Monograph 'Visceral Aesthetics: Affects and Feminist Art in Post-Socialism' Released

On September 10, the launch celebration of the monograph 'Visceral Aesthetics: Affects and Feminist Art in Post-Socialism' by Jana Kukaine, lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences, took place at the RSU Anatomy Museum.

The event was attended by university representatives, current and former students, as well as guests from other academic institutions, cultural and art centres.

During the celebration, guests enjoyed both a performative reading of the book and a rendition of Femininity (2022) by Evija Skuķe, performed by musicians Lelde Tīrele and Gunta Gelgote. The space was enhanced by installations and objects created by artist Laimdota Malle, which added a special atmosphere. The thoughtfully designed program integrated various elements of contemporary culture, highlighting the mutually enriching connection between art and research.

As part of the event, the book’s author J. Kukaine received recognition from representatives of RSU and the University of Latvia, as well as attention and interest from readers. In outlining the process, concept, and outcomes of the monograph, the researcher also presented the continuation of the ideas developed in the book, now pursued in her postdoctoral grant project 'Plant Agency and Contemporary Art: Sustainable Relations with the More-than-Human World'.

In the Western cultural imagination, plants and women have been assigned strikingly similar qualities. Analyzing this parallel through the lens of visceral aesthetics in Latvian contemporary art allows for a reassessment of conventional definitional boundaries and the formulation of principles for cultural creativity and societal transformation. Within the framework of the grant, the researcher strengthens and simultaneously expands her theoretical position by including the more-than-human world.