Modernisms and Organicism: Dialogues between Art, Philosophy and Science

At the beginning of the twentieth century, ‘life’ and ‘nature’ established themselves as all-encompassing categories. Organicism, particularly in its German variation, constituted a distinct discourse addressed to resolve the major antitheses of biological thought, such as mechanicism versus vitalism. The specificity of the biological form was recognised in its organization or in the configuration [Gestalt and Gestaltung] of elements, identifiable in every phenomenon in nature, from the smallest particles to the universe. The human being thus lost its centrality, and like other organisms constituted only a part within a complex system of relationships, to which it was intimately connected. ‘Energy’, ‘Energism’ and ‘Rhythm’ became central categories as expressions of the process of life and dimensions of time. This cluster of concepts is reflected in philosophical speculations and scientific theories. After the end of the First World War, these ideas were carried forward by intellectuals and artists, constantly updated on the debate in the sciences. The project aims to provide new insights into the understanding of organicism as an epistemological model in Modernism(s).