Inhabiting the Environment through Art: the work of Dan Graham and Olafur Eliasson in Inhotim Institute as Instances of Environmental Aesthetics

This thesis examines the role of the environment in the artworks of Dan Graham and Olafur Eliasson in Inhotim Institute of Contemporary Art and Botanical Gardens, in Brazil. This is done from the perspective of Environmental Aesthetics, which is the theoretical frame that allows the consideration of the environment not only as a subject matter for contemporary art. Rather, the important contributions of philosopher Arnold Berleant and Allen Carlson in the field, acknowledge our understanding and engagement with the environment as intrinsic elements of the aesthetic experience. Therefore, this thesis looks not only to the materiality of Dan Graham’s Bisected triangle, Interior curve (2002), and Olafur Eliasson’s Viewing Machine (2001-2003). It also sees the constitution of the relationship between the viewer, the artworks and the environment in Inhotim Institute as constituent parts of how we perceive them. By emphasizing the active relationality in/with the environment, the scope of...Show moreThis thesis examines the role of the environment in the artworks of Dan Graham and Olafur Eliasson in Inhotim Institute of Contemporary Art and Botanical Gardens, in Brazil. This is done from the perspective of Environmental Aesthetics, which is the theoretical frame that allows the consideration of the environment not only as a subject matter for contemporary art. Rather, the important contributions of philosopher Arnold Berleant and Allen Carlson in the field, acknowledge our understanding and engagement with the environment as intrinsic elements of the aesthetic experience. Therefore, this thesis looks not only to the materiality of Dan Graham’s Bisected triangle, Interior curve (2002), and Olafur Eliasson’s Viewing Machine (2001-2003). It also sees the constitution of the relationship between the viewer, the artworks and the environment in Inhotim Institute as constituent parts of how we perceive them. By emphasizing the active relationality in/with the environment, the scope of this research is extended beyond the traditional foundations of aesthetics as, for instance, the idea of the contemplation of a landscape, the subjectivity of the viewer, and the pleasure associated with beauty. Finally, this thesis shows that when perceiving natural environments in relation to art we are invited to enter a space in which our perception is always in movement between our cultural beliefs, the environmental conditions that affect us and the artwork. In engaging in/with the environment in the aesthetic experience, Dan Graham and Olafur Eliasson offer us ways of disrupting our accustomed view, enlarging our experience in the world, and bringing art closer to the everyday life.Show less

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Inhabiting the Environment through Art: the work of Dan Graham and Olafur Eliasson in Inhotim Institute as Instances of Environmental Aesthetics