THE EMERGENCE OF THINGS
STUK arts centre Leuven
The Emergence of Things brings together some 20 artists who
investigate the fundamental components or ‘elementary particles’ of media,
technology and their production processes. Like anatomical surgeons or
archaeologists, they dissect our everyday instruments and image production.
Some artists approach the theme from the social or political implications
of certain ‘tools’ and the power structures that are interwoven with them.
Others have a more structural and conceptual working method. These artists
focus not on the content, but on the infrastructures and production
standards of diverse media. They reveal a strong engagement in fathoming
the depths of these microstructures, material attributes and
mechanisms.
‘Imploding’ technology and media are here separated from their original
objectives. They fold, as it were, back onto themselves. By way of
fragmented investigations they look for knowledge about how they work.
Often, they involve a return to basics and a challenge to find alternative
uses.
The word ‘emergence’ primarily refers to ‘the appearance’ of something or
its ‘rising to the surface’. In the sciences and philosophy, however, it
can also have a more profound meaning. It is a term for complex systems and
patterns that originate from a multiplicity of small, relatively simple
interactions and procedures. Characteristics come into being which are not
visible or present in the underlying components or levels. The whole is
more than the sum of the parts.
Artefact is initiated by provincie Vlaams-Brabant and STUK arts centre