@article{ART003213767},
author={Yu HyunJu},
title={The Terrain of Ecological Art from the Perspective of Actor Network Theory: Focusing on the Concepts of Gaia and System},
journal={Journal of History of Modern Art},
issn={1598-7728},
year={2025},
number={57},
pages={155-178}
TY - JOUR
AU - Yu HyunJu
TI - The Terrain of Ecological Art from the Perspective of Actor Network Theory: Focusing on the Concepts of Gaia and System
JO - Journal of History of Modern Art
PY - 2025
VL - null
IS - 57
PB - 현대미술사학회
SP - 155
EP - 178
SN - 1598-7728
AB - This study aims to explore emerging conceptions of nature in ecological art to map its terrain through the lens of actor-network theory (ANT). For its methodological framework, the paper draws on Bruno Latour’s concept of Gaia and his notion of the politics of nature to explore Land Art, understood as an early form of ecological art in which nature itself first emerged as a subject of artistic practice. To this end, the study examines the practices of Land Art, in which artists broke away from institutional frameworks and engaged directly with natural environments and materials. These practices marked a shift in artistic perception—one informed by systems thinking that understands all entities on Earth as interdependent systems—thereby initiating a planetary, systemic view of nature within the field of art. Systems thinking, along with artistic practices reflecting this worldview, has contributed to the visualization of previously unseen structures in natural, environmental, and social systems. Such visualization may be understood, in ANT terms, as the subjectification of non-human actors. In this context, the ecological systems-based art of Hans Haacke, followed by the work of Tue Greenfort, exemplifies a form of ecological art that issues political-ecological statements about climate change and broader social systems. In conclusion, contemporary ecological art increasingly shares a Gaia-informed perspective that views nature not as a romanticized landscape or mere object of preservation, but as an active agent. It constitutes a genre that approaches ecological crises within political, economic, and social contexts and forms a new paradigm of ecological art grounded in political ecology.
KW - Gaia;land art;ecological art;system;nature;political ecology;Actor Network Theory
DO -
UR -
ER -
Yu HyunJu. (2025). The Terrain of Ecological Art from the Perspective of Actor Network Theory: Focusing on the Concepts of Gaia and System. Journal of History of Modern Art, 57, 155-178.
Yu HyunJu. 2025, "The Terrain of Ecological Art from the Perspective of Actor Network Theory: Focusing on the Concepts of Gaia and System", Journal of History of Modern Art, no.57, pp.155-178.
Yu HyunJu "The Terrain of Ecological Art from the Perspective of Actor Network Theory: Focusing on the Concepts of Gaia and System" Journal of History of Modern Art 57 pp.155-178 (2025) : 155.
Yu HyunJu. The Terrain of Ecological Art from the Perspective of Actor Network Theory: Focusing on the Concepts of Gaia and System. 2025; 57 : 155-178.
Yu HyunJu. "The Terrain of Ecological Art from the Perspective of Actor Network Theory: Focusing on the Concepts of Gaia and System" Journal of History of Modern Art no.57(2025) : 155-178.
Yu HyunJu. The Terrain of Ecological Art from the Perspective of Actor Network Theory: Focusing on the Concepts of Gaia and System. Journal of History of Modern Art, 57, 155-178.
Yu HyunJu. The Terrain of Ecological Art from the Perspective of Actor Network Theory: Focusing on the Concepts of Gaia and System. Journal of History of Modern Art. 2025; 57 155-178.
Yu HyunJu. The Terrain of Ecological Art from the Perspective of Actor Network Theory: Focusing on the Concepts of Gaia and System. 2025; 57 : 155-178.
Yu HyunJu. "The Terrain of Ecological Art from the Perspective of Actor Network Theory: Focusing on the Concepts of Gaia and System" Journal of History of Modern Art no.57(2025) : 155-178.
