Rearranging the Universe - The Enduring Spell of Curiosity Cabinets

Explore the enduring fascination with Cabinets of Curiosities in this lecture by art historian Giovanni Aloi, examining how these early modern collections of rare, exotic, and enigmatic objects continue to influence contemporary art practices. Trace the origins of these "Wunderkammern" as intricate systems of knowledge-making that blurred boundaries between art, nature, science, and spirituality, moving beyond simple displays of wealth or conquest to become precursors of the modern museum. Discover how the desire to categorize, possess, and marvel at objects sought to map the wonder and vastness of the universe in miniature, and understand how this collecting impulse persists today from artists' studios to digital platforms. Examine the cabinet as a metaphor for fragmented and reconfigured knowledges, curated identities, and humanity's longing to impose order on chaos. Uncover the genealogy of collecting alongside its emotional, aesthetic, and existential appeal in our increasingly complex and uncertain world, gaining insights from a specialist in the representation of nature in art and editor of Antennae: The Journal of Nature in Visual Culture.