Article

Per una semiotica fungina. Strutture miceliari nel discorso micologico, antropologico e nel biodesign

by Giacomo Festi

in Versus n. 135, Biosemiotica e antropocene / Biosemiotics and Anthropocene, pp.267-282

Abstract (english)

The mycelium is the site of a confrontation between the recent semiotics of the living (Fontanille), of a more structuralist matrix, and biosemiotics. In mycological research, the fungus is configured as an enigma and a borderline case, of which certain aspects of the Umwelt are reconstructed, removed from a passivity typically attached to it. In the anthropological discourse to follow, the mushroom is a constructor of heterogeneous worlds and unprecedented collectives, as in the exemplary case of the matsutake. Biodesign explores mycelium as a natural and sustainable building material, addressing the living character of mycelium in another way. Finally, the three thematic crossings allow for a comparison between treatments of mycelium that modulate different semiotic statuses within distinct collectives