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Visionary art and the limits of social constructivism

This paper proposed and applied a post-constructivist methodology comprising three levels: spatial dynamics, mediated interface, and manifest presence. By focusing on the topology of presence (instead of the search for meaning) – analysing recursive fractals, non-orientable surfaces, and vectorial agency – this framework provides a vocabulary for articulating the unique visual characteristics of visionary art. It acknowledges the layered ontology of this emerging genre: these images are cultural products embedded within specific technologies and social milieus, while simultaneously pointing toward realities that participants describe as beyond the human. The spatial logic is the clearest indicator of the agency of the non-human element. This framework refrains from reducing visionary art to metaphor or representation alone, recognising that such images may operate as inscriptions of otherworldly experiences and forces. They foreground spatiality as a key site of epistemic investigation, offering a methodological pathway that resists anthropocentric reduction while maintaining analytical rigour.

Between Science Communication and Political Mobilisation

By treating tactical media art formats as a mere “toolkit” to be copied without conceptual grounding, the activists created hollow symbols. Similarly to how the ‘sad polar bear’ simplifies and depoliticises the issue of climate change (Doyle 2011),  the “cutified” frankencorn and the rest of the symbols were visually engaging but lacked the deep, critical resonance that could have protected them from political appropriation. Because the symbols were not anchored in a coherent artistic or philosophical vision, they were easily detached from the green movement by their opponents. This demonstrates that when political actors misuse artistic formats, they risk creating politically unstable messages that can ultimately undermine their own goals.

My findings could be relevant not only to science communicators but to policymakers and legislators also. Unlike artists, political movements stake claims for power, and yet through such media as described they can relegate their activity outside the domain of politics, whilst still having a political impact, however botched in my case.