Bodily Skills Performance Skills «Pay attention...» – Multiple ecologies of the more-than-human

«Pay attention...» – Multiple ecologies of the more-than-human

The global threat of climate change and environmental disasters is becoming increasingly noticeable, and is affecting many areas of (more-than-)human life. In his publication “The Parliament of Things” (2012), sociologist and philosopher Bruno Latour formulated a blueprint of a “political ecology” in which he wants to “convene a new collective [...]” where human and non-human existences come together to abolish the dichotomy between society and nature. His concept of the collective aims to encourage consideration of the experimental associations between people and things and rejects hierarchical simplifications such as “nature" or “culture”. This type of political ecology examines how the environment is perceived and generated, and makes it possible to weave experiential knowledge into political questions. It is not without reason that ecology has also become a key theme in the arts in recent years. Aesthetic approaches are especially suited to make the world tangible in a sensual way, to experience it, to sharpen perception and to develop one’s imagination.

During one week, we will attempt—together with invited guests—to experience the surrounding area at Lac de Neuchâtel in the Jura mountains sensually, to discuss it in practical terms, to reflect on it aesthetically and to translate our findings into performative actions. This is because other, collectively conscious perspectives on questions of ecology or the environment can only emerge through sensitive attention and through the way we (re)tell our experiences—verbally, acoustically, visually, tactilely or otherwise.

The group house Chalet Des Grèves, which we will occupy for a week, is located directly on the lakeside and has three bedrooms with eight beds each and two bedrooms with four beds each, as well as a lounge/dining room and kitchen. However, individual overnight accommodation (tent, camper) on the premises is also possible. Accommodation in the group house is paid for by the study programme, the journey to Corcelles-près-Concise by the students themselves.

A literature list will be handed out at the beginning of the module.

Mélanie Gobet
https://www.melaniegobet.ch
Mélanie Gobet (1988, Geneva) is a Swiss-Philippine artist, active in the fields of contemporary dance and performance art. She lives and works in Fribourg, Switzerland. She places corporality at the centre of her approach and is more interested in process than form. She works with seriality, repetition, redundancy, rigor; partition, protocol, archive; trace, remains, memory.

Ludwig Berger
http://www.ludwigberger.com
Ludwig Berger is a sound artist and composer based in Zurich and Milan. In his installations and performances, he engages playfully in more-than-human worlds such as beehives, glaciers, water infrastructures and trees. In his musical work, he produces intimate sonic eco-fictions through digital synthesis. He has released various albums of field recordings, improvisations and electroacoustic music and composes for film, theatre and radio. He is the curator of the tape label Vertical Music, runs a monthly
radio show at Radio Raheem and teaches sound and field recording at the Institute for Landscape
Architecture at ETH Zurich, where he studies the sonic dimension of Japanese gardens, alpine glaciers and urban landscapes.