Fragmentation and Reconfiguration: experiencing the city between art and philosophy

Sponsered by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) - PTDC/FER-FIL/32042/2017

PI: Maria Filomena Molder (IFILNOVA) 
Co-PI: Nélio Conceição (IFILNOVA)

Period: 01/10/2018 – 30/09/2021

The relation between the arts and the city reached new and meaningful forms in the last century and a half, coinciding with the development of the modern metropolis. This stems from the fact that cities are a stimulating aesthetic subject, in the widest sense of the notion of aesthetics, concerning both the way we sense and perceive and the spatio-temporal structures conditioning our experiences. The project aims at investigating the aesthetic experience of the city by making use of two strategies combining the contribution of philosophy and art studies/practices. First, it will focus on case-studies from photography, cinema, architecture, literature and sound art/music dealing with the city, in particular with the city of Lisbon; and second, it will reassess the tense relation between fragmentation and reconfiguration, as explored in Goethe’s morphological thinking and in authors that have an affinity with it (such as, for example, Simmel, Benjamin, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Foucault, Deleuze, Joyce, Proust and Pessoa). The project argues that art practices absorb and respond to the fragmentation of human experience in modern cities by exploring a creative tension between fragmentation and reconfiguration capable of opening a differential space. This artistic ‘room-for-play’ can thus disrupt the homogeneous images of contemporary cities created by capitalist and globalization processes. The positive aspects of this disruptive dynamics in the city of Lisbon are yet to be determined, alongside with the impact they have in the intersection between the aesthetic experience and the socio-political elements deriving from art’s critical task. Articulating academic research, non-academic institutions and the system of training and art production, the project’s main activities consist of two principal seminars bringing together the conceptual questions and the case-studies, with the publication of the refined versions of the papers in an open access format; a final conference, with publication of the finished version of the papers in book format; a collaboration with Arquivo Municipal de Lisboa in two of its ongoing activities; a radio broadcast in a national radio station exploring the scientific principles of the project and supporting its dissemination plan; and training activities in art schools, with expected outcomes both in the form of publications and in the form of artistic work. The four consulting members, covering a wide range of interests in urban aesthetics and philosophy, will be an added value to an already resourceful and dynamic team, contributing in a decisive manner to the discussions and the evolution of the project. The dissemination plan reflects the commitment of the team in bringing the scientific work to a larger audience, while the institutions involved have the opportunity to widen their network and to reach a greater awareness of their role in view of the challenges posed by contemporary cities.

Team members:

Maria Filomena Molder 
Nélio Conceição 
Humberto Brito
João Pedro Cachopo 
Paula Carvalho
Paulo Catrica
Inês Sapeta Dias
Bruno Duarte
João Oliveira Duarte 
Susana Nascimento Duarte 
Gianfranco Ferraro
Nuno Fonseca
Alexandra Fortes
Maria João Gamito 
Maurizio Gribaudi 
Claudio Rozzoni 
Bartholomew Ryan 
Susana Ventura
Susana Viegas

Consulting members:

Graeme Gilloch (Lancaster) 
Andrew Benjamin (Monash) 
José Miguel Rodrigues (Porto) 
Luciano Marabello (Messina)

News and activities:

28 Novembro 2018 | Conferência inaugural do projecto / Openning conference

António Guerreiro, "A gramática generativa da cidade: tipologias linguísticas, representações literárias e topografias políticas"

16h00-18h00 | Sala Multiusos 2 - Edifício I&D, piso 4 - FCSH

5-8 Dezembro 2018 | Topografias Imaginárias 5 - A cidade como estúdio / Imaginary Topographies 5 - The city-studio

Local: Arquivo Municipal de Lisboa | Videoteca
Largo do Calvário, No 2 | 1300-113 Lisboa

Organização: Arquivo Municipal de Lisboa | Videoteca

Em parceria com o projecto Fragmentação e Reconfiguração: a experiência da cidade entre arte e filosofia (PTDC/FER-FIL/32042/2017)

 + info: http://arquivomunicipal.cm-lisboa.pt/pt/eventos/topografias-imaginarias/a-cidade-como-estudio/

Janeiro - Junho 2019 | Seminário Figuras Conceptuais da Fragmentação e Reconfiguração

22 Janeiro 2019: Colecção e Memória

Maria João Gamito (FBAUL), “Colecção: quadros, caixas, vistas e nuvens”
Claudio Rozzoni (IFILNOVA), “Fotografias como fragmentos de memória? Fotos, crença, fantasia”

15h00-18h00 | Sala Multiusos 2 - Edifício I&D, piso 4 - FCSH 

Próximas sessões:

20 Fevereiro: Arquivo e Atlas
João Duarte e Nélio Conceição

21 Março: Apresentação panorâmica e Montagem 
Alexandra Fortes e Susana Duarte 

11 Abril: Cosmopolitismo e Catástrofe
Bartholomew Ryan e Gianfranco Ferraro

16 Maio: Experiência estética e Fragmento
Nuno Fonseca e Bruno Duarte

27 Junho: Ruína e Metamorfose
Maria Filomena Molder e Maurizio Gribaudi