COORDINATES OF AESTHETICS, ART AND CULTURE X
Digital media, internet and AI
in contemporary aesthetics, art practice and art theory
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION
International Scientific Conference
University of Presov | Faculty of Arts | Institute of Aesthetics and Art Culture | Society for Aesthetics in Slovakia
COORDINATES OF AESTHETICS, ART AND CULTURE X
Digital media, internet and AR / VR / AI
in contemporary aesthetics, art practice and art theory
November 13 and 14, 2025
Slovakia, Prešov, University of Prešov
Walter Benjamin, in his famous essay The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technical Reproducibility (1936), less than a century after the appearance of photography, questioned its (potential) legitimacy as an art form. The camera had become "merely" a tool for recording reality, which, according to Benjamin, did not require the creativity of the artist. In Arthur Danto's (1984) terms, it was the culmination of a progressively understood artistic endeavour, and the mimetic recording of reality as the goal of artistic representation of reality took a back seat as man was 'overtaken' by the machine. The situation of the questioning of authors' competences and abilities caused by the intervention of new technologies in the creative process is symptomatic of the entire 20th century and the present. Equally symptomatic are the current critical attitudes ranging from the adoration of technology to dystopian visions of the demise of the "human artist".
Since the beginning of the 21st century, computation, data analysis, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality (henceforth AR / VR / AI) have been progressively integrated, or even invaded into the aesthetic and artistic spheres. The transformation of mass media in the 20th century is taking place in three fundamental movements: the shift to digital code, the interconnection of the 'whole world' in the online space, and finally the penetration of AR / VR / AI tools into everyday user accessibility, including in the form of generative AI tools. The movement towards online space at the level of aesthetics has established a standard for a new way of communicating through multimedia documents that combine different media such as text, photography, video, graphics and sound. At the level of distribution, the Web has (at least in theory) abolished the distinction between mass distribution, which was once associated with mass culture, and limited distribution, which was more likely reserved for small subcultures and the art system (Manovich 2001).
The fluid partnership between the digital (multi)media available on the internet, the tools of AR / VR / AI, and the sphere of art in its historical and contemporary forms has given rise to many notions, terms, and categories: e.g., post-digital culture, post-media aesthetics, virtual and augmented reality, immersive media, generative media, generative art, and many others. This new terminology calls for a professional discussion space to articulate the current state of media, which is felt as a radically transformative or even "seismic shift" in the field of aesthetics and art.
The above ideas frame the focus of the forthcoming scientific conference and point towards a fundamental question: should we view AR / VR / AI as new tools or medium of creation, or as a different ontic and ontological realities? Artificial intelligence will not be seen here as a concept covering all the problems and research questions of the conference, but as a reality that is a possible result of human efforts to understand and represent real realities, as a result of the technical mediation of the creative process.
The aim of the conference is to map and share existing approaches within the expertise of the invited experts. The outcome of the event should be a differentiation of approaches to the "(artistic and aesthetic) reality" generated by artificial intelligence; to new, virtually emerging worlds, to the products of AR / VR /AI activity that significantly intervene and reshape the aesthetic space and the perception of the subject. The conference focuses on the broader aesthetic, philosophical, art-theoretical and art-educational issues that the named situation problematizes, opening up space for a possible rethinking of traditional theoretical concepts.
Within the conference theme, we will accept papers that profile themselves under the following headings:
Important dates
Conference fee
Conference Scientific Committee
Prof. PaedDr. Slávka Kopčáková, PhD. / University of Prešov, Slovakia
Prof. PhDr. Peter Michalovič, Csc. / Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
Prof. PhDr. Marian Zervan, PhD. / Academy of Fine Art and Design, Bratislava, Slovakia
Assoc. prof. Lisa Giombini, / University of Roma Tre, Rome, Italy
Doc. Mgr. Eva Kušnírová, PhD. / University of Prešov, Slovakia
Doc. Mgr. Peter Kyslan, PhD. / University of Prešov, Slovakia
Dr. Piotr Olkusz / University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland
Conference Organisational Committee / members of IAAC (University of Prešov, Faculty of Arts)
Doc. Mgr. Adrián Kvokačka, PhD.
Doc. Mgr. Lukáš Makky, PhD.
Doc. PhDr. Zuzana Slušná, PhD.
Doc. Mgr. Jana Migašová, PhD.
Mgr. Terézia Poláková
Please direct any questions to: [email protected]
Download or share the application form.
For further information, please visit our website: https://suradniceestetiky.weebly.com
Follow us at social media: https://www.unipo.sk/filozoficka-fakulta/ieuk/
International Scientific Conference
University of Presov | Faculty of Arts | Institute of Aesthetics and Art Culture | Society for Aesthetics in Slovakia
COORDINATES OF AESTHETICS, ART AND CULTURE X
Digital media, internet and AR / VR / AI
in contemporary aesthetics, art practice and art theory
November 13 and 14, 2025
Slovakia, Prešov, University of Prešov
Walter Benjamin, in his famous essay The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technical Reproducibility (1936), less than a century after the appearance of photography, questioned its (potential) legitimacy as an art form. The camera had become "merely" a tool for recording reality, which, according to Benjamin, did not require the creativity of the artist. In Arthur Danto's (1984) terms, it was the culmination of a progressively understood artistic endeavour, and the mimetic recording of reality as the goal of artistic representation of reality took a back seat as man was 'overtaken' by the machine. The situation of the questioning of authors' competences and abilities caused by the intervention of new technologies in the creative process is symptomatic of the entire 20th century and the present. Equally symptomatic are the current critical attitudes ranging from the adoration of technology to dystopian visions of the demise of the "human artist".
Since the beginning of the 21st century, computation, data analysis, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality (henceforth AR / VR / AI) have been progressively integrated, or even invaded into the aesthetic and artistic spheres. The transformation of mass media in the 20th century is taking place in three fundamental movements: the shift to digital code, the interconnection of the 'whole world' in the online space, and finally the penetration of AR / VR / AI tools into everyday user accessibility, including in the form of generative AI tools. The movement towards online space at the level of aesthetics has established a standard for a new way of communicating through multimedia documents that combine different media such as text, photography, video, graphics and sound. At the level of distribution, the Web has (at least in theory) abolished the distinction between mass distribution, which was once associated with mass culture, and limited distribution, which was more likely reserved for small subcultures and the art system (Manovich 2001).
The fluid partnership between the digital (multi)media available on the internet, the tools of AR / VR / AI, and the sphere of art in its historical and contemporary forms has given rise to many notions, terms, and categories: e.g., post-digital culture, post-media aesthetics, virtual and augmented reality, immersive media, generative media, generative art, and many others. This new terminology calls for a professional discussion space to articulate the current state of media, which is felt as a radically transformative or even "seismic shift" in the field of aesthetics and art.
The above ideas frame the focus of the forthcoming scientific conference and point towards a fundamental question: should we view AR / VR / AI as new tools or medium of creation, or as a different ontic and ontological realities? Artificial intelligence will not be seen here as a concept covering all the problems and research questions of the conference, but as a reality that is a possible result of human efforts to understand and represent real realities, as a result of the technical mediation of the creative process.
The aim of the conference is to map and share existing approaches within the expertise of the invited experts. The outcome of the event should be a differentiation of approaches to the "(artistic and aesthetic) reality" generated by artificial intelligence; to new, virtually emerging worlds, to the products of AR / VR /AI activity that significantly intervene and reshape the aesthetic space and the perception of the subject. The conference focuses on the broader aesthetic, philosophical, art-theoretical and art-educational issues that the named situation problematizes, opening up space for a possible rethinking of traditional theoretical concepts.
Within the conference theme, we will accept papers that profile themselves under the following headings:
- The digital medium and the Internet as a determining factor of artistic creation;
- Reconstruction of the concept of art and categorization of the new artifactuality;
- Aesthetics of computer interfaces and interfaces of contemporary smart-devices;
- Author-work-recipient in the AR / VR / AI era;
- Case studies: reflections on specific artistic realizations and strategies operating with AR / VR / AI tools;
- Issues of creativity, authenticity and originality in the AR / VR / AI era;
- AR / VR / AI vs. / and art institutions (current challenges for curating, art mediation, gallery education and related professional spheres);
- Art, aesthetics, education and critical thinking in relation to AR / VR / AI tools.
Important dates
- Submission of applications by August 31, 2025. Please send applications to the address: [email protected]. (All submitted abstracts will be reviewed by the conference's scientific committee.)
- Confirmation of acceptance will be sent no later than September 21, 2025.
- Conference paper payment by October 31, 2025.
- Acceptance of papers for publication - until December 14, 2025.
Conference fee
- Conference fee: 50 €;
- PhD. students: 30 €;
- Society for Aesthetics in Slovakia (SPES) members: 30 €.
Conference Scientific Committee
Prof. PaedDr. Slávka Kopčáková, PhD. / University of Prešov, Slovakia
Prof. PhDr. Peter Michalovič, Csc. / Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
Prof. PhDr. Marian Zervan, PhD. / Academy of Fine Art and Design, Bratislava, Slovakia
Assoc. prof. Lisa Giombini, / University of Roma Tre, Rome, Italy
Doc. Mgr. Eva Kušnírová, PhD. / University of Prešov, Slovakia
Doc. Mgr. Peter Kyslan, PhD. / University of Prešov, Slovakia
Dr. Piotr Olkusz / University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland
Conference Organisational Committee / members of IAAC (University of Prešov, Faculty of Arts)
Doc. Mgr. Adrián Kvokačka, PhD.
Doc. Mgr. Lukáš Makky, PhD.
Doc. PhDr. Zuzana Slušná, PhD.
Doc. Mgr. Jana Migašová, PhD.
Mgr. Terézia Poláková
Please direct any questions to: [email protected]
Download or share the application form.
For further information, please visit our website: https://suradniceestetiky.weebly.com
Follow us at social media: https://www.unipo.sk/filozoficka-fakulta/ieuk/
