call for papers diségno No. 18 – Σύναψη (Synapse). Expressive and Relational Paths of Drawing
Σύναψη (Synapse)
Expressive and Relational Paths of Drawing
edited by Graziano Mario Valenti, Gabriella Liva, Tatiana Sentamans Gómez
In the vast majority of cases, the outcome of research can be regarded not as the mere discovery of an already existing datum, but as the generation of a new meaning: an emergent result arising from the encounter, tension, and synthesis between two or more pre-existing bodies of knowledge. The new knowledge is therefore not an isolated element, but the outcome of a process of connection, akin to a dynamic structure in constant evolution.
This intelligent network of knowledge, which is progressively constructed over time, may be metaphorically associated with an organically living synaptic structure and, as in the nervous system, the pathways, signals, and interactions among the components of the system activate unprecedented relationships between concepts, methods, disciplines, and perspectives, giving rise to new and unpredictable configurations of knowledge. This metaphor is not merely poetic; it reflects one of the prevailing insights in contemporary philosophy, according to which knowledge is not a static repository but an emergent architecture, built through mutual influences, exchanges, revisions, and negotiations of meaning.
In this sense, it can be stated without hesitation that this network becomes all the more fruitful when the individuals engaged in research are able to move beyond the established boundaries of knowledge and venture into unexplored conceptual territories. This requires the capacity to adopt a far-reaching perspective, not confined within the limits of traditional disciplines, and to cultivate a genuinely transdisciplinary approach, capable of traversing, connecting, and developing different bodies of knowledge.
On these premises, within the research activity specific to Drawing, it is possible to identify at least three emerging Focus, to be understood as privileged domains for the synaptic generation of knowledge.
- Focus 1. Performative synapses, through which knowledge does not merely represent the world, but enacts and transforms it. Drawing, whether analog or digital, becomes an active, scenic, choreographic device, capable of organizing space, translating perception into gesture, and connecting theory and practice, architecture and fashion, design and the body. Here, knowledge emerges as an act: a form of knowing that takes place and, in taking place, produces reality.
- Focus 2. Sensorial synapses, through which knowledge takes shape by means of an expanded bodily experience, no longer reduced to the domain of the visual. Sensorial synapses engage touch, hearing, movement, balance, environment, perceptual memory, and time: a cognitive ecosystem that restores to representation its embodied, multispecies, and multimodal nature. In this scenario, knowledge becomes a sensitive appropriation of the world, rather than an abstract piece of information.
- Focus 3. Social synapses, which facilitate processes of knowledge situated within shared imaginaries, collective practices, power relations, and possibilities for resistance. In this context, Drawing and representation become critical tools for reinterpreting spaces, narratives, and identities, overcoming cultural impositions and opening new horizons of individual and communal freedom. In this sense, the synapse also becomes a critical act, a site of contestation and ethical redefinition of knowledge.
In the context of contemporary epistemology, these forms of knowledge production no longer follow the linear or monomethodological model of tradition, but rather a plural, processual, and dialogic paradigm: a process in which languages, experiences, technologies, bodies, societies, and cultural contexts jointly contribute to defining what may be known, as the outcome of a relational event—one shaped by material, sensory, technical, and symbolic interactions. It is an open process and, therefore, inherently perfectible. In this scenario, the synaptic network also becomes the structure that keeps memory alive, making it possible not only to preserve the past but to reinterpret, reorganize, and adapt it into a fertile foundation for further advancements. From mere storage, memory thus becomes the vital basis of all new knowledge: a dynamic archive that sustains continuity while simultaneously making innovation possible.
In conclusion, and on the basis of these considerations, it is suggested that the term “synapse” may serve as a symbolic and privileged concept for fostering critical and scientific reflections to be proposed for the call of this new issue of diségno: such synaptic reflections may represent not only alternative modes of understanding the construction of knowledge, but also an invitation to conceive research activity as a process capable of generating opportunities beyond conventional boundaries, and thus of opening new domains of knowledge.
Full paper submissio: February 15th, 2026
Notification of final acceptance: March 31st, 2026
Revised full paper in English: April 15th, 2026
Issue publication: between June 30th, 2026 and July 12th, 2026, date of birth of Professor Massimiliano Ciammaichella (1973-2025), to whom the issue is dedicated
