Touching Sustainability: Haptic Aesthetics in the World of Virtual Interfaces

Abstract

This presentation explores the problem of the haptic in contemporary art and explains why the turn toward tactile experience responds to the growing sensory deprivation of the digital age. Building on Alois Riegl’s distinction between optical and haptic perception, it emphasizes bodily empathy, fragmentation, and affective immersion as alternatives to the distanced “optical” mode of viewing. Through examples ranging from modernist experiments-such as Edith Clifford Williams-to Seth Siegelaub’s textile projects and recent exhibitions, the presentation demonstrates that the desire for tactility has become a crucial means of restoring authenticity and direct contact between artwork and viewer.