Abstract (short paper)

Keywords: Ecology, Mexico, art, science, sound, Ariel Guzik, sentience, Nereida, Sea of Cortez, Art History

This essay addresses sentience as engagement with sensorial immediacy with the non-human through the work of Mexican artist, Ariel Guzik. It discusses one of his sonic machines, Nereida, as an example of the overall focus of his overall practice, which interrelates the denaturalization of science with broader decolonization processes in ecology, and in particular concerning the degradation of oceanic environments in Mexico. From this perspective, the author argues for expanding art historical scholarship by engaging artistic practices, which like Guzik’s focus on critiques of science, as an integral part of contemporary ecological practices in global art, social movements, and indigenous thought.

• Claudia Costa Pederson holds a Ph.D in Art History and Visual Studies from Cornell University, USA. Her work has appeared in journals and edited volumes, including The Philosophy of Documentary Film, Indie Reframed: Women Filmmakers and Contemporary American Cinema, Cinema em Redes: Tecnologia, Estetica e Politica na Era Digital, and Latin American Modernisms and Technology. Her book, Gaming Utopia, Ludic Worlds in Art, Design, and Media is forthcoming from Indiana University Press in the Spring of 2021. Pederson is Associate Professor of Art History at Wichita State University, and curator of new media for the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, at Ithaca College.