"Art and the Disappearing Body": Bret W. Davis with Brad Evans and Chantal Meza
The “State of Disappearance” series asks urgent questions about extreme violence, the normalization of human vanishing, state and ideological complicity, and memorialization, along with wider concerns about what it means to be human in the twenty-first century. Political philosopher Brad Evans and abstract painter Chantal Meza are joined by a series of guests to explore the states of disappearance into which life is continually thrown.
In this opening event of the series, renowned philosopher Bret W. Davis speaks on the relationship between art and the bodies that are forcibly disappeared. The conversation explores the philosophical question of nothingness, what memorialisation in the face of human absence looks like, and what role art can play in recovering the human.
This conversation is part of the ongoing State of Disappearance project: https://www.historiesofviolence.com/stateofdisappearance
Bret W. Davis is Professor and T. J. Higgins, S.J. Chair in Philosophy at Loyola University Maryland. His research focuses on East Asian philosophy and religion (especially Zen Buddhism), modern Japanese philosophy (especially the Kyoto School), Continental philosophy (especially Heidegger), cross-cultural philosophy, and comparative philosophy of religion. His latest book Zen Pathways: An Introduction to the Philosophy and Practice of Zen Buddhism was published by Oxford University Press.
Academic Homepage: https://www.loyola.edu/academics/philosophy/faculty/davis
Public Writing: https://www.thephilosopher1923.org/post/nothing-matters
Brad Evans is a political philosopher, critical theorist, and writer whose work focuses on the problem of violence. He is the author of twenty books and edited volumes, along with over a hundred and fifty academic and international media articles. He is the founding director of the Centre for the Study of Violence and holds a Chair in Political Violence & Aesthetics at the University of Bath.
Website: https://www.brad-evans.co.uk
Chantal Meza is a self-taught abstract painter living and working in the United Kingdom. Her works have been exhibited in more than 30 group and individual exhibitions in prominent museums and galleries in Mexico, Paraguay, and the United Kingdom.
Website: https://www.chantal-meza.com
