In the art world, cases of looting and forgery show that provenance is normative. Provenance generates reasons (such as reasons to return a stolen artwork, or reasons to remove a forgery from an exhibit). And knowledge of provenance guides our aesthetic engagement with artworks.

In this talk, I suggest that things in nature also have provenance. Using a variety of examples – fossils, trees in an arboretum collection, species, and landscapes – I’ll argue that the concept of provenance is important for understanding both aesthetic engagement with nature and the aesthetic dimensions of natural science.

The lecture and the subsequent discussion will be held in English.

The lecture is organized by the Department of Aesthetics of the Faculty of Arts, Charles University in collaboration with the Center for Contemporary Arts Prague, Are and Věra Jirousová Award.