emerge from the recording of certain sites intervened with war and extractivist motives generate ecomedial and techno-imaginary ecologies of seemingly uninhabited territories. The above is developed from the analysis of two audiovisual projects: The Landmine Project (2016-2020) by the Chilean collective Agencia de Borde and Prelude To: When The Dust Unsettles by Dutch artist and designer Femke Herregraven (2022). The former explores minefields laid between 1973 and 1983 in the Atacama Desert in Chile, while the latter shows the modus operandi of a digital twin for mining in the Congo. These are seemingly untouchable territories, out of circulation, where, given their imagined future - either as explosive or exploited territory - a drone and its digital eye appear to be the only way to visually access these places, which are presented as inadmissible and uninhabited. Both cases expose geopolitical conflicts that are primarily articulated and mediated through the production and manipulation of images and technical intervention. In this way, the development of the text proposes to think about forms of contemporary violence that take shape through specific visual devices and rhetorics
The Music of Memory Gaston Bachelard on the Construction of Time and Memory
Full text linkGaston Bachelard\u27s philosophical exploration challenges conventional assumptions regarding the relationship between time and memory. Departing from the common perception of time as a passive container for memories, Bachelard introduces an idea of the past that is predicated on a relational understanding of time. This paper will begin by contrasting Bachelard\u27s relational view of time with Henri Bergson\u27s substantivalist stance. Bachelard\u27s metaphysical position on time provides the conceptual groundwork for his challenging of the fixity of past temporal experiences, and his redefining of duration as a rational construct. Finally, this paper will explore Bachelard’s concept of rhythmanalysis, or the process by which the individual is able to make sense of the different rhythms or frequencies of time. Bachelard does not define the past as a fixed temporal series of memories. Rather, memories and the past are fluid and continually open to interpretation by the individual. The relationship between time and memory, for Bachelard, is subsequently predicated on a constructive process which is characterized by the ability of the individual to reframe or reinterpret that process.Gaston Bachelard\u27s philosophical exploration challenges conventional assumptions regarding the relationship between time and memory. Departing from the common perception of time as a passive container for memories, Bachelard introduces an idea of the past that is predicated on a relational understanding of time. This paper will begin by contrasting Bachelard\u27s relational view of time with Henri Bergson\u27s substantivalist stance. Bachelard\u27s metaphysical position on time provides the conceptual groundwork for his challenging of the fixity of past temporal experiences, and his redefining of duration as a rational construct. Finally, this paper will explore Bachelard’s concept of rhythmanalysis, or the process by which the individual is able to make sense of the different rhythms or frequencies of time. Bachelard does not define the past as a fixed temporal series of memories. Rather, memories and the past are fluid and continually open to interpretation by the individual. The relationship between time and memory, for Bachelard, is subsequently predicated on a constructive process which is characterized by the ability of the individual to reframe or reinterpret that process