Seminario di Filosofia dell'Immagine 2016/2017: Thresholds

The traditional notion of the “threshold” between images and reality found paradigmatic expression in the myth of Narcissus. According to a version of the story, the Greek youth, being unable to distinguish between his own body and its reflection in the water, drowned while trying to reach it, literally immersing himself into his own image.

Over the very last decades, Narcissus’s legend has unpredictably become fact thanks to the technological advancements which make it possible to create pictures indistinguishable from actual reality. What was formerly an exceptional violation of the borders (elements of the picture stepping out of the frame or of the screen, or vice versa elements of reality entering the image) is now the rule. Just think, for instance, of the stunning enhancements in computer graphics and animation techniques, in the creation of immersive environments, or even in the development of humanoid robots which are becoming more and more able to naturally interact with people thanks to the progress in artificial intelligence. In a near future, the widespread diffusion of virtual reality headsets such as Oculus Rift will radicalize the paradox of an extremely mediated experience promoting a belief of immediate presence.

The seminar aims at investigating this phenomenon through a cross-disciplinary approach blending aesthetics, history of art, anthropology, cognitive science, theories of new media, as well as cinema and game studies. Attention will be paid to both the historical-genealogical sources of the concept of immersion in ancient and modern culture and the new horizons opened by the most recent technological developments.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Second Semester sessions:

Tuesday 28 March 2017 (18-19.30)
GORDON CALLEJA
University of Malta
Immersion in Digital Games

Wednesday 5 April 2017 (18-19.30)
MAURIZIO GUERRI, Accademia di Brera – Istituto Nazionale per la Storia del Movimento di Liberazione in Italia
Rimontare le immagini. Immersività e «operative images» in Harun Farocki

Tuesday 11 April 2017 (18-19.30)
NICOLA TURRINI, Università di Verona
Topologia del sogno e immersività a partire da Inception di Christopher Nolan

Wednesday 19 April 2017 (18-19.30)
CHIARA CAPPELLETTO, Università Statale di Milano
Il narciso, lo schizofrenico, l’attore

Wednesday 26 April 2017 (18-19.30)
DANIELA FERRARI, MART Rovereto
Oltre il confine della tela per entrare nell’opera

Tuesday 2 May 2017 (18-19.30)
ANTONIO SOMAINI, Université Paris 3 – Sorbonne Nouvelle
Estetiche e politiche dell’alta e della bassa definizione

Tuesday 16 May 2017 (18-19.30)
ISABELLA PASQUALINI, École Polytechnique de Lausanne
L’avatar architettonico: le origini dell’abitazione tra presenza e rappresentazione virtuale

Tuesday 23 May 2017 (18-19.30)
BARBARA GRESPI, Università di Bergamo
L’immersione stereoscopica: cinema e immagini gestuali

Tuesday 30 May 2017 (18-19.30)
VICTOR STOICHITA, Université de Freiburg
Il ritratto del sultano. Difese ottiche e dispositivi di rappresentazione fra Oriente e Occidente

Tuesday 6 June 2017 (18-19.30)
CATRIN MISSELHORN, Universität Stuttgart
Pictorial representation, imagination and the feeling of presence

Tuesday 13 June 2017 (18-19.30)
MICHELE COMETA, Università di Palermo
Profondità della superficie: note sul display nel paleolitico

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCIENTIFIC DIRECTION
Prof. Andrea Pinotti (Full Professor of Aesthetics, Università Statale di Milano).

ORGANISING COMMITTEE
Pietro Conte, PhD (Universidade de Lisboa)
Anna Caterina Dalmasso, PhD (Université Jean Moulin Lyon III / Università Statale di Milano)
Federica Cavaletti, PhD Student (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano)
Giacomo Mercuriali, PhD Student (Università Statale di Milano)

WEBSITE
filosofiadellimmagine.com

EMAIL / NEWSLETTER
seminario.immaginegmail.com

FACEBOOK
facebook.com/SeminarioFilosofiaImmagine