Life Is Other : A/Biotic Entanglements in Art and Curating

Between animate and inanimate matter

This book presents artistic and theoretical positions that deal with the dynamics of and points of transition between animate and inanimate matter. Following on from the exhibition Holobiont: Life Is Other (Bregenz/Vienna, 2021/2022), it explores how art, philosophy, and the technological sciences destabilize and expand the concept of living things. How do biological entities, machines, media, architectures, networks develop symbiotically in the context of biotechnological possibilities and ecological challenges?

The Holobiont theory of biologist Lynn Margulis opens up new perspectives on life as a cooperative, holistic system: The “other” is not assimilated, integrated; instead it is preserved in its unavailability and peculiarity as new connections emerge.

• Selection of current artistic works on a/biotic processes
• Contextualization by contemporary theorists and artists
• Contributions by Bruno Clarke, Monika Bakke, Eduardo Kac, Dorion Sagan, Astrid Schrader, Paul Vanouse, and others

Lucie Strecker, Univ. f. angew. Kunst Wien

Thomas Feuerstein, Kunsthist., Philosoph

Jens Hauser, Kurator, Medien-/Kunstwissenschaftler

Lucie Strecker, University of Applied Arts Vienna

Thomas Feuerstein, art historian, philosopher

Jens Hauser, curator, media/art scholar