Beyond Domination? Sensory Dissonances and Public Art’s Role in Restoring Nature’s Voice

Theodor Adorno advocated for art to be a mechanism to give voice back to nature in his book Aesthetics. This voice had been stripped from nature through the domination of industrial capitalism, and Adorno believed recovering this voice to be crucial in resolving humanity’s estrangement from nature. Adorno, however, did not think any art sufficient in giving this voice back to nature. Adorno theorized the moments of affective dissonance specific to modern art to be where the dialectical tension between humans and nature is reproduced, and where the voice of nature is revived. This paper furthers Adorno’s observation by focusing on the sensory experience of those moments of dissonance in modern art — what does the repressed voice of nature feel like? Particularly, this paper will explore the sensory dissonance of public art installations in their incorporation of a multitude of senses, some stemming from the natural world, in their outdoor settings. This paper will analyze public visual works such as Sonya Clark’s 2024 Declaration House and Alfredo Jaar’s Public Interventions (Studies on Happiness: 1979-1981) as examples of the dissonant sensory experiences of public art prompting political experiences and disruptive emotions in otherwise harmonious public space, arguing these moments of sensory embodiment echo and recover the oppressed sensuous beauty of nature.

Keywords: Aesthetics, Marxism, Environmentalism, Modern Art, Theodor Adorno

Laura Pierini (Institute of Geography and Sustainability, University of Lausanne, Switzerland)

Perceiving Space Through Art: The Influence of Artistic Ambiances on Environmental Awareness In Public Spaces.

This paper explores the relationship between the atmospheres of public artworks and the perception of the surrounding environment. It investigates how the ambiance of art influences our spatial awareness and how different environmental conditions—particularly weather—affect the perception of these artworks. Using the example of Gibellina Nuova, a city where art integrates with the urban fabric, the paper examines the sensory experience of walking through the space, observing the artworks, and the results of participatory workshops on sensitive mapping conducted with local residents. The goal is to define the ambiances of artworks and understand how to detect and interpret them. The analysis will be conducted on two levels, drawing from personal observations, photography, walking experiences, and sensitive cartography data. Preliminary findings suggest that the materiality of artworks, such as the grey concrete prevalent in Gibellina Nuova, significantly impacts how both the artwork and the surrounding space are perceived. These findings are further explored through photographs taken on days with varying weather conditions, highlighting how light, color, and materiality contribute to the overall ambiance. Ultimately, the paper aims to demonstrate how the specific atmospheres created by public artworks shape our perception of urban environments.
Keywords: Ambiances, Spatial perception, Public art, Sensitive mapping, Atmosphere