Philosophy for Artists is an experimental philosophy-studio course investigating the concept of utopia and related ideas—including wilderness, frontier, and outer space—through a mixture of philosophical readings and creative assignments. It was taught at SCI-Arc during the Spring 2025 semester. A shorter six-week version was taught online through Index Space from April to May, 2025.
The aim of this course is to explore different ways of approaching both philosophy and artistic production, presenting philosophy as a tool for artistic production and art as a tool for thought. How might philosophy’s ability to reorient our understanding of the world inspire new visual and sonic projects? And in turn, how might the making of these projects and subsequent reflection develop our understanding of these philosophical texts?
The course is constructed around a core set of readings:
Using these readings as a starting point, the class begins with the following questions: what do we mean by utopia? Why do concepts that articulate geographically distinct places so often associate these places with distinct psychic and epistemic qualities? How are our conceptions of these spaces tied to our longing for a new city, a new life, even a new body?
Informed by these readings and questions, participants are prompted to create a series of visual and audio projects aimed at exploring and challenging our understanding of place and our relation to it.
| 0 | ............................ |
Introduction |
| 1 | ............................ |
Utopia |
| 2 | ............................ |
The War Machine |
| 3 | ............................ |
The City |
| 4 | ............................ |
Wilderness |
| 5 | ............................ |
Desert |
| 6 | ............................ |
Space |
| 7 | ............................ |
Bibliography |