The premises of ecological thinking

The Foundation is offering a new serie of lectures Green Soul, L’anthropocène, cultures, imaginaires, designed and led by Paul Ardenne, art historian and exhibition curator. This serie of lectures, conceived as a whole, aims to give a picture as complete as possible of the anthropocenic ‘spirit of the age’, the prodigal of the ‘Green Soul’.

#2  – The premises of ecological thinking.

When and how does ‘green consciousness’ emerge? How does ecological thinking emerge? How does it affect our minds and bodies?

The “green conscience” that emerges from the field of theoretical reflection is also an embodied conscience, intimately experienced, forged in direct contact with reality, from the moment we enter our domestic interiors and in the immediate landscape, which has become anthropocene. The best green consciousness, the most efficient, the most combative, is less intellectual than organic; it is less something of the mind than something carnal, something of the flesh.

 

Paul Ardenne has a degree in History and a doctorate in Arts and Art Sciences. He is a contributor to the journals Art press, Archistorm and INTER-Art actuel, and is the author of several books: Art, l’âge contemporain (1997), L’Art dans son moment politique (2000), L’Image Corps (2001), Un Art contextuel (2002), Art, le présent (2009), Un Art écologique. Création plasticienne et anthropocène (2018), L’Art en joie. Aesthetics of joyful humanity (2023). He is also a novelist and specialist in architecture (Terre Habitée, 2005; La Bonne ville, 2019; Le Boost et le frein – Comment l’humain bâtit au 21e siècle?, 2021…).

As a curator of contemporary art, Paul Ardenne has designed numerous exhibitions, the most recent of which are “Dendromorphies. Creating with trees” (Paris, 2016), “Courants verts. Creating for the environment” (Paris, 2019) and “L’anthropocène et après” (Saint-Denis de la Réunion, 2020). He has produced several programmes on France Culture devoted to art in the age of the Anthropocene (“L’art est l’environnement“, January 2023) and is a regular contributor to the series of programmes The World in Images, on the ARTE television channel.

This series of lectures takes place every month at the Fondation Thalie, Brussels. It has been conceived as a whole, with the aim of providing as complete a picture as possible of the anthropocenic 'spirit of the age', prodigal of the 'green soul'.


In partnership with ESA Saint-Luc Bruxelles School, Master in Social Innovation Design.