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Abstract: In order to develop new symbiotic relationships and different imaginaries, it is first necessary to critically restructure the representations of forms of cooperation, which in their positive, desired version usually represent a certain romantic idea of nature and human, and the possibilities for a harmonious model and holistic structure of reality. This can be seen in both eco art and activist ecological agendas, which often play on feelings of harmony and mutual reciprocity, and actually further contribute to a distorted and extremely one-dimensional image of reality. Using the concepts of conviviality and cosmpolitics, the article aims to offer new concepts of symbiosis and symbiotic futures that face today's process of defuturing. The second point of the article is to develop a convincing and solid alternative to the neoliberal view of market-driven models based on competencies and the logic of growth. Therefore, the actual task for disruptive avant-garde art of today should be understood as the decolonization of our imaginaries that perceive nature through the logic of growth and the harmonious model in the direction of shaping post-growth imaginaries for symbiotic futures.
Keywords: imaginary, conviviality, symbiosis, cosmopolitics, defuturing, posthumanities, intermedia art
Published in RUNG: 02.07.2024; Views: 938; Downloads: 6
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Abstract: In this presentation I will focus on the case of the Armenian diaspora of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, describing specific mechanisms of maintenance and reproduction of identitary memory connected to the symbolic use of the community’s language and alphabet made by both cultural elites and individuals. Armenian language and alphabet are functional to the promotion of a particular type of memory, which makes the experience of the diaspora 'transnational' and 'transtemporal' at one time, challenging conventional concepts of belonging based on territoriality. In particular, by virtue of its emotional content linked to a history of distinctiveness, the alphabet becomes part of a process of collective representation, as a key symbol nourishing the links with the spiritual and cultural heritage of the historical Armenian Motherland. The latter can be considered an 'Imaginary Homeland': not corresponding to the restricted borders of contemporary Republic of Armenia, it has acquired a 'mythical value' which constitutes integral part of an emotional geography of the diaspora. Although most members of the community do not have a command of the Armenian language, its alphabet appears to be an essential tool in a process of symbolic cultivation of collective imaginary by virtue of the specific “ethno-history” it contains, and expands its role beyond the technical one becoming an object, a decoration and a distinctive sign displaying identitary memory.
Keywords: Armenian Alphabet, Armenian Diaspora, Bulgarian Armenians, Imaginary Homeland, Symbolic Cultivation
Published in RUNG: 04.01.2021; Views: 2992; Downloads: 0
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