Feminist Yeni Materyalizm Bağlamında Sanatta Beden ve Nesne Dolanıklığı

Abstract

This theoretical and practice-based art research report, titled "The Entanglement of Body and Object in Art in the Framework of Feminist New Materialism,” focuses primarily on artworks that foreground the interaction between body and object within various art practices. It seeks to interrogate the ontological dimensions of the entanglement resulting from this interaction. Contemporary art practices, particularly works from the 20th and 21st centuries, that make this interaction visible are analyzed in connection with contemporary feminist theories.

In contrast to the concept of the embodied subject in historical materialism, new materialism revisits the concept of "matter," allowing for a reevaluation of the material dimensions of art objects. Within this framework, the concept of "matter," which lies at the core of new materialism, is observed to move beyond its traditional philosophical definitions in the 21st century, emerging as a continuously transforming and intra-active structure. This perspective highlights how matter gains a performative (meaning generating) character, not only in philosophy and social sciences but also in various fields, including artistic practices.

Moreover, feminist new materialism does not disregard the construction of gender; rather, it interrogates the roles that bodies, spaces, and material conditions play in this construction process. This approach, which considers the body in an entangled and interdependent manner, also demonstrates that the art object is not merely a passive tool but an active agent that co-produces meaning in relation to its surroundings. By doing so, it challenges the traditional notion of the art object as a static entity and repositions it as a dynamic participant within its environment.

Ultimately, this study examines the formal and conceptual possibilities of art through the entanglement of body and object, observing how this interconnection manifests in the processes of gendered embodiment. By adopting a feminist new materialist perspective, it aims to offer new theoretical and practical insights into the field of art.