The view from above is a mediated perspective in multiple ways. Technologies of the air have become increasingly complex and diverse: airplanes and drones, but also satellites and spacecraft make climate-monitoring devices and observational tools extend our gaze far beyond the limits of our atmosphere. These technologies are not only part of but also fundamentally condition the aesthetics of contemporary aerial visions.
The so-called Aerial Spatial Revolution has undeniably had pivotal political, economic, and social im-plications. Inextricably linked to these, however, is also a profound transformation of human perception and sensibility. The multi-layered mediations between sensing instruments “revoluting” the Earth generate not only a vast amount of data shaping the aerial view, but also recalibrate how we perceive the planet on and from the ground.
The view from above––an experience that for millennia had been merely imagined, used as a meta-phor or as a symbolic device––has finally become possible, and technology now allows us to experi-ment with unprecedented sensory perspectives. Images of space—and from space—have radically transformed our perception of our place in the cosmos; meanwhile, everyday life in industrialized societies unfolds within environments made possible only through an interaction between the horizontal and the vertical dimensions.
The conference AeroVisions. Aesthetics of Air and the View from Above will address these themes by fostering an interdisciplinary dialogue at the intersection of philosophy, art history, media theory, and science and technology studies. The event will offer four intensive days of talks, discussions, and ex-changes among scholars from different generations, traditions, and disciplines.
The conference is part of the Summer School AeroSpaces. Spatial Practices in Architecture and Urbanism
Cuneo, August 31–September 6, 2026
See more info: https://aerialspatialrevolution.ch/aerospaces
