Metamorphosis in Nature and the Arts : Ecstases of Matter and Image

This edited collection explores the concept of metamorphosis across art history, image theory, literary studies, and philosophy.

This edited collection explores the concept of metamorphosis across art history, image theory, literary studies, and philosophy. By examining the shifting meanings of metamorphosis in nature, the arts, and technology, this book reveals the traces and ecstases of matter and body in transformation. It asks how images associated with elemental states—terrestrial, aquatic, and ethereal—have commingled throughout history, creating poetic fields of morphic resonance. The chapters cover a wide range of topics, including the wonders of nature, the occult dimension of nature's artistry, and the vitalizing power of metamorphosis as a principle of life and art. The authors critically engage with philosophical concepts such as genesis, movement, hybridity, and trans-corporeality to reveal unexpected dimensions of metamorphosis, explore the miracles of transmutation of matter in ancient thought, and use new theoretical tools to examine modern ideas of evolution and the metaphysics of mixture addressed within the aesthetics of wonderment.