Art Practice for Sustainability: A Cognitive-Affective-Systemic Framework

This paper proposes a cognitive-Affective-Systemic (CAS) framework that integrates cognition, emotion, and systemic understanding to cultivate sustainability awareness through art. Drawing from eco-aesthetics, affect theory, complexity science, and posthuman ethics, the framework defines artistic practice as both epistemic and performative–a way of knowing through making and feeling. Central to this is logomotion, an aesthetic mode where comprehension and emotion move together as a unified experience. Two artworks, SPill, visualizing antimicrobial resistance through avalanche dynamics, and Echoes of the Land, modeling anthropogenic seismicity, demonstrate how systemic modeling and sensory immersion transform complex science into embodied ecological understanding. The framework offers a methodological foundation for artists, theorists, and activists to translate awareness into engagement, advancing collective creativity toward sustainable futures.

💡 Research Summary

The paper introduces a Cognitive‑Affective‑Systemic (CAS) framework that positions artistic practice at the intersection of three interrelated dimensions: cognition, affect, and systemic modeling. Drawing on eco‑aesthetics, affect theory, complexity science, and post‑human ethics, the authors argue that art can move beyond the conventional data‑driven communication of sustainability issues to become an embodied, affective, and participatory mode of knowing.

The cognitive dimension treats art as a situated inquiry that translates complex system principles—such as cellular automata, self‑organized criticality, and non‑linear dynamics—into visual, auditory, or interactive media. This enables audiences to “read” feedback loops and emergent behaviors directly, rather than merely observing graphs or charts.

The affective dimension is built on the work of Massumi, Ahmed, and post‑humanist thinkers like Braidotti and Haraway. It foregrounds pre‑cognitive intensities and emotional attachments, proposing that artistic experiences can generate affective resonance (empathy, awe, discomfort) that is essential for ethical engagement and potential behavioral change. Central to this is the concept of logomotion, defined as the simultaneous movement of cognitive insight and affective feeling, creating a unified experience where understanding itself becomes an emotional event.

The systemic dimension incorporates actual scientific modeling into the artwork. By embedding sandpile models of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and spring‑block earthquake simulations into installations, the framework demonstrates how participants can interact with, perturb, and observe the evolution of complex systems in real time. This “participatory modeling” turns abstract scientific processes into tangible, bodily experiences.

Two case studies illustrate the framework. SPill is a kinetic sound installation that visualizes avalanche‑like dynamics of AMR using the sandpile model. Audience interaction (adding sand, shaking the apparatus) triggers cascading sound and visual feedback, making the critical transition of resistance palpable and emotionally charged. Echoes of the Land translates a spring‑block earthquake model into an immersive multisensory environment where participants’ movements generate seismic vibrations and soundscapes, embodying the impact of anthropogenic activities on seismic risk. Both works link systemic insight with ethical affect, showing how art can make global complexity experientially tangible.

Beyond these examples, the authors outline methodological implications for various stakeholders. Artists and designers gain a structured approach to fuse modeling, interactivity, and affective storytelling. Educators can develop curricula that integrate cognitive, affective, and systemic learning, fostering critical and empathetic capacities in students. Activists and communicators receive strategies to convert scientific data into emotionally resonant encounters that can motivate civic participation and policy engagement.

The paper concludes that art should not be seen merely as a supplementary communication tool but as a vital mode of inquiry and action where cognition, emotion, and systemic awareness converge. By operationalizing the CAS framework, artistic practice can help translate sustainability knowledge into felt experience and collective action, advancing more resilient and ethically attuned futures.