Virtuality of landscape. Atlas of artistic manifestations from real to imaginary

Academic debates concerning landscape convey a number of different definitions, varying by the discipline in which the term is used. This dissertation attempts to shed light on the understanding of what encompasses landscape in artistic projects. Using the notion of virtuality as an alteration to what has been established so far, the research will open the debate on what architects and designers can learn from artists and their way of thinking. Through the analysis of literature from the fields of art history, philosophy, sociology, and architecture, the research focuses on examining artistic practice in relation to landscape. This shift in perspective enriches the design process and is, at the same time, complementary to the study process of architects and designers. Virtuality, as potentiality transcending its technological aspect, is an idea borrowed from the field of philosophy—deriving from the theories of Gilles Deleuze—that appears as part of the problematics within the theories of emergence. Landscape, as a social construct, is analysed from the perspective of Henri Lefebvre's theory of The Production of Space, along with the perceptual theories of Lucius Burckhardt and John Berger, which will be applied here to comprehend the phenomenon of nature as seen by the artist. The research endeavors to challenge existing paradigms and explore alternative narratives of the relationships between humans and nature, which are subsequently mirrored in selected case studies of contemporary art. In this context, virtuality functions as a catalyst for transformation, creating a platform for diverse perspectives—a phenomenon of seeing certain things differently. This process supports a deeper focus on the artistic understanding of landscape and how it resonates with society at large in times marked by climate change, systemic risk, uncertainty, and its attendant apparatuses of power in the contemporary world. To grasp the multiplicities of today's landscape, there is a need to examine the volatile context of the 21st century, where technology and digitalisation establish the knowledge-based economy system to which we have access. Landscape, scientifically, is considered an objectified perspective on territory that is, at any time, under threat of turning into a product of capitalism and power. These issues are present in contemporary art, which often serves as a reference. The sciences, with their various forms of representation, encompass landscape in different ways—from cartography through representation to descriptive definitions. The goal of this research is to show the possibilities that arise from learning from all of these perspectives. As a product of artistic manifestation, landscape can take forms borrowing from all of these disciplines.