Artworks as agential forces: a new materialist discourse on the aesthetics

Abstract

This research explores artworks as agential forces through New Materialism, challenging traditional anthropocentric perspectives by recognizing materials’ active roles in artmaking. Grounded in theories by Merleau-Ponty, Karen Barad, and Jane Bennett, it redefines materiality as co-constitutive of art, emphasizing the interconnected agency between artist and material. Utilizing a diffractive methodology inspired by Barad, the study navigates material-discursive entanglements, highlighting how artworks enact dynamic interplays of forces. This approach not only enriches the creative process but also foregrounds art’s potential to engage with socio-cultural and ecological dimensions, advocating for a post-anthropocentric creative paradigm. The findings advocate for recognizing materials’ agential capacities within art practices, suggesting a shift towards inclusive narratives that underscore the ethical implications of our material engagements. By reimagining art’s agency, this study contributes to the discourse on New Materialism, proposing an aesthetics that embraces the interconnectedness of human and non-human actors, thereby offering new insights into the transformative potentials of art in contemporary challenges.