Geo-Aesthetics at UNAM

UNAM’s Humanities Coordinator, Guadalupe Valencia García, stated that the topic was attractive to those interested in the interdisciplinary links between the sciences, humanities and the arts, as well as to those interested in global climate change, the carbon footprint and the spread of human infection in the so-called Anthropocene.

He pointed out that the meeting was essential for establishing dialogues on this modern concept and the aspects surrounding it, in addition to providing us with new tools for future studies of a topic that interests us all.

The symposium included an exhibition also called STRATUM, by Luis Carrera Mall, curated by Peter Krieger, member of the Institute for Aesthetic Research (IIE), based at the University Museum of Science and Art (MUCA), which gave up the space in order to contribute to the project of aesthetic intervention, experimentation and research through Antimatter coupling.

Through innovative scientific-technical proposals, such as the synthesis of STRATUM, we can appreciate how natural life overlaps without direct human intervention and lays its vital foundations on seemingly impossible materials, such as Styrofoam or ceramics. These objects are key to finding elements of a vibrant aesthetic such as those suggested by the artist.

Valencia Garcia noted that research work is not complete without the analysis of specialists who compare theories with results. Hence the importance of this seminar.

Speaking, the Director of the School of Architecture, Juan Ignacio del Quito, considered this exhibition to have an educational and academic approach to generating activities, such as this seminar which had an attractive programme.

The following experts shared, among others: Carles Canet, of the Geophysics Institute, who noted geological landscapes and their importance in estimating Earth sciences; Jose Luis Mateos of the Institute of Physics addressed the sciences of complexity and art. Artist Georg Steinmann, of Berne, Switzerland, introduced the theme of Anthropocene aesthetics.

Meanwhile, Angelica Velázquez Guadarrama, Director of the Institute of International Education, highlighted the intervention of professionals in art history, geophysics, soil science and complexity sciences, as well as a concert performance by Julio Estrada, who is also a member of the entity under his responsibility.

It is important to learn about the creative processes, i.e. what the artist does, how he envisions the production of the work, what he achieves to produce it and what they mean (materials, symbols, etc.), said Mauricio de Jesus Juárez Cervin, director of the College of Art and Design.

He said that we must learn to move from one field of knowledge to another, techniques, strategies, and materials, because it will help us to be better researchers, students and individuals, and thus, to have a better planet.

He pointed out that Geographical Aesthetics is a new line of research established by Peter Krieger, of the IIE, which explained that aesthetics is not cosmetics or a standard definition of beauty, but rather sensory perception. “We investigated the discursive effect of the image.”

The topic of the symposium and installation is the aesthetics of the Anthropocene, an informal category of geology, in which man emerges as a geological force. STRATUM is a geo-aesthetic intervention “and this combination is a bit surprising.”

Geology and aesthetics have common conceptual and disciplinary roots in the nineteenth century. Both are historical, and they describe and classify their things. In the case of geomorphology, from the object, they perform the interpretation of the history of the Earth and art, based on the cultural capabilities of man.

Naturalist, humanist, and explorer, Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), stated that he is more modern than ever with his concept of linking scientific inquiry to measurements and an aesthetic understanding of landscapes.

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