Contingent Agencies

Contingent Agencies is an artistic research project initiated by Alex Arteaga and Nikolaus Gansterer. It is dedicated to the dynamic relationship between human and nonhuman forces as conditions for the emergence of atmospheres. The cross-disciplinary investigation utilizes practices of notating, reflecting, showing, and sharing that are employed in different media and within different theoretical contexts such as phenomenology, enactivism, and new materialism. This book, which is supplemented by an extensive online archive, contains numerous research artifacts such as texts, drawings, photo series, diagrams, sound recordings, and video stills and is intended as an invitation to a wider community to participate in this investigation.

Alex Arteaga (*1969, Barcelona) is an artist researcher who combines aesthetic, phenomenological, and enactivist research practices through an inquiry into embodiments, environments, and aesthetic thinking. He is currently pursuing his research at the University of the Arts Helsinki.

Nikolaus Gansterer (*1974, Vienna) is an artist who explores the interrelationships between drawing, thinking and acting in his work. He teaches at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and is internationally active with performances, exhibitions and lectures.