Category of the Natural

[Alan Sondheim]

Category of the Natural


The natural here and there and in-between. Since post-structuralism (if
not earlier), the natural is always coupled with re/mediation. In any
case, to date I've taken about 1800 digital pictures; I went through them,
retrieving the 'natural' - 513 frames - and stacking them in a video.
Consider this the gestalt (personal, structural) of the concept. No longer
'natural,' the 'natural' requires redefining for political-environmental
reasons. This process is constant; too much is at stake to allow the
'natural,' and its related terms 'wilderness,' 'environment,' etc. - to
disappear into a deconstruction in which human stewardship is given the
primary role (in relation to the interiority of the in-itself); beyond
use/exchange value, consider the value of valuelessness, releasement..
Simplistic as this sounds, without this continuous requesting,
re-examination, what is left of the world's wild places will disappear,
replaced by waste populated only by a few generalists and ravaging humans.

http://www.asondheim.org/categoryofthenatural.mov

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