Art and Posthumanism with Cary Wolfe (Art after Nature Part 1)

How do contemporary art and theory contemplate the “bio” of biopolitics and bioart? One of the foremost theorists of posthumanism, Cary Wolfe argues for the reconceptualization of nature in art and theory to turn the idea of the relationship between the human and the planet upside down in his new book, ART AND POSTHUMANISM. This is the inaugural volume in the new series ART AFTER NATURE, edited by Giovanni Aloi and Caroline Picard. The series fosters multidisciplinarity, creatively engaging with new and alternative discourses at the intersection of art, science, and philosophy. It engages with the politics and contradictions of the Anthropocene in order to problematize disciplines such as animal studies, posthumanism, and speculative realism, through art writing and art making.

Cary Wolfe is Dunlevie Professor of English at Rice University. Wolfe has written on a range of topics including debates in animal studies and posthumanism, has authored many books, and edits the Posthumanities series for University of Minnesota Press.

Dr. Giovanni Aloi is an author, educator, and curator specializing in the representation of nature and the environment in art. Aloi is editor in chief of Antennae: The Journal of Nature in Visual Culture.

Caroline Picard is a writer, cartoonist, curator, and executive director of Green Lantern Press.

References in the episode include:

Foucault

Agamben

Derrida

Donna Haraway

Flusser

Jacob von Uexkull

Damien Hirst

Steve Baker

Gregory Bateson

Eija-Liisa Ahtila

Niklas Luhmann